Ronaldo vs Messi canceled: Second Champions League last 16 draw set

A technical error has forced UEFA to re-do the Champions League last-16 draw, leaving Ronaldo and Messi’s showdown at risk.

A second draw for the Champions League last-16 will take place in Nylon, Switzerland, at the UEFA headquarters on Monday.

UEFA has confirmed the first draw is now void, and the second one will begin at 15:00 (CET).

What happened?

The original draw earlier in the day was overshadowed when Manchester United were mistakenly drawn to face Group F opponents Villarreal in the first knockout phase – despite the rules forbidding it.

Therefore, the tie was invalid and ex-Arsenal star Andriy Arshavin, one of the men tasked with picking the balls, was told to select another opponent for Villarreal – which turned out to be Manchester City.

Another error occurred after Group B runners-up Atletico Madrid were drawn. Their possible last-16 opponents – all group winners – were then put into a separate pot, but United were not included.

It definitely looks like #mufc’s ball – in the second pot from the right, back row – was not included in the Atletico Madrid draw. pic.twitter.com/ubxQHdjkQV

— Mark Critchley (@mjcritchley) December 13, 2021

UEFA’s statement

“Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League round of 16,” read a statement from UEFA.

”As a result of this, the draw has been declared void and will be entirely redone at 15:00 CET.”

The original last-16 draw

Below are the results from the original last-16 draw that took place in Nylon earlier on Monday.

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