{"id":291975,"date":"2023-10-11T16:26:11","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T16:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=291975"},"modified":"2023-10-11T16:26:11","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T16:26:11","slug":"messi-could-join-ronaldo-in-saudi-with-pro-league-plotting-loan-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/messi-could-join-ronaldo-in-saudi-with-pro-league-plotting-loan-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi could join Ronaldo in Saudi with Pro League &apos;plotting loan move&apos;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Lionel Messi could join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi as Pro League chiefs &#8216;plot loan move for Inter Miami star&#8217; following MLS playoff heartbreak<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Miami failed to qualify for the MLS playoffs after their weekend loss to Cincinnati<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Messi is currently on international duty with Argentina ahead of WC qualifiers\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The iconic rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo\u00a0that dominated European soccer for the best part of a decade may be revived in the Middle East &#8211; with Saudi Arabian chiefs desperate to reunite the pair in the Pro League.<\/p>\n<p>After Inter Miami failed to qualify for the Major League Soccer\u00a0playoffs, Messi will not take the field again until February following the completion of the regular season &#8211; unless he secures a short-term loan elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>And according to Sky Sports, via Marca, Saudi Pro League officials are set to launch an offer for Argentina&#8217;s World Cup-winning captain in the wake of Miami&#8217;s playoff heartbreak.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is believed they are keen to lure him away from the MLS on a six-month loan, meaning he would be able to return to Inter in time for their 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Internal evaluations are understood to be ongoing, with news on a potential swoop for Messi expected to come soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/02\/76407563-12617221-image-a-40_1696989566989.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The iconic rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may be revived in Saudi Arabia<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/02\/76405433-12617221-The_Saudi_Pro_League_are_said_to_be_considering_a_loan_offer_to_-a-37_1696987628696.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Saudi Pro League are said to be considering a loan offer for Messi after Inter Miami failed to qualify for the MLS playoffs<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/03\/76405431-12617221-Old_rival_Ronaldo_has_spent_the_last_10_months_in_the_Middle_Eas-m-44_1696990727106.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Old rival Ronaldo has spent the last 10 months in the Middle East after signing for Al-Nassr\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before his historic move to Miami, Messi turned down an eye-watering financial package to play in Saudi, which would have brought him at least $400million.<\/p>\n<p>Great rival Ronaldo opted to accept the country&#8217;s riches, putting pen to paper on a $200m-a-year contract with Pro League team Al-Nassr at the start of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Messi and Ronaldo enjoyed a historic battle on European shores during their respective stints with Barcelona and Real Madrid, with the pair maintaining a stranglehold on the illustrious Ballon d&#8217;Or award from 2008-18.<\/p>\n<p>Between them, the legendary duo have won nine Champions League titles while scoring close to 1,500 goals at club level.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And now Saudi have dreams of reigniting that iconic rivalry out in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2009, Miami co-owner David Beckham made the kind of move Saudi are plotting for Messi when he was loaned from the LA Galaxy to AC Milan.<\/p>\n<p>Messi has also been linked with a loan move back to Barcelona as a result of Miami being unable to qualify for the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>Miami&#8217;s manager Gerardo &#8216;Tata&#8217; Martino recently tried to downplay the links of Messi returning to his former club on loan when he recently said to reporters: &#8216;Is he going for fun? Maybe he&#8217;s going to visit Barcelona? Other than that, I don&#8217;t know anything else about it.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Messi has scored 12 goals in the combined 13 league and cup matches he played since joining Miami on a two-and-a-half-year deal in July.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/03\/76407991-12617221-image-a-41_1696990672338.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Messi, who is currently on international duty with Argentina, has also been linked with a return to former club Barcelona<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/11\/03\/76407993-12617221-image-a-43_1696990715168.jpg\" height=\"520\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Miami coach Tata Martino joked at the weekend that he could return to Spain &#8216;for fun&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>He has joi ned Argentina for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru on October 12 and 17 respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With Miami&#8217;s season ending soon, Argentina must figure out how to maintain Messi&#8217;s fitness for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay on November 16 and at Brazil five days later.<\/p>\n<p>Miami&#8217;s remaining league matches will be a home and road set against Charlotte October 18 and 21.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12617221\/Lionel-Messi-Cristiano-Ronaldo-Saudi-Pro-League-Inter-Miami-MLS.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Lionel Messi could join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi as Pro League chiefs &#8216;plot loan move for Inter Miami star&#8217; following MLS playoff heartbreak Miami failed <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/messi-could-join-ronaldo-in-saudi-with-pro-league-plotting-loan-move\/\" title=\"Messi could join Ronaldo in Saudi with Pro League &amp;apos;plotting loan move&amp;apos;\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-291975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Messi could join Ronaldo in Saudi with Pro League &amp;apos;plotting loan move&amp;apos; - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/messi-could-join-ronaldo-in-saudi-with-pro-league-plotting-loan-move\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Messi could join Ronaldo in Saudi with Pro League &amp;apos;plotting loan move&amp;apos; 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