Mikael Silvestre believes his former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo should join the MLS (Image: Getty)
Ex-Manchester United and Arsenal star Mikael Silvestre has made a sensational call for Cristiano Ronaldo to join Lionel Messi in the MLS. Ronaldo, who rose to global stardom after his initial spell at Old Trafford during the 2000s with Silvestre, has since become one of football’s all-time greats, boasting over 900 career goals and an extensive trophy collection.
Following a tumultuous exit from a second spell with Manchester United in November 2022 – after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan – Ronaldo took his talents to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro-League, where he has since shattered the league’s single-season scoring record.
Despite the odds, Silvestre confessed that seeing Ronaldo clash with Messi, his perennial rival for the title of the sport’s best player, on American soil would be a spectacle for the ages, much like occasions when the two legends battled it out in Spain’s La Liga for Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“It would be amazing to see Cristiano Ronaldo competing against Lionel Messi in the MLS, it would be a dream for football fans,” Silvestre told Norskebettingsider.
“However, I think he is happy in Saudi and is the face of the league out there. He is also still playing for Portugal. Maybe after the World Cup, he’ll decide to make a change in what might be the last transfer of his career.”
Defender Silvestre played alongside Ronaldo for five memorable seasons. The pair were team-mates for 138 games in United red, each assisting the other exactly once as they tasted Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup glory together.
The Frenchman subsequently made a switch to Arsenal in 2008, where he made 43 appearances. After his time with the Gunners and a stint with Werder Bremen, he eventually crossed the Atlantic to join Portland Timbers.
Ronaldo admitted he may retire in Saudi Arabia (Image: Getty Images)
Despite Silvestre’s brief venture in MLS lasting a mere eight matches, he believes it’s the perfect place for Ronaldo’s next chapter, envisioning a titanic clash with Messi stateside.
Yet, the likelihood of Ronaldo departing the Saudi Pro League seems staggeringly low at this point, reports the Mirror. The Portuguese icon, now aged 39, has a contract running until midway through 2025, and he’s hinted at a willingness to stay on until 2027.
In a conversation with NOW, Ronaldo expressed his future may be tied to Al Nassr: “I don’t know if I will retire soon, in two or three years, but probably I will retire here at Al Nassr.”
Messi has become the face of the MLS (Image: Arturo Jimenez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Pocketing a £60million lower-taxed base salary and indulging in the lifestyle offered by luxurious villas and cars, Ronaldo seems quite settled in the Middle East.
On the flip side, Messi is thriving in the States. Despite a lower base salary of around £16m, lucrative deals with Apple TV and Adidas, not to mention brand endorsements and a potential future stake in an MLS franchise – echoing David Beckham’s LA Galaxy deal – see the Argentinian paid handsomely for his groundbreaking move.
Messi’s contract is set to run out in December 2025, yet he’s already suggested that Inter Miami might be his final club, mentioning earlier this year: “As of today, it [Inter Miami] is gonna be my last one [club].”
While they may never collide in their domestic leagues again, as Silvestre and fans have dreamt, the scenario of the two titans meeting head-to-head at the 2026 World Cup could still materialise, since neither legend has confirmed their absence from the upcoming tournament.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1966183/cristiano-ronaldo-lionel-messi-mls-silvestre-tbk