Amitabh Bachchan meets Messi, Ronaldo, others in Riyadh

The actor was invited to inaugurate the match

Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated a football match in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. The veteran actor was invited as the chief guest to open the high-octane face-off between Cristiano Rolando's Riyadh XI and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), led by Lionel Messi at the King Fahd International stadium, as per India TV.

To mark the occasion, Bollywood’s ‘Big B’ took to his Instagram to share videos and photos from the friendly match. In these photos, he can be seen shaking hands and interacting with the legendary footballers, Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, among others. Terming it an “incredible” experience, Bachchan wrote in the caption, "An evening in Riyadh and what an evening! Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mbape, Neymar, all playing together… And yours truly, invited as a guest speaker to inaugurate the game. PSG vs Riyadh Seasons, Incredible!"

Reacting to the post, many of his fraternity members expressed their excitement at the moment captured. Dino Morrea said, "Wow, just wow! Amazing, love it! What a beautiful experience. They got to meet you." Virat Kohli commented, "Amazing." Neil Nitin Mukesh said, "What an iconic moment."

Bachchan had also shared some pictures on his blog in which his kids Abhishek Bachchan and Shweta Bachchan Nanda can be spotted accompanying him to the gulf nation. Shweta also shared some photos from the match on her social media.

Meanwhile, the friendly football match marked Ronaldo’s first game since signing a contract with the Saudi football club Al Nassr. He exited Manchester United last year after the FIFA World Cup. During the match, Messi and Ronaldo each scored in an eventful 5-4 Paris Saint-German victory over Saudi All-Star XI. Thursday's game was the first match-up between the two football titans since 2020 and the 37^th time in their careers. It may just be the last time the arch-rivals faced off against each other.

On the work front, Bachchan was recently seen in the family entertainer, Uunchai, along with Anupam Kher, Parineeti Chopra and Boman Irani. Helmed by Sooraj Barjatya, the film got positive responses from the audience.

The megastar will next seen in The Intern alongside Deepika Padukone, as well as a Pan India film titled Project K, also featuring Padukone and Prabhas.