The Wikipedia entry on the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo runs to 5,700 words. Put another way that is almost double the coverage given to the Wall Street Crash, the event that triggered the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler.
Now, however, the careers of the men who have shared the Ballon D’Or for the last eight years have diverged. After clipping his penalty over the bar in the final of the Copa America, Messi is no longer an international footballer. Ronaldo, two years older, is still standing.
Their international careers demonstrate the validity of Sir Alex Ferguson’s remark that while Ronaldo could play for any team in the world, Messi could only play for Barcelona. In Munich, a decade ago, Ronaldo was playing France in a World Cup semi-final. It had been billed as Portugal v France but to those in the Allianz Arena there appeared only one possible way Portugal would reach the final.
Ronaldo, who had scored the penalty that had eliminated England in the quarter-final, attempted everything he knew to break down France’s defence. It was not enough but he was then 21 years old.
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