Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi £90m game at Wembley was ‘very close’

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi came ‘very close’ to going head-to-head in a £90 million all-star game at Wembley Stadium.

That’s according to information revealed in a new book titled ‘Messi vs Ronaldo’ and relayed by The Sun.

It’s claimed that Ronaldo and Messi would have hand-picked the global starting XIs - and both players reportedly backed the idea.

Per The Sun, the idea was dreamt up in 2014 by ‘City of London wheeler-dealer Robert Bonnier’, during the height of the Messi v Ronaldo rivalry when the two legendary forwards were scoring goals for fun with Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.

Bonnier was apparently desperate to establish a biennial game, hosted in Europe, that would see Messi and Ronaldo battle it out alongside some of the world’s greatest players.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi with their national teams — MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal shakes hands with Lionel Messi of Argentina prior to the International Friendly between Argentina and Portugal at Old Trafford on November 18, 2014 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal shakes hands with Lionel Messi of Argentina prior to the International Friendly between Argentina and Portugal at Old Trafford on November 18, 2014 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it?

The game had a proposed budget just shy of £90 million, including match fees and bonuses, while Wembley is understood to have been chosen as the neutral venue.

Team Messi would wear an Adidas kit, while Team Ronaldo would wear Nike.

The idea was for the game to be played in 2017. It would then be played every two years, outside of World Cup and European Championship years, and resemble a music festival as much as a showpiece friendly.

It’s claimed that bands, laser shows and possibly even a boxing prize fight would also feature at the event.

Wembley Stadium was lined up to host Team Messi vs Team Ronaldo — LONDON - APRIL 20: An Aerial view of the new Wembley Stadium on April 20, 2007 in Wembley, north-west London, England. The stadium has a capacity of 90,000 and will host next month's FA Cup final football match between Chelsea and Manchester United. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

LONDON - APRIL 20: An Aerial view of the new Wembley Stadium on April 20, 2007 in Wembley, north-west London, England. The stadium has a capacity of 90,000 and will host next month's FA Cup final football match between Chelsea and Manchester United. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Why did the Messi vs Ronaldo all-star game not happen?

For several reasons, the world was denied the opportunity of watching Team Messi and Team Ronaldo battle it out.

Getting the agreement of FIFA and UEFA would not have come cheap, while it’s claimed Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wanted an eye-watering £21 million for any of his players to be involved in the fixture.

The idea ultimately failed to materialised due to the number of invested parties and the politics involved in world football’s corridors of power.

However, TV producer David Piper is reported to have said: “An All-Star game is the last great frontier for football. We were very close.”

Messi and Ronaldo at Ballon d'Or ceremony — ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: FIFA Ballon d'Or nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid (R) attend a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 11: FIFA Ballon d'Or nominees Lionel Messi of Argentina and FC Barcelona (L) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid (R) attend a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)