Is it the End of an Era for the World’s Best?: How time may be catching up with Messi and Ronaldo
The 33-year-old Lionel Messi and 36-year-old Christiano Ronaldo are undoubtedly some of the greatest soccer players of all time. However, after both legends failed to qualify for the UEFA Champion League semi-finals two years in a row, some soccer fans are speculating that age is catching up with their performances. Others believe that Ronaldo and Messi are still on top of the soccer world, and their team’s lackluster performances may not be their fault at all. Instead, they believe that Ronaldo and Messi should seek transfers if they want to continue to dominate the European soccer scene. However, as of late, eyes have turned towards younger players such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. The Messi-Ronaldo era might just be coming to an end.
Although Messi and Ronaldo have not dominated the Champions League circuit, their play in their respective domestic leagues does not suggest that they are slowing down. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still the top goal scorers in both of their own leagues; Ronaldo scored 25 goals in the Serie A and Messi scored 23 goals in LaLiga. Both players are also still playing a central role at their clubs as captains, marquee players, and goal scorers. Furthermore, their teams, Barcelona and Juventus, are currently both in third place in their leagues. While Juventus may not be in contention to win the title, Barcelona is only two points behind first place with one month of play remaining.
While Messi and Ronaldo are still performing well in domestic play, both soccer legends have been struggling in Europe’s most difficult competition, the UEFA Champions League. The two legends simply have not performed well enough for their teams to make a deep run in the tournament, netting just three and four goals respectively. Barcelona and Juventus have also failed to come anywhere close to reaching the Champions League Final in the last few years. In fact, Lionel Messi hasn’t won the Champions League in over nine years now. Michael Kovacs from the Last Word on Sports has described Messi and Ronaldo’s Champions League season as “a Champions League to forget for the duo.”
Barcelona is currently undergoing a serious rebuild. In order to replace its stars that have retired in recent years, Barcelona has been signing and playing many up-and-coming talents. Messi has been disappointed with his new teammates, repeatedly showing his frustration on the pitch. Last season, Messi stated, “we have been an erratic and weak team, who can be beaten with enough intensity and enthusiasm. We have lost a lot of points which we shouldn't have done and been very inconsistent.” Although Barcelona has been performing better in recent weeks, Messi may not be as enthusiastic to play because of his team’s poor performance. This dissatisfaction has proven to be a hindrance for Messi and he must seek a transfer. Similarly, Ronaldo also needs to find a new club if he wants to perform at a top level, as Juventus hasn’t even gotten past the round of 16 in the last three years. These inadequate personal and team performances may suggest that Ronaldo and Messi are better off finding a new team to play for if they want to continue their careers.
Recently, the media has shifted its focus from Messi and Ronaldo to younger talents. Players such as Neymar, Mbappé, and Haaland have been frequently headlining global soccer news, and rightfully so; their teams, PSG and Dortmund, have been performing better than Barcelona and Juventus in outer-league play. Football fans should prepare for a new era of soccer dominated by prodigies such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, who have both been the star players on their teams. Mbappé is only 22-years of age and Haaland is 20, and many fans believe they are the world’s next Ronaldo and Messi. To support these speculations, both youngsters have taken many goal-scoring records away from Messi and Ronaldo. Just recently, Kylian Mbappé became the youngest player in history to score 25 Champions League goals, passing Messi’s record, and Haaland became the top goal scorer in the Champions League, netting ten goals–twice as many as Messi.
It will be intriguing to see if Messi and Ronaldo seek a transfer this upcoming summer, because that may be the only way for their domination to continue. Both legends plan on playing for a few more seasons, but their worsening performances suggest that their time is coming to an end. While they are still some of the world’s best on the field, it is clear that a new era of soccer has arrived, one characterized by young and promising talent.
