For the first time in 21 years, European club football is going to continue without Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. The two are nearing the end of their careers and are widely recognised as the best players to ever play the “beautiful game.”
Ronaldo, 38, agreed to a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr FC in 2022, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. Lionel Messi, his rival who turns 36 later this month, agreed to join Inter Miami, a team in the Major League Soccer of the United States.
Since the two have been the only players to dominate world football since 2008, their careers are unavoidably coming to an end, and we are unlikely to witness another rivalry like this one.
Together, Messi and Ronaldo have 593 assists and a staggering 1,643 goals. They have a combined total of 12 Ballon d’Ors and 75 international trophies. From 2008 until 2017, only these two greats competed for the Ballon d’Or, creating a never-before-seen rivalry.
Luka Modric became the first player to win a Ballon d’Or during the Ronaldo-Messi period in 2018, breaking the duopoly. Messi went on to win the Ballon d’Or twice more, in 2019 and 2021, while Ronaldo earned his final award in 2017.
As they get ready to usher in the current era—one without Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—football fans all across the world will never forget the innumerable memories this era offered them.