An era within an era. The greatest among the best. Each is a contender for No.1 in history. These and other characteristics have long been the companions of two of the greatest footballers of modern times. Ronaldo and Messi or Messi and Ronaldo. The sequence depends solely on the preferences of the individual connoisseur.

For two, Ronaldo and Messi have celebrated 74 years, but remain an example not only of exemplary professionalism, but also of exceptional skill. Yes, their best years are behind them. Yes, they no longer attract the attention of gloryhunters from around the world. Now only the greatest connoisseurs watch matches involving their clubs. But the question that was asked at the beginning of their journey in the big Game is still relevant today. Moreover, the time to summarise the final results is not far off. So, who has taken the lead from the heights of dozens of years spent at the highest level? For those seeking a different kind of excitement, Slotozen casino review offers a thrilling array of games, echoing the electrifying atmosphere of football matches where legends like Ronaldo and Messi shine.

2023 for the Portuguese

Despite the difference in age of almost two and a half years, Lionel and Cristiano, as if conspiring, once again made important steps in their careers “synchronously”. It’s about saying goodbye to European football and actually wanting to pocket more money before actually retiring.

Ronaldo is the highest paid footballer of 2023.

As a senior right back, Ronaldo left the Old World seven months earlier. However, decisive in the case of local success of the Portuguese in the confrontation with his nemesis at the end of the previous year was not this.

Of course, Cristiano was noticeably more scoring, also because of the greater number of matches played. Unlike the Argentine, Ronaldo played more matches and scored a noticeably higher number of goals. However, even more weighty was the fact of the importance of the Pyrenean for his team. Ronaldo was the driving force behind Al Nasr’s victory in the Arab Champions League. Against that background, Messi’s achievement – a gift from Beckham’s club in the form of a League Cup win – looks considerably less convincing. 

Barely half of the year Lionel spent at a nominally much higher level – we are talking about the last months in France and PSG before moving to Inter Miami. However, it is obvious that this, as well as the entire period of Messi’s stay in Paris, was not accompanied by his football – Lionel did not play first fiddle at Saint-Germain. And this is not a role that suits a dominant player.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, not only made a decisive contribution to the resounding success of the new club, but also finally attracted attention with more than a serious individual achievement. Cristiano scored the most goals in 2023, surpassing both his former rivals in European football. This fact should not be underestimated. In the race for permanent recognition, the issue of excellence on a personal level will always not be the last. 

It is not the case that goals and titles matter

Whoever is closer to you and seems cooler, Messi and Ronaldo are about the same size. This is also indicated by the sheer number of factors regarding the dozens of individual achievements of both clumps.

At first glance, Lionel’s figures look more weighty. On average, the Argentine needed fewer matches for one goal than Cristiano. At the same time, however, so far the Portuguese has recorded more goals than Flea.

Messi heads our top of the best footballers at number 10.

Messi is also ahead of Ronaldo in terms of the number of Golden Balls. While Lionel has lifted the highest individual honour above his head eight times, Cristiano has lifted it “only” five. “Dwarf” is ahead of “Dwarf” and in terms of titles at team level – 43 against 30 for the opponent. However, caveats like “Messi played at Barcelona when that team couldn’t help but beat everyone and everywhere” will always be there. That’s what football is for. 

“All the above figures are not at all an attempt to favour one of the heroes of the material. Everything is exactly the opposite. This state of affairs allows us to make sure once again that before us are Masters who are worth each other. “

Messi still speaks one trump card, which Ronaldo probably can not overlap. We are talking about the World Cup title, won not so much in collaboration with his partners in the “albiceleste”, but presented to Argentina from the royal shoulder of the “Dwarf”. 

MLS is not Saudi Arabia

In assessing the performances of two recent trendsetters in world football, it is impossible to ignore the environment of their performances. At first glance, the championships in which CR7 and the Flea find themselves are comparable and essentially similar. However, in reality, there is a significant difference between Major League Soccer and Saudi Pro Leaguе championships. And not in favour of the Asian-based tournament.

The reasons lie in the long-standing approaches of club managers and even the tournaments themselves, which include Lionel and Cristiano’s teams, and are not at all up to them. The competition between the best clubs in Saudi Arabia in its current form is essentially a new championship that has no sporting, let alone financial basis, and is fuelled solely by the almost bottomless budgets of the club owners, who in turn have the full co-operation of the state commodity monopoly monster. Moreover, even more so. It is in the state’s “Go! Do it!” – is the main difference between the championships in which Ronaldo and Messi play.

MLS is a time-honoured competition. American businessmen are unrivalled in their ability to make money out of nothing. When soccer, as a sport that was not popular among the inhabitants of the United States and Canada, came to these countries, few believed in the idea of its viability. However, time has shown that the sceptics were wrong. 

Modern MLS clubs, for the most part, have learnt to make money. Market rails, on which became the teams participating in the competition, made the project attractive from the point of view of the sporting component. That’s why today MLS is the league that is the closest of any competition outside the Old World to the top European championships.

“If you compare the pace of matches and the level of performance in the American tournament today and some three to five years ago, there are two big differences in front of us.”

That’s exactly the kind of championship Messi is playing in. Whereas Saudi Arabia, despite the rapid injection of hundreds of millions of euros and dollars, is still much closer to repeating the fate of the Chinese Super League. The Celestial Empire was home to yesterday’s superstars who, for one reason or another, left Europe because they were unwilling or unable to meet the high standards. The Saudi Pro Leaguе now has the glory of being more successful and attractive from all sides, a tournament that has a future. 

Instead of the bottom line

The departure of Messi and Ronaldo represents the end of a golden age of extremely high profile mega-powered individualists. None of Europe’s top clubs now have such a dependence on their top performers as Lionel and Cristiano’s clubs did during their peak performance years.

No matter how long the Portuguese and Argentine have left in the big Game, all those who had and have the opportunity to live in the time when they were and are creating on the fields of the world are the lucky ones. Such a grand absentee rivalry between great worthies does not happen every day – not every decade.

However, the time for nostalgia should be put aside for later. Both aim to renew old records and set some new ones. That’s what they are – those fidgety best players of the last 20 years.

Bonus. Who to replace? 

But whichever of the two record-breaking champions has the tag of favourite in your mind, Messi and Ronaldo as heirs to the throne in sport’s No 1 are not forever. The Argentine ball-winner and the Portuguese wizard are already lined up behind the Argentine ball-winner and the Portuguese wizard, with a queue of those wanting to take the crown and surpass the achievements of the ‘veterans’.

Almost the greatest potential in this company belongs to Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham. The Englishman has been compared to Zinedine Zidane for his elegance in the game, but his impact on the Blancos’ results is primarily determined by his fantastic number of goals as a midfield player. Furthermore, he is only 20 and already looks to be an established quantity.

Kylian Mbappe has been on the radar for more than one year in a row, and for a long time it seemed that the credentials of the most influential footballer in the world would go to him. However, in the case of the already 25-year-old PSG striker, it is the club’s domicile and the team’s capabilities that will determine everything. The prospects of “Saint-Germain” are questionable, even though it is a topic of a separate conversation.