Messi and Ronaldo, who have faced each other more than 30 times in their careers, have won 13 Ballon d'Or awards between them, with the Argentine leading that race eight to five.

Nassr ended the group stage unbeaten, with four victories and two draws.

Cristiano Ronaldo has still got it.

Inter Miami was named the guest international side and will join Al-Hilal and Al Nassr in next February's Riyadh Season Cup.

Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca also scored for the Saudi side late Tuesday as they made it three wins from three in the group stages of the premier Asian club competition.

Senin Sebai scored on the break to put the club from Dushanbe in front with a minute left in the first half and Istiklol held out under relentless pressure until Ronaldo levelled with a clever clipped finish in the 66th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo made the most of both awful defending and a plume of smoke to set Al-Nasr on the way to a 4-3 victory against Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League.

Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a winning debut in the Asian Champions League as he helped Al Nassr to a 2-0 victory against 10-man Persepolis in Iran on Tuesday night.

The streets were crowded with fans who raised welcome banners and pictures of Ronaldo upon the arrival of the Saudi Arabian team in Iran after the restoration of relations between the two countries

Five times UEFA Champions League winner Cristiano Ronaldo will begin his quest to add another continental title to his resume on Tuesday when Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr kick off their Asian Champions League campaign against 2020 runners-up Persepolis.

Ronaldo scored his sixth goal in his last three games and claimed two assists as Al Nassr recorded a third straight league victory. Sadio Mane was also on the scoresheet.

Cristiano Ronaldo was named in Portugal's squad on Friday for upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg.

The Portuguese superstar got things underway in the 13th minute as he converted from the spot after a handball in the Al Shabab penalty area. He added to his tally five minutes later with a header only for the goal to be disallowed for a push on a defender.

Spain centre-back Laporte won 12 major honours during his successful spell with City

The Saudi Pro League side came from behind to triumph 4-2 in the play-off at Mrsool Park, with Brazilian Anderson Talisca scoring twice and Croatia international Marcelo Brozovic rounding off the win. Nassr had been two minutes from exiting the tournament

The 31-year-old Neymar signed a two-year contract with the Riyadh-based club on Tuesday after spending six years with Paris St Germain, in a deal reportedly worth about 90 million euros ($98 million)

Cristiano Ronaldo guided 10-man Al-Nassr to their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup title after scoring twice in a 2-1 extra-time win over fellow Saudi side Al-Hilal on Saturday.

Links of Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, rumours of Neymar returning to Barcelona have been the commonalities of the transfer market over the past few years. This summer, however, in addition to the aforementioned sagas, the emergence of one major entity -- the Saudi Pro League -- has taken the transfer market by storm.

Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home from the spot in the final minutes to propel his Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr to their first-ever Arab Club Champions Cup final after a 1-0 win over Al Shorta in the semifinal at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in Abha on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich's Senegal forward Sadio Mane has joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr after one season with the Bundesliga champions, both clubs said on Tuesday.