Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had their fair share of iconic battles, but it is now time to say goodbye to two icons who gave so much to the game.
As football enters a new age with different managerial philosophies, technological advancements, emerging talents, and new battles, it will not move forward as it can if the footballing world is still fixated on a battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi that has long reached its conclusion.
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The pair have been involved in an ongoing rivalry to become the "GOAT" (greatest of all time) since Ronaldo won his first of five Ballons d'Or in 2008, before Messi won his first of eight the following year. Then, for the next eight years the award would be interchanged between the pair in an era of absolute dominance.
They broke countless records, and won a staggering amount of trophies — team and individual — on their paths to greatness as they competed to intensely to one-up one another.
To date, the Argentine has scored 721 club career goals and amassed 344 assists, while his Portuguese counterpart has netted 731 times and created 234 assists.
Now, however, it seems as though a "last dance" of sorts is in the works, with the world eyeing up one more opportunity to witness the two greats go at it.
According to reports, Barcelona are looking to organise a star-studded match at the Camp Nou that features the two headliners, among other players, but, of course, the pair will most likely play on opposing teams as to keep that narrative going. The match is also intended to be a proper farewell to Messi from Barcelona after he left the Blaugrana in 2021 as a free agent to join Paris Saint-Germain.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving an icon a farewell, I feel that a problem arises when the eyes of the entire world is fixated on that match and the rivalry between the players. It's as if football in general is struggling to get over the fact that their time has passed and there are new player rivalries and battles to look towards. However, if we're all too busy being blinded by this nostalgia, we miss the opportunity to take in what some footballers are already doing in today's game at the highest level.
Take Erling Haaland, for example. Many will argue that because of this nostalgia and the game's desire to give the former Barcelona forward a romantic goodbye, the Norwegian machine, an absolute freak of nature, was unable to win what some would feel to be a deserved Ballon d'Or after a campaign that saw his Manchester City win a treble with his contribution of 52 goals and nine assists in 53 matches.
Kylian Mbappe is another who has been overshadowed and perhaps deserve more recognition. When we reflect on the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we realise that he had an outstanding tournament and carried his country on his back, scoring a hat-trick to help his side come back from a two-goal deficit to a score of 3-3 in the final. It is quite baffling how that is not spoken about enough as if it is just something that someone can do on any given day of the week.
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These two were dealt a bad hand and so have many other stars who have been overshadowed by the superstar pair. Yes, Messi and Ronaldo are two players who are out of this world and have done some extraordinary things. However, there are other players who also deserve the spotlight for their incredible achievements.
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