There was a pleasant surprise on offer for Indian fans tuning in to watch Lionel Messi’s Paris St Germain take on a Saudi All-star XI led by his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo as Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan accompanied dignitaries to greet the two teams ahead of the match. Big B shook hands with players from both teams, which included the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for PSG.
Bachchan’s presence took Indian fans by surprise and many of them were left perplexed and happy on social media.
The exhibition match brings Ronaldo, who signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr this season, and Messi face to face once again. Ronaldo will captain the Riyadh Season Team – a combined Saudi Pro League XI featuring players from Al Nassr and Al Hilal in Riyadh.
The PSG starting line-up also includes France’s Mbappe and Brazil’s Neymar, as well as Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid team mates Sergio Ramos and Keylor Navas.
Matches between teams featuring Ronaldo and Messi have become rare ever since the former left Real Madrid in 2018. They faced off at least twice a season before that as part of the El Clasico between Madrid and Barcelona, of whom Messi is the all-time highest goal scorer.