A quiet end to the Messi-Ronaldo saga

The Lionel Messi transfer saga ended on Wednesday night when the Argentine World Cup winner chose Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami as his next home.

His decision broke the hearts of the legions of Barcelona fans and football romantics who had envisioned Messi’s triumphant return to the Catalan club after two years ‘exile’ in Paris.

Messi moving to the US, the place which has been the ‘retirement home’ for top European footballers for many years, also signals the end of an era. 

For over 15 years, two footballers – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – battled it out in Europe for the right to be called the best in the world. Both won a plethora of titles for their respective clubs and earned a long list of individual laurels which proclaimed their greatness to the world.

That rivalry hit a pause in this year’s January when Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Nassr.

There was still a slim chance of the rivalry resuming if Ronaldo, 38, could manage a return to a European club for one last dance, as the recently retired Zlatan Ibrahimovic did a few years ago when he joined AC Milan from MLS club Los Angeles Galaxy.

If not that, the football fans were hoping they could at least witness a diluted version of that rivalry if Messi accepted the billion-dollar offer and turn up at the Saudi league.

But Messi’s decision to move to Inter Miami all but confirms that the greatest rivalry in football history has reached its conclusion.

Ronaldo made his professional debut for Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon in 2003, almost two years before Messi first played a match for the Barcelona senior team.

It didn’t take Ronaldo too long to join a top European club as Sir Alex Ferguson, coach of Manchester United, brought him to England which began a glorious six-year period in Ronaldo’s career where he won the Premier League, Champions League and his first Ballon d’Or.

Messi, on the other hand, quickly became the heart of the Barcelona side and under coach Pep Guardiola, won the Laliga thrice and also the Champions League.

But the rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi really kicked off in 2009, when Real Madrid brought Ronaldo from Manchester and positioned him right across Messi.

The arrival of Ronaldo, ironically, proved beneficial for Messi as the Portuguese in a way brought the best out of him, pushed him to reach his full potential and spurred him to win three Ballon d’Ors in a row.

From 2009 to 2018, for nine years, the football world saw an incredible display of one-upmanship between Messi and Ronaldo.

Messi’s Barcelona dominated La Liga, winning six league titles in nine years. But Ronaldo still had the edge over Messi in terms of team accolades as he won the biggest prize in European football, the UEFA Champions League trophy four times.

However, Messi was a shade ahead when it came to individual prizes, winning the Ballon d’Or five times, compared to Ronaldo’s four wins.

This incredible rivalry first hit a pause in 2018, when Ronaldo packed his bags and left Madrid for Turin to play for Italian giants Juventus.

Although in different leagues, the comparisons between the two icons didn’t stop. The fans still constantly compared their goal tally and assists made by the two and debates about who is better raged on.

In 2021, both Ronaldo and Messi switched clubs under drastically different circumstances.

Ronaldo left Juventus after three years and returned to Manchester United as its prodigal son.

On the other hand, after hearing that Messi re-signing with Barcelona is a matter of formality for months, at the eleventh hour Barcelona president Joan Laporta announced they can’t sign Messi, which shocked everyone, including Messi himself.

Within days, Messi bid a teary-eyed goodbye to Barcelona and joined the Qatar-backed French club Paris Saint Germain.

Although Ronaldo was in England and Messi in France, they were still in Europe at least, playing top-flight football.

But that also changed eventually.

Ronaldo had a public falling out with Manchester United, which included him going on an interview and ranting against the club right before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Manchester United also retaliated by terminating his contract in November 2022.

After the World Cup, Ronaldo made the shock move of leaving Europe and going to the unheralded Saudi league to play for Al-Nassr.

Messi’s time with PSG also ended in a less than amicable manner. The club brought in Messi and formed an outrageous attacking triumvirate with Messi, Neymar Junior and Kylian Mbappe in hopes of ending their drought of European success.

However, their dreams got crushed as even with Messi PSG couldn’t come in the vicinity of the Champions League title.

After it was announced that Messi won’t continue in Paris, the question arose, what’s next for Messi? The Argentine had a $1 billion offer spanning two years from Saudi club Al-Hilal, and a few other undisclosed European clubs also inquired.

But Messi had his heart set on a return to Barcelona.

He waited for the Catalan club to offer a proper deal but in return only got a half-baked proposal with several ifs and buts attached to it. Messi didn’t want to face a similar situation he faced two years back and decided to hitch his wagon with Inter Miami.

Messi and Ronaldo will now continue their careers on different continents. They will vie for different domestic and continental titles and their paths won’t cross in competitive club football.

A rivalry that enthralled millions for years has ended rather unceremoniously.