Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Could they meet for one last battle at the 2025 Club World Cup?
It’s almost five years since Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo last faced off in a competitive fixture, and it looks increasingly unlikely we’ll never see it happen again as they wind down their careers in different footballing orbits.
But could we see them face off one last time at the upcoming Club World Cup?
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami have already booked their place, while Ronaldo has been linked with several clubs participating after teasing his “story is still being written” as he winds down his contract with Saudi club Al-Nassr.
We’ve assessed the likelihood of Ronaldo joining all of Inter Miami’s potential opponents at the Club World Cup.
Al Ahly
Not especially au fait with your Al Ahlys and your Al-Ahlis? Let us help you out.
Like Ronaldo’s (soon to be former?) side Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli are majority owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and could have presumably hatched a plan to get him to the lavish summer tournament.
But that club aren’t the one going to the Club World Cup.
This Al Ahly are based in Cairo and qualified as winners of the 2020–21 CAF Champions League.
They’re one of most historic and successful clubs in African football, but they’re considerably less cash-rich than their Saudi Pro League namesakes and surely couldn’t afford even a fraction of Ronaldo’s wages.
We’re sure there’s nothing that FIFA president Gianni Infantino would love nothing more than a Messi-Ronaldo showdown in his flagship tournament’s opening fixture – not least for the reportedly dire ticket sales.
Only in his dreams.
Likelihood rating: 0/10
Palmeiras
The possibility of Ronaldo signing a short-term deal for a Brazilian club has been mooted (more on that later) but Palmeiras are not in the running.
The Athletic have been pretty emphatic in their reporting: “Palmeiras have not made any move, nor do they plan to do so, to sign Ronaldo.”
Never going to happen.
Likelihood rating: 0/10
Porto
Could Ronaldo go back to Portugal?
“It’s up to him and the clubs interested,” former Porto president Pinto da Costa said before Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January 2023.
“But in Portugal, nobody has the capacity to give him what he earns and still wants to earn. And he has value for that.”
A certain Andre Villas-Boas has since succeeded Da Costa, Porto’s longest-serving president, and may take a different view; particularly with regards to a short-term deal.
But Ronaldo himself has always dismissed the idea of going back to his home country, let alone to one of his boyhood clubs’ rivals. We can’t see it.
Likelihood rating: 2/10
Knockout stages
Inter Miami’s Group A are paired with Group B for the first knockout round – i.e. the winners play the runners-up.
Should Inter Miami make it through, they’d be facing PSG, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo or Seattle Sounders.
He’s not going to PSG and Atletico Madrid, let’s be honest. And we can’t see Seattle Sounders signing Ronaldo either.
Botafogo could actually happen, though. Reports from Brazil suggest that the club’s majority shareholder John Textor has made an offer to the 40-year-old for a headline-making statement.
It’s said Textor’s proposal includes a clause that allows the out-of-contract superstar to become a partner in Eagle Football Holdings, the company that owns stakes in Botafogo, Lyon, Crystal Palace, RWD Molenbeek and FC Florida.
” You can’t say no to a star like that,” said Botafogo coach Renato Paiva when asked about the reports.
A Messi-Ronaldo reunion could actually happen, then, but even if Ronaldo were to sign for Botafogo they’d need to make it through a group featuring the European champions and Atletico Madrid.
Even if they were to sneak second place, Miami would need to top their group ahead of the above teams. Another big ask.
If we take this one step further and suppose Messi makes it to the quarter-finals, he’d then face one of the better teams from groups C and D: likely to be one of Bayern Munich, Boca Juniors, Benfica, Flamengo or Chelsea.
We can’t see Ronaldo lining up for any of them later this month, to be honest.
All in all, it’d have to be a clash between Messi’s Inter Miami and Ronaldo’s Botafogo in the first knockout round. A lot of stars would have to align, but stranger things have happened.
Likelihood rating: 3/10
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