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The pair battled at the top for so long that it’s hard to imagine us not witnessing them face off again.
We will never see a rivalry like Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo, right? Nothing that can match the stakes, the spectacle, the competitiveness or the pure level of football shown for years and years and years. There have been many great rivalries in this sport, but none like this.
It emerged just as social media began to flourish, forcing everyone to choose a side. Were you behind Messi, the Argentine magician who led Barcelona’s tiki-taka revolution? Or was he backing Ronaldo, the unbreakable force of will at the helm of a Real Madrid team that dominated Europe’s major competitions like no other?
The world couldn’t help but notice the heights that Messi and Ronaldo were reaching. But, even without the arrival of Twitter or TikTok, this rivalry would not be lacking. They were simply too good for too long to overlook.
Fans around the world grew up with Messi and Ronaldo. Many fell in love with the sport thanks to them. Even those who loved the game long before its arrival cannot deny it. Fans can love Pelé, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Zinedine Zidane, Alfredo Di Stéfano… whoever. But Messi and Ronaldo? Almost everyone admits that they have reached a level of their own.
Still, everything comes to an end. Yes, even these two. They’ve defied Father Time for longer than anyone could have imagined, but make no mistake, it’s coming. Neither of them play in Europe’s top leagues anymore, and both now lend their names and reputations to leagues that hope to one day compete with the best.
On Thursday, Messi and Ronaldo were set to face off when Inter Miami took on Al-Nassr in Riyadh, but on the eve of the successful encounter, Luis Castro delivered crushing news. His star wouldn’t play.