3 Possible individual rivalries which will rock football in the near future

People of our era are grateful to witness one of the greatest rivalries of all time. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominating world football for more than a decade and shocking the audience by doing the impossible has become almost a routine for the audience.

There is no doubt that we are lucky to witness two of the greatest players in history go toe-to-toe in such a manner for over a decade. Their inhumane consistency and statistics make it feel almost normal though it is almost impossible to comprehend how they kept themselves at the very top and maintained their performances.

Cristiano will soon turn 34 in February and Leo, 32 next June. As the tragedy of life goes, they are not getting any younger. Yet it would be a crime to rule them out as they are still playing at the highest level and dominating every week.

But with the dawn of the new era, new superstars are coming into the scene. It wouldn't be wise to think there will be another rivalry like this one but the football world awaits more sensational players fighting for glory.

Without further ado, let us take a look at a few possible individuals who have the potential to take it to the next level and fight it out when it comes to individual awards:

#1 Eden Hazard ( 27, Chelsea) vs Neymar (26, PSG)

Hazard won the silver ball at the World Cup

The one rivalry which is already turning into quite a battle is between Neymar Jr. and Eden Hazard. They have already faced each other in the World Cup where Belgium got the better of Brazil despite Neymar's best efforts. And the current season is turning out quite fruitful for both of them.

Eden Hazard is on fire for Chelsea since his sensational World Cup. He bagged 4 Man of the match awards in Russia, scoring 3 goals and assisting two.

Since then, Hazard has managed to carry his red-hot form into the Premier League, where he scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists in 12 games so far. There is no doubt that he is the biggest reason behind Chelsea's unbeaten streak this season.

Neymar is the most expensive footballer in the world

Despite Brazil's loss against Belgium in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Neymar created seven chances in that losing cause. He was out injured for months before the World cup but got better as the tournament went on, only to be beaten by Eden Hazard's Belgium in the last eight.

It seems Neymar has shrugged off his injury struggles and Brazil's bitter failure at the World Cup, as he started the season on a high note with Paris Saint Germain. As usual, he is running riot in the Ligue 1, scoring 10 goals and assisting 5 in just 11 appearances for the club.

But what is truly satisfying is his performance in the UEFA Champions League so far. In the group of death comprising of Liverpool, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade, Neymar has managed to bag 3 Man of the match awards in 4 appearances. He is the main driving force amidst a plethora of stars in PSG.

It seems both Hazard and Neymar is almost certain to miss out on the top three of Ballon d'Or this year but we should expect them on the podium of individual awards if they keep their sensational form in the near future.

#2 Harry Kane (25, Tottenham) vs Paulo Dybala (25, Juventus)

In football, the strikers are handed with the most important job of all - to score goals. The huge responsibility of scoring comes with stardom and criticism but these young goalscorers - Paulo Dybala and Harry Kane - seem to be unaffected by all the pressure.

Harry Kane won the Golden Boot at the World Cup and his exploits in the past few seasons is a testament to the fact that he is one of the best forwards in the world. He has scored almost close to 150 goals in the past few seasons for club and country.

After dominating the World Cup where he scored 6 goals and won 2 Man of the match awards for England, he already has 10 goals in all competitions with his club this season. 4 of those goals have come in the UEFA Champions League, where he single-handedly has kept Tottenham alive.

Dybala and Messi have similar styles of play

It is almost shocking how someone as talented as Paulo Dybala gets few chances with his national team. Being more versatile than typical strikers, Dybala can play both as an attacking midfielder or as a forward and help his team as necessary.

While he has scored 4 goals already in the UEFA Champions League - more than his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, he has only 2 goals in Seria A this season. We still have to wait and watch how his partnership with Cristiano turns out but there is no doubt about Dybala's prowess in front of goal.

Both Kane and Dybala will be the talking point in the coming years if they keep on improving. With the biggest clubs wanting their signature, there is a huge chance that both will be fighting out the individual glory in coming years.

#3 Jadon Sancho (18, Borrusia Dortmund) vs Vinicius Junior (18, Real Madrid)

Last but not least, these two young guns are tearing the flanks apart with their brilliance. They still have a long way to go as they have been tested rarely in the biggest stages. But when we talk about potential, these two are the next big things in the game.

While Sancho is almost a regular for Borrusia Dortmund, Vinicius Junior is yet to be tested for Real Madrid. But considering both their potentials, these two can play a huge part in shaping the future of world football for their respective nations and club.

Sancho is already most talked about youngster in the Bundesliga with his four goals and six assists this season in just 5 starts for the club.

On the other hand, Vinicius Jr. is still new to the big stages. He is taking his time settling down at the biggest club of the entire world. He already showed his paces in the recent games for Real Madrid when the team needed him the most.

Despite his limited number of minutes this season, Vinicius' skills and potential is widely talked about in the world.

Like Sancho, it would be interesting to witness the career graph of someone as talented as Vinicius Junior. There is no doubt about the fact that if they fulfil their potential, they will be the future kings of world football.