Ronaldo and Modric: A ‘farewell’ meeting between two friends

Where might two middle-aged friends, both past 40, run into each other? If they worked ordinary nine-to-five jobs, perhaps on a city street, in a business district, or at a school or college reunion.

Had time not stood still for them, perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric would have crossed paths on another golden evening at the Santiago Bernabeu. But these two footballers seem almost ageless. Even after turning 40, they continue to perform like men years younger.

Within hours, they will meet once again—this time on the World Cup stage, as Portugal face Croatia in the Round of 32.

Who knows? It could be the last time the two friends share such a grand stage.

Never before have two players over the age of 40 faced each other at a World Cup. Inevitably, questions have been raised about whether they can still contribute to their national teams the way they once did.

Neither may be at his absolute peak anymore, but both have provided convincing answers during this tournament.

After drawing a blank against Congo, Ronaldo responded with a brace against Uzbekistan to become the first player ever to score in six different World Cups. His first words after the match were simple: "I''m back."
Yet the doubts resurfaced following Portugal''s game against Colombia. Ronaldo himself acknowledged the constant scrutiny after the Uzbekistan match.

"It''s already 23 years I''ve been a professional and whenever things don''t go well it''s ''Cristiano, he''s finished, he''s old''," Ronaldo said earlier in the tournament.

Modric has been less vocal. If his performances against England and Panama prompted questions about his place in Croatia''s side, he answered many of them with flashes of his vintage brilliance against Ghana.

In that sense, Modric remains just as indispensable to Croatia as Ronaldo is to Portugal.

The Croatian has also joined Ronaldo in another exclusive club. The match against Panama marked Modric's 200th international appearance. Besides Ronaldo and Modric, only two other players in men's international football have reached the milestone of 200 caps for their countries.

This will be the first World Cup meeting between Ronaldo and Modric while representing their national teams.

Before kickoff, as the two captains shake hands, memories from their eight seasons together at Real Madrid are certain to come flooding back.

Modric has repeatedly described Ronaldo as the greatest footballer he has ever seen. When Modric left Real Madrid last year, Ronaldo responded with an emotional social media tribute, wishing his longtime teammate well in the next chapter of his career.

This time, however, both know that one of them will be saying goodbye to the World Cup.

Ronaldo wept at the previous World Cup after Portugal''s elimination by Morocco, forced to watch much of the match from the bench. His tears in the stadium tunnel after the final whistle touched football fans around the world.

Some even wrote what they believed would be the final chapter of Ronaldo's international career.

But Ronaldo refused to say goodbye.

After moving from Europe to Saudi Arabia, he continued scoring at a remarkable rate. He then finished as Portugal''s leading scorer in World Cup qualifying, proving he still deserved to be the national team''s first-choice No. 9.

Modric''s farewell seemed closer after Croatia lost to Argentina in the Qatar semi-finals. Yet instead of tears, he simply said he hoped to continue playing for at least another year.

Perhaps not even he imagined that journey would carry him all the way to another World Cup.

But then, this is Luka Modric.

Like Ronaldo, he is a footballer who seems to have stopped the clock.