Ronaldo and Messi’s chosen XIs imagined as £90m Wembley game scrapped

A new book has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were close to taking part in a ‘mega-match’ worth a huge £90million back in 2017. The Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain stars are still going strong as they enter the twilight years of their career. And long gone are the days where their rivalry at Real Madrid and Barcelona enchanted every supporter on the planet…According to a new book, ‘Messi vs Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World’s Game’ via The Sun, Ronaldo and Messi were close to taking part in a huge spectacle.It’s claimed that, in 2014, a millionaire named Robert Bonnier approached the camps of both players.Ronaldo was playing for Real Madrid at the time, with Messi at Barcelona, and Bonnier wanted the duo to construct an XI of team-mates past and present to put them against each other.The game would have taken place at Wembley in 2017 and sponsors Adidas and Nike would have represented their individual assets, too.It was even claimed organisers wanted it to be ‘more of a music festival than a friendly’, with laser shows and bands being used to help make it an entertaining show.In the end, however, it didn’t happen. But Express Sport will now take a look at how team Ronaldo and team Messi could have lined up had all gone to plan…Want the latest football news? Join our brand new Facebook group by clicking here Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are going strong at Man Utd and PSG (Image: GETTY) Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had a strong rivalry at Real Madrid and Barcelona (Image: GETTY) Cristiano Ronaldo would likely have Man Utd duo Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney in his XI (Image: GETTY)Goalkeeper: ValdesWhen it comes to Messi’s side, Victor Valdes was probably the best goalkeeper the PSG star has ever had the pleasure of sharing a pitch with.Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was also a good team-mate but Valdes was there when Barcelona were the best team in world football, meaning he’d be guaranteed the No 1 jersey.Defence: Alves, Pique, Mascherano, AlbaThough Messi shares a dressing room with Ramos these days, they weren’t allies back in 2017.Therefore, it’s likely the Argentina international would select Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol as his centre-back pairing.Dani Alves would then go at right-back, with Jordi Alba on the opposite side of their defence. Cristiano Ronaldo would likely face Lionel Messi allies Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets (Image: GETTY)Midfield: Xavi, Iniesta, BusquetsLet’s face it. It was never going to be any other three in midfield than Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.The trio were, at the peak of their powers, an unstoppable trio. Arguably the best football has ever seen, particularly when they played under Pep Guardiola.Yaya Toure is perhaps unlucky to miss out but the Ivory Coast international was cut loose by Guardiola and was better for Manchester City than he was for Barcelona.Forwards: Messi, Suarez, NeymarMessi may have played alongside Ronaldinho but, amazing though the Brazilian was, he may not have made his old team-mates’ XI.And that’s because the PSG star has always had the best of relationships with Neymar and Luis Suarez.Messi and Neymar are dazzling at the Parc des Princes these days and Suarez is one of the 35-year-old’s closest friends, having struck up a good rapport with one another at Barcelona.