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The two most celebrated footballers in the world, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have missed out on French publication L’Equipe’s Team of 2021. Messi's team-mates Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, have also failed to make the cut this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plies his trade at Manchester United, scored 47 goals in 2021. In the first half of the year, Ronaldo wore Juventus’ prestigious white and black kit and won the Serie A Golden Boot for the 202/21 season. The Portuguese international scored 29 goals in 34 appearances to snag the top scorer award in Italy.
Despite being on the wrong side of 30, Ronaldo has continued to impress in elite European leagues. He is currently Manchester United’s leading goalscorer with 14 goals across all competitions this season and is expected to add plenty more over the coming months. Unfortunately, Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema outperformed the 36-year-old in 2021, which eventually cost him his spot in L’Equipe’s Team of 2021.
While the Portuguese maverick was outmuscled by Benzema and Lewandowski, Messi had to vie with Mohamed Salah for a spot in L’Equipe’s Team of 2021.
Having guided Argentina to the Copa America in the summer of 2021, Messi bagged his seventh Ballon d’Or in November, beating Lewandowski to the punch. Unfortunately for the PSG man, L’Equipe also took his club form for PSG into account.
Having played 11 Ligue 1 matches, the former Barcelona captain has only scored once for PSG, which is below-par for a player of this caliber. His right-wing rival, on the other hand, has emerged as Premier League 2021/22’s leading goalscorer with 16 goals and joint-leading assist-provider with nine assists.
Here is L’Equipe’s complete Team of 2021 (4-4-2): Mendy; Alexander-Arnold, Dias, Marquinhos, Hernandez; Salah, Kante, Jorginho, De Bruyne; Lewandowski, Benzema;
2022 Qatar World Cup could be Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s final dance at the quadrennial event
Winning the World Cup is the dream of every footballer. The two most ambitious footballers of this generation, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are no exceptions. These superstars have tried their best to bring the big one home, but have come up empty-handed so far.
Both Ronaldo (36) and Messi (34) are on the wrong side of 30, meaning the winter World Cup of 2022 could be their last shot at the silverware. Neither superstars have disclosed their retirement plans for international football, but it is unlikely for them to take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
