The winning bidder for the ‘Beyond Imagination’ ticket to the Riyadh Season Cup will meet star players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
The buyer, whose money will go to charity, also gets to take part in the post-game presentation ceremony and appear with the winning side in their official team photo
DUBAI: A Saudi tech company, Azom, has bid $2.5 million for a “golden ticket” to the Riyadh Season Cup, a friendly match this month between Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain and a team made up of players from Saudi sides Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club, and Al-Hilal.
The company’s bid came amid a fierce bidding battle that started on Twitter after General Entertainment Authority Chairman Turki Al-Sheikh kicked off the auction for the “Beyond Imagination” ticket at SR1 million ($266,000) on Monday.
Al-Sheikh posted on Twitter Wednesday that the current highest bid was made by Mohammed Al-Munajem’s Azom, which will also be offering high-tech gadgets to the families of martyrs and orphans attending the welcoming ceremony to be held for Paris Saint-Germain players at the airport.
Al-Sheikh had posted a video that gives details of what the winning bidder for the Beyond Imagination ticket will get for their money. The 79-second clip had been viewed more than 3.6 million times as of midnight on Tuesday.
The ticket holder will attend the presentation ceremony after the game with Al-Sheikh, meet star players including Messi, Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, and line up alongside the winning side in their official team photo. They will also attend a gala lunch and visit the dressing rooms of both teams at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, where the game will be played.
French champions PSG announced on Monday that Messi will play in the friendly against a select side of players from Al-Nassr and Saudi rivals Al-Hilal on Jan. 19.
The auction for the Beyond Imagination ticket began on Jan. 9 with an opening price of SR1 million and bidding will remain open until 11:30 p.m. local time on Jan. 17. All the proceeds will be donated to the National Platform for Charitable Work, also known as Ehsan.