For the first time since the 2004-2005 season Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in the last eight of the Uefa Champions League.
On Tuesday Ronaldo’s Juventus were shocked by Porto in the round of 16 and last night Messi’s Barcelona were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain. Messi scored and also missed a penalty in the 1-1 draw in France, but PSG progressed 5-2 on aggregate.
With neither Messi, 33, or Ronaldo, 36, in the quarters could we now be witnessing the “end of an era” for the anomaly, Yahoo! Sport reports.
While the Messi-Ronaldo story looks to be winding down, a new European football rivalry has emerged between PSG’s Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland. “The Messi-Ronaldo show may be ending - but the Mbappe-Haaland spin-off has already begun,” says Goal.com.
With 11 Ballon d’Or awards between them there’s no doubt that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go down in history as two of the best football players ever.
Messi has spent his whole senior club career with FC Barcelona, where he has won multiple trophies including Spain’s La Liga ten times and the Uefa Champions League four times.
Portugal skipper Ronaldo has played his club football with Sporting Lisbon (2002-03), Manchester United (2003-09), Real Madrid (2009-2018) and Juventus (2018-present).
His trophy collection includes five Champions League winners’ medals and league titles in England, Spain and Italy. He won the European Championship with Portugal in 2016 and has scored 102 goals for his national team.
