A Saudi Arabian real estate mogul has won a mega ticket to watch a friendly between two football greats, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, after bidding SAR 10m (£2.1m/€2.4m/$2.7m) at an auction.
It was revealed last week that the businessman had made the significant offer, with the proceeds set to be donated to charity.
The match will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in Riyadh, with an Allstar side made up of players from Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr and Al Hilal, and Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain.
To promote the friendly, Turki al-Sheikh, advisor to the Royal Court and head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced the charity auction for a special ticket that would allow the holder to access opportunities like having a picture taken with the players, as well as access to the locker rooms.
Bidding started at SAR 1m before the auction closed on Tuesday night.
Real estate mogul Mushref al-Ghamdi was the eventual winner after bidding SAR 10m for the ticket.
The proceeds from the auction are set to be donated to the national charity campaign called Ehsan.