We may have just seen 2 of the greatest players in Soccer history go head-to-head for the last time. Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi and Ronaldo faced off for what could be the last time on January 19, with Messi’s club, PSG, facing Ronaldo’s team, a Saudi Arabian all-star club, with PSG winning 5-4. Messi and Ronaldo have been the heads of soccer since 2008, when both Messi and Ronaldo won the Ballon D’or 9 straight times from 2008 – 2017. For some, this debate ended last year.

The 2022 World Cup may have been the deciding factor for this world cup. Coming into this world cup, Messi and Ronaldo had zero world cups, the biggest trophy in soccer. Argentina and Portugal, the two’s teams, had both made it to the quarter finals, but for Ronaldo’s Portugal, their dream would end on December 10, as Morocco would knock out Portugal in a 1-0 win as Cristiano Ronaldo would ride the bench this match, as the Portuguese manager looked “For a younger center forward who repaid the boss for the faith,” told Sporting News. Lionel Messi’s Argentina squad would go to the final, winning on penalties, and giving Lionel Messi that desired world cup trophy he has been looking forward to getting since he was a little boy. This was the deciding factor in the decade-old argument for many, but not for all.

In club terms, after 19 years of being in Europe, the biggest club continent, Cristiano Ronaldo signed a record $75 million per year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, after being waived by his former team, England’s Manchester United. “A section of football fans believe Cristiano Ronaldo’s glittering career is fast heading to a ditch, ” said Sports Brief. We will never see a rivalry so great like Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo.