Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo Ticket Sales Flop for Argentina vs. Portugal

The appearance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to inspire fans to buy tickets for Argentina's upcoming friendly clash with Portugal at Old Trafford on Nov. 18.

Manchester United's stadium hosts a capacity crowd of 75,731, but just 15,000 tickets have been snapped up by punters who want to catch a glimpse of the world's two best footballers, reported by BBC Sport. "I don't know why we haven't had more sales," said match organiser Leo Morales, noted in the aforementioned article.

Ticket prices are likely to play a major part. Adult singles are available for £40 each (less so if you're a United membership holder), but this is still expensive for a non-competitive match. In fact, tickets to see the Red Devils often cost less at the Theatre of Dreams.

Thibault Camus/Associated Press

Hosting the match on a Tuesday night perhaps doesn't help, despite United followers often filling the stadium for Champions League clashes over the years. Ronaldo's return perhaps doesn't provide such a compelling sub-plot when it's with Portugal and not Real Madrid.

Messi netted a penalty during Tuesday night's friendly against Croatia at Upton Park, his name "eliciting near-delirious squeals of glee from the majority of the giddy crowd," according to Paul Doyle of The Guardian. Highlights of Argentina's 2-1 victory can be seen below:

Still, the opportunity to see the aforementioned Ballon d'Or winners on the same pitch doesn't present itself often in England. Current United star Angel Di Maria and former striker Carlos Tevez will also be on show at Old Trafford, while William Carvalho, a rumoured target for Louis van Gaal, could impress for the Portuguese. 

This is the second time in the space of two months that organisers have struggled to shift tickets to see World Cup finalists Argentina.

Just over half of Hong Kong Stadium's potential 40,000 crowd saw Messi and Co. trounce the local side 7-0. The HKFA allegedly needed a full house to break even with staging of the fixture coming in at $3.87 million, reported by the South China Morning Post (h/t Reuters and via the Daily Mail).

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

Such difficulties may force United officials to consider whether ongoing talks of a mid-season friendly with AC Milan in Asia is a fruitful idea.

An entertaining match is likely to ensue when Argentina and Portugal rock up, albeit in front of a subdued atmosphere.