Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have defined an era of football between them. For the past 10 years, the honour of best footballer in the world award a Messi-Ronaldo faceoff, with other footballers simply attending the party out of courtesy and to pose for photographs. For younger fans, football without Messi and Ronaldo feels quite strange – as if such a time has never existed, and never will.
When we talk about them a few years later, it will not be about a dazzling display from the previous night, but a fond reminiscence of the sheer pride and honour of having witnessed the greatest football rivalry of all time with our own eyes.
Yes, Messi and Ronaldo will retire, leaving a void that will never be replaced by anything like it.
But what will happen to football then? What happens to the world of football when Messi and Ronaldo retire? We examine what football would look like:
#1 Neymar would ascend the throne as the best player in the world
When Neymar stepped up to take a free-kick in the 87th minute against PSG at Camp Nou, several fans had consigned to defeat; 3 goals in the space of 5 or 6 minutes was deemed improbable, if not impossible.
A free kick, a penalty and an assist later, Neymar would go down in history as the architect of the greatest Champions League comeback of all time. Derided in several quarters for his tendency to dive and showboat, the Brazilian nonetheless remains the most likely contender to inherit the throne of the best player in the world.
Other notable names in the mix include Antoine Griezmann, Gareth Bale, and Pogba, or, if you were to step down one generation further, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, and Gabriel Jesus. But as it stands, if you were to put your money on it, one would most certainly back Neymar – amidst all the nostalgia of missing Messi and Ronaldo, one can't help but wonder when Neymar will finally seize the coveted Ballon d'Or from the formidable duo.
#2 Barcelona and Real Madrid's grip on European football would be slackened
5 of the last 8 Champions League titles have gone to Barcelona or Real Madrid – thus establishing themselves as the two best club football teams on the planet over the last decade. It is easy to see that the presence of the two best players in the world has directly contributed to their sustained dominance – so once Messi and Ronaldo retire, how will the power hierarchy in club football shape up?
Without their current stalwarts, Barca and Real will certainly be in the mix for European honours year after year. But a glance in the dugout for both these teams suggests the presence of elite players has somewhat alleviated the need for an unparalleled coach.
Enrique and Zidane, for all their qualities, have better counterparts around the world – so it is safe to assume that once the era of Messi and Ronaldo fades into oblivion, the two super clubs will once again resume the battle – this time not just for the best players in the market, but also for the best managers.
Their retirement, along with the ever increasing amount of money flowing into English football, could lead to a shift in the balance of power towards England over the next decade. Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea all seem set for bright futures under new managers with seemingly endless reserves of cash.
Then, of course, there are teams like Bayern and Juventus who will always be in the reckoning.
#3 Argentina and Portugal would struggle
Lionel Messi's recent four-match suspension for swearing at a match official has cast a big shadow on Argentina's 2018 World Cup qualifying prospects. With a dismal record of 5 matches lost and 2 drawn out of 8 qualifying matches played without Messi, the team and its coach need to regroup quickly and find a solution, or else we have in our hands the unthinkable prospect of a World Cup without Argentina.
It has come late – but now there is a universal recognition of the reliance that Argentina has on Messi. Having been criticised in the past for underwhelming performances at the national level, Messi has responded to his critics with stellar displays in WC 2014, Copa America 2016 and the ongoing CONMEBOL. Argentina will have a huge void to fill when Messi retires – as was demonstrated by the outcry over the captain's retirement after Copa America 2016 and his subsequent return.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, has always been a national hero – perhaps never more so than when he scored two goals in three minutes against Sweden in the 2014 WC playoffs to lead his team to Brazil.
The passion Ronaldo has for his country is also the stuff of legends; anyone who has seen the sight of a tearful Ronaldo leaving the field injured after 23 minutes in the Euro 2016 final would agree to his pride and honour of wearing the Portugal jersey.
With no clear talisman primed as a successor to Ronaldo, Portugal's future after his retirement remains hazy – although, of course, the prospect still seems a fairly long time away.
#4 Football statisticians will have time to breathe again
"Hey there, come on. We have work to do."
"Again?" Came the exasperated reply.
"Yeah, yet another record has been broken – can't these guys give us at least a week worth of peace?"
"Who is it this time – Messi or Ronaldo?"
"Well, BOTH!"
If you have been employed as a football statistician/record keeper over the past decade, we football fans feel for you – we really do.
Messi and Ronaldo have made existing records obsolete almost on a weekly basis – most goals scored in La Liga (Messi) vs most goals scored in Champions League (Ronaldo); most goals scored in club competitions in a calendar year (Messi; 79 in 2012) vs most international goals in a calendar year (Ronaldo; 25 in 2013); Argentina's all-time top goal scorer vs Portugal's all-time top goalscorer; the list goes on and on.
When these two retire, perhaps a few football statisticians can retire as well – and finally get the time to go home and meet their family after years!
#5 Football will finally move on – with the magical sprinkling of nostalgia
There will be thousands of articles written; millions of tweets doing the rounds; myriad eulogies uttered – but finally, at the end of it all, football will move on. Just as football moved on from Maradona and Pele, from Zidane and Ronaldinho, from Maldini and Nesta, again the show must simply go on – and it will.
That is when the magic of nostalgia will start to take hold – as good as Zidane and Ronaldinho were, it is debatable whether they were as good as our biased and nostalgic memories tell us.
In a similar way, we will tell our younger generations stories of Messi and Ronaldo; stories that captivate them and motivate them, stories that won't be out of a place in a fantasy fiction thriller; stories that will help us keep perspective of how insanely good they were.
Perhaps at least then, the cloud of rivalry surrounding them will be lifted; and their respective fans would appreciate the other more in tune with their superhuman achievements.
