Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi came agonisingly close to reigniting their famous rivalry in America, but it was not to be.
When Ronaldo and Messi were at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, it made for must-watch television as the two superstars produced moments of magic that scarcely seemed believable.
Such was their dominance at the top of football, either Ronaldo or Messi won the Ballon d’Or from 2008 to 2017, although the latter went on to win it three more times.
But Ronaldo’s departure from Madrid in 2018 to Juventus sapped some of the star power from El Clasico and LaLiga, as Messi lost his longtime rival.
Messi was later forced to leave Barcelona in 2021 due to the club’s perilous financial situation and moved to Paris Saint-Germain.
He would last two years in the French capital before moving to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami, where he has was later re-united with ex-Barca stars Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
As for Ronaldo, he enjoyed three years with Juventus before an emotional return to Manchester United in 2021.
However, it proved to be an ill-fated stint as Ronaldo reached breaking point in November 2022 when he criticised United manager Erik ten Hag and the club’s management in an interview with Piers Morgan.
The Red Devils elected to terminate Ronaldo’s contract shortly after as he became a free agent.
Ronaldo had hoped to seal a move to a European team competing in the Champions League, but it never materialised as clubs were put off by his age and wage demands.
Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr was constantly linked with Ronaldo once he became a free agent and as history would have it, that’s exactly where he landed – beating Sporting Kansas City to his signature.
The Portuguese superstar moved to Al Nassr at the end of 2022 and agreed an eye-watering salary of €200million [£177m] per year.
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However, Ronaldo could have become a sporting icon in the same city as NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes had one MLS team got their way.
Two-time MLS champions Sporting Kansas City had the discovery rights to Ronaldo, which effectively gave the club a clear runway to push for a deal without interference from rival clubs.
In fact, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported Kansas City had made contact with Ronaldo’s camp before his controversial interview with Morgan aired.
Former United States international Taylor Twellman also claimed Kansas City had made a serious push for Ronaldo.
“Their offer was so compelling that Ronaldo’s team had multiple meetings w/SKC before taking the Saudi deal,” Twellman posted on social media in December 2022.
“The package (wages/commercial) was said to be ‘very close.'”
Kansas City owner Robb Heineman reposted Twellman’s tweet, which all but validated the report.
If only Sporting KC had brought some of the city’s famous Kansas City-style barbeque to one of the meetings, it could have been the sweetener on the deal.
But given Ronaldo’s ultra-strict and clean diet, it’s unlikely he would have dabbled in Kansas City’s local delicacies.
Instead, we’re left to wonder what might have been had Kansas City been able to reach a deal and add a few more years to Messi and Ronaldo’s iconic rivalry.
However, it wouldn’t have lasted long given Messi has reportedly decided on where he will move next once his deal with Inter Miami expires in December 2025.
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El Nacional claimed Messi will return to Argentinian side Newell’s Old Boys, the club he joined as a boy before moving to Barcelona at age 13.
In an interview with El Planeta Urbano in 2016, he said: “If I go back to Argentina tomorrow, which I would love, the club I would play for would be Newell’s.”
