French football club Paris Saint German faced off against a hybrid Riyadh All-Star XI in a friendly game in Saudi Arabia on Thursday night. The match was special as it was perhaps the last time Lionel Messi (playing for PSG) and Cristiano Ronaldo (playing for Riyadh) met on the pitch. But Indian fans realised there was another legend in the stadium – superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
The veteran actor was at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh and was spotted on the pitch before the game began. Screengrans from the live telecast showing the actor meeting both the teams were posted online and went viral within hours. The pictures show Amitabh posing with the organisers before going on to shake hands with the players, including the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar.
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Many fans were surprised at Amitabh’s presence on the sidelines of the game given that he is not associated with football as much as some of the other Bollywood stars. “This was so random. Shah Rukh or even Ranbir would have made sense,” wrote one fan. Another commented, “I never expected Amitabh Bachan of all people in bollywood to meet messi and Ronaldo.”
Others deduced that Amitabh’s presence in Riyadh for the game on Thursday night explained why the actor was not in the high-profile guest list of the Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant engagement in Mumbai on the same night. “Was wondering why he wasn’t at the engagement,” wrote one fan.
Seeing pictures of Messi and Ronaldo shaking hands with the Indian screen legend had some fans quipping that it was an honour for them to meet Amitabh, who is arguably more accomplished in his field. “This is such a huge honour, for Messi and Ronaldo that is,” joked one fan. Another chimed in, “Ronaldo and Messi would realize after the match that they had just met a legend.”
