TOPSHOT - Nominees for the Best FIFA football player, Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi (R) and Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) chat before taking their seats for The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony, on October 23, 2017 in London. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images)
For almost two decades, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been soccer's ultimate business proposition: Two extraordinary athletes, two competing brands and one endless argument over who was better.
This summer's World Cup was supposed to be their final shared stage. The idea that either could survive another four-year cycle (Messi is 39 and Ronaldo 41) and play at the 2030 World Cup seemed implausible. That both might do so was nearly unthinkable.
Instead, the tournament provided two very different reminders that neither player was quite ready to surrender the spotlight.
Messi recorded eight goals and four ***** ists, delivering another reminder that his genius has proved remarkably resistant to age as Argentina finished runners up. Messi did not talk to reporters after the game – his future with the national team very much in doubt.
#lionel
For almost two decades, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been soccer's ultimate business proposition: Two extraordinary athletes, two competing brands and one endless argument over who was better.
This summer's World Cup was supposed to be their final shared stage. The idea that either could survive another four-year cycle (Messi is 39 and Ronaldo 41) and play at the 2030 World Cup seemed implausible. That both might do so was nearly unthinkable.
Instead, the tournament provided two very different reminders that neither player was quite ready to surrender the spotlight.
Messi recorded eight goals and four ***** ists, delivering another reminder that his genius has proved remarkably resistant to age as Argentina finished runners up. Messi did not talk to reporters after the game – his future with the national team very much in doubt.
#lionel
2 months ago
