Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face playing in front of thousands of empty seats when Argentina meet Portugal in a friendly at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
The crowd at Manchester United's ground is set to be well short of the 75,635 capacity, with many seats costing £40.
Ticket sales passed 32,000 on Monday, with organisers hoping for a crowd above 50,000.
Argentina striker Messi will face Portugal forward Ronaldo in England for the first time since 2008.
That was also at Old Trafford, when Ronaldo - scorer of 18 goals in 10 league games for Real Madrid this season - was part of a Manchester United side who beat Messi's Barcelona 1-0 in a Champions League semi-final second leg for a 2-1 aggregate victory before going on to defeat Chelsea in the final.
Juventus forward Carlos Tevez, who was a team-mate of Ronaldo in that United side, will also return to Old Trafford as part of the Argentina squad.
Coach Tata Martino's party includes current United winger Angel Di Maria, as well as four men who play for neighbours Manchester City - goalkeeper Willy Caballero, central defender Martin Demichelis, right-back Pablo Zabaleta and striker Sergio Aguero.
Messi and Ronaldo are on the 23-man shortlist for the 2014 Fifa Ballon d'Or, to be awarded to the best male player in world football at a ceremony in Zurich in January.
Culled from BBC Sport Football www.bbc.com/sport
Photo Credit: Gett Images
The crowd at Manchester United's ground is set to be well short of the 75,635 capacity, with many seats costing £40.
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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. |
Argentina striker Messi will face Portugal forward Ronaldo in England for the first time since 2008.
That was also at Old Trafford, when Ronaldo - scorer of 18 goals in 10 league games for Real Madrid this season - was part of a Manchester United side who beat Messi's Barcelona 1-0 in a Champions League semi-final second leg for a 2-1 aggregate victory before going on to defeat Chelsea in the final.
Juventus forward Carlos Tevez, who was a team-mate of Ronaldo in that United side, will also return to Old Trafford as part of the Argentina squad.
Coach Tata Martino's party includes current United winger Angel Di Maria, as well as four men who play for neighbours Manchester City - goalkeeper Willy Caballero, central defender Martin Demichelis, right-back Pablo Zabaleta and striker Sergio Aguero.
Messi and Ronaldo are on the 23-man shortlist for the 2014 Fifa Ballon d'Or, to be awarded to the best male player in world football at a ceremony in Zurich in January.
Culled from BBC Sport Football www.bbc.com/sport
Photo Credit: Gett Images
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