Football fever gripped Esports World Cup 2025 as two Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Cup winners, Kaka and Ronaldo Nazario, played EA Sports FC in an exhibition match in Riyadh on Sunday.
The best-of-three contest started with a classic match, which Kaka won 3-2, before stamping his authority in the Mystery Ball mode, winning it 11-6.
Ronaldo tried to make a comeback in the final match, in survival mode, but his former Brazil teammate continued to be the better player, winning the game 3-2.
“I had a blast at the Esports World Cup Showmatch in Saudi Arabia! It was an incredible experience, and I’m so happy I got to share it with Ronaldo. All those hours of training with Luca (Kaka’s son) definitely paid off,” Kaka wrote on social media.
WATCH THE MATCH BELOW:
Ronaldo took the result in good spirit, even saying that he will try to settle scores in another title the next time: Call of Duty.
“Next time, next year, we play Warzone,” he said with a smile.
Ronaldo and Kaka were part of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning squad and also played under Carlo Ancelotti at AC Milan.
While Kaka spent most of his club career at Milan, Ronaldo played for both rivals in Italy, Internazionale and AC Milan, also featuring for Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Corinthians.
Ronaldo is one of the 10 players to win the Ballon d’Or more than once — 1997, 2002 — while Kaka is the last Brazilian to lift the golden ball, in 2007.
