The World Cup stage is set for perhaps one final shootout between two of the greatest footballers of their generation – and for many, the two greatest players of all time.
Certainly, this year’s tournament in Qatar gives Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo one last chance to win the final trophy. Even because of his remarkable powers of stamina, it is unlikely that Messi will be 39 and Ronaldo 41 for the next tournament in 2026.
Pele and Diego Maradona – perhaps the only two players who can still challenge the supremacy of Messi and Ronaldo in the history books – earned their reputation from their achievements on this stage.
Pele won the trophy three times with Brazil, while Maradona led Argentina to the title in 1986 with such individual brilliance that it left an indelible mark on the tournament.
For all their brilliance, Argentina’s Messi and Portugal’s Ronaldo are yet to emulate the two men they have spent their careers trying to surpass.
These are the final stages of his career, in which he has received 12 Ballon d’Or awards, nine Champions League titles, 18 league titles and many other accolades. But adding the World Cup will be the last at a time when both the players are seeing their powers dwindling.
Messi has recently spoken like a man who finally admits he can’t go on forever.
“I’m lucky to be able to be in this World Cup at the age of 35,” the Argentine told DirectTV in October. “After this World Cup, we will see what can happen with my career.”
Meanwhile, Ronaldo left for Qatar with his career after failing to make a move away from Manchester United and being ousted by manager Eric ten Haag. Last month, he was dropped from the squad and had to train separately from the first team as punishment for refusing to come in as a substitute against Tottenham.
At this point in time, it is impossible to judge what state he might be in mentally or physically at the World Cup.
Similarly, it is impossible to deny a player who has repeatedly set new standards even during his playing days. He recently scored his 700th career club goal.
Among the great rivals, Messi seems to have the edge right now. Even though he hasn’t repeated his best years at Barcelona since joining Paris Saint-Germain, he is proving to be even more impressive in his second season in France, with goals running once again.
The position both of them are in to compete in the World Cup is a testament to how well they have taken care of their bodies.
Dave Hancock, a former England physiotherapist who became director of training and performance for the New York Knicks and is now CEO of sports data management app Apollo, believes football players have followed the lead set by American athletes .
“You see that in a lot of American sports,” Hancock told the Associated Press. “I have seen people like Kevin Durant and Saxon Barkley being cared for privately over the years.
“If you look at Tom Brady, he’s 45. He’s got his own guy. They have a team around them, so they realize the longer they play, the more money they make.”
Hancock said Messi and Ronaldo share similar mental traits – even though they differ physically.
“They are a little bit different players and have a different, what we call somatotype, which is their physical physique,” he said. “But clearly the guys who’ve been playing at the highest level for so long have understood what they need to do to keep it going, whether it’s working out in the gym, what they eat, sleep.
“With all these people, if you look at any industry, the best of the best will either continue to reinvent themselves, but keep working to be the best of the best.”
Neither Messi nor Ronaldo will be defined by the World Cup, even if it continues to oust them. Times have changed and with the success of the Champions League and the Premier League in particular, club football has overtaken the international sport in terms of profile and popularity.
Fans around the world have been able to witness the talent of Messi and Ronaldo on a twice-weekly basis, which was never the case with Pele or Maradona.
Their respective exploits for Barcelona and Real Madrid, in particular, created a rivalry unlike any in the sport, with the Ballon d’Or becoming an individual duel for almost more than a decade, while their scoring heights reached ever-increasing heights. Went.
His achievements at the highest levels of the club’s sport have been such that it is redundant to suggest any logic to prove himself in international competition. Not least because both have ended their barren runs with their national teams, with Ronaldo leading Portugal to victory at the 2016 European Championships and Messi winning the Copa America with Argentina last year.
But the World Cup is the last frontier – and perhaps an opportunity for one of these remarkable players to write a glorious final chapter.
