This will be the last dance between two sporting artists who have graced soccer like no other. The final straw for a dynamic duo that took the game to unprecedented levels.
Welcome to what everyone should wish was a long goodbye between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Please swallow. Please soak. Appreciate the true privilege of seeing two icons strut on the biggest stage once again.
It’s made for sports geniuses like them. No soccer player has transcended the game like Messi or Ronaldo.
They may not be real friends. They won’t be going out to dinner during this World Cup. And they certainly don’t send each other Christmas cards. But when these two appeared at the same time, that same Christmas also came early for “The Beautiful Game.”
In 10 years, Messi and Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or and all other FIFA individual awards. Since 2007, 20 of the 29 Ballon d’Ors have gone to either Messi or Ronaldo.
However, it is their feet that fascinate football lovers. But the numbers surrounding these two are just as surprising.
They have nearly 2,000 career goals between them. He has won 85 trophies for club and country and has a total of 427 international caps (and counting).
These wayward talents have spent the end of two decades obsessed with outdoing each other. It led to a timeless debate about who is the greatest.
Messi’s victory at the World Cup in Qatar four years ago has made him superior to his biggest rival, but it must be said that opinions remain divided.
Messi holding the Best Player award and the 2022 World Cup trophy (Image: Getty Images)
But the main beneficiaries of this seemingly timeless battle between Messi and Ronaldo are all those who had to watch it unfold.
Some who have shared the pitch with them believe this could be a rivalry never seen again. Driven by an unflinching desire for trophies and perfection, Messi and Ronaldo inadvertently pushed each other to unfathomable heights.
“You can’t compare Ferrari and Porsche,” Ronaldo once said before declaring himself the best.
Ronaldo built the brand he wanted. That made him a millionaire. Messi, on the other hand, was not interested in becoming famous like the Portuguese, but given his natural talent he had no choice.
Quiet genius and justified ego?
Perhaps this is how the debate will end. Messi is the greatest soccer player in history and Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer.
Ronaldo wants to complete his collection of major honors for Portugal
In the world of top-level soccer, opinions flood the game like a relentless tsunami, and the final decision is never made.
And frankly, no one should care. Arguments never need to be settled.
The important thing is that one day two very special footballers will retire, and the thrill of watching them dazzle, however great, will become just a memory.
And in the meantime, Messi and Ronaldo will once again appear on the big screen, looking to add further layers to their respective legends.
For a few more weeks, the two gods of the game will try to lend their power to a World Cup that still needs it. No one knows how long this will last.
But for this fact alone we should all be eternally grateful.
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