Rivals, they have reigned together over the last decade of football.

Eleven Ballons d'Or between them, nine Champions Leagues, duels of anthology… Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo flew over the years 2010, leaving only crumbs to other footballers.

But today, the tide is turning for the two men, whose respective clubs are in bad shape before the knockout stages of the Champions League, against PSG for Barça de Messi, and against Porto for Juve of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Has time caught up with the two living legends of their sport as a young generation arrives with equally maddening statistics, and all eyes are now on Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland?

Disappointing in the first leg

Nothing seemed to succeed for the two "old" stars in the first round of 16.

Although he was behind the Barcelona goal of a bright opening for De Jong, and its conclusion by transforming the penalty obtained by the midfielder, Lionel Messi appeared absent from the debates at Camp Nou against PSG (1-4).

The "Pulga" ended the evening head down, silent, as if resigned ...

On the side of Porto where Juventus lost (2-1), Cristiano Ronaldo did not do much better.

Too isolated and rarely well served, it has not had the slightest opportunity to shine.

For his reunion with Pepe after several years spent together at Real Madrid, the Portuguese was deprived of spaces and always well followed by the defenders of Porto.

He ended the match angry, following the referee's refusal to award him a penalty after contact with an opposing defender.

Ronaldo vs Porto - 02/17/2021 (1-2)



It was not a great Ronaldo against Porto, we hardly saw him of the meeting



Only 1 shot attempted, 1 ball in 3 was lost. .. it's too little



Let's remember this image of Ronaldo and Pepe, reunion between champions



4/10 ❌ pic.twitter.com/ZOxqI5G3Pg

- Leonaldo (@Leonaldo__) March 1, 2021

"We obviously arrive clearly at an end of domination since their two clubs no longer win on the European scene and even on the national scene", judge Alexandre Seban, author of "Messi vs Ronaldo: who is the best?"

(Éd. Solar), interviewed by France 24. “A decline that can be linked to that of their respective teams: today Messi finds himself doing the job of Xavi and Iniesta who previously surrounded him. might not have been Ronaldo's best choice to shine. "

The sky is cloudy over the two superstars: Messi, at the end of his contract, fuels rumors of a departure from Barcelona next summer, while Ronaldo's "Juve", in bad shape, may not winning the Italian Championship for the first time since 2011.

A year 2019/2020 already at half mast

Last season, the worm was in the fruit.

For the first time in fifteen years, neither of the two men had made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Indeed, Cristiano Ronaldo had failed to everyone's surprise in the round of 16 against OL, while FC Barcelona had taken the water against Bayern Munich, future champion, and was humiliated 8 to 2 in a one-way match. unique in the quarter-finals.

Logical consequence: neither of the two men has been nominated for the title of UEFA player of the year 2020. Again, a first since the creation of the award in 2011.

However, individually, Messi and Ronaldo have still impressive and respectable statistics on the current season.

As of March 3, the former already had 24 goals and seven assists in 33 matches while the latter could boast of scoring 27 goals and making 4 assists in 30 appearances.

"They may be late, they retain their aura and their respective counters always green with envy young players like those a little more confirmed," said Alexandre Seban.

"We continue to enjoy watching them play and the season is still long."

New decade, new duo of rivals

Faced with the decline of legends, supporters and the media are necessarily looking for new idols.

And currently, two football prodigies seem to fly over the debates: the French Kylian Mbappé and the Norwegian Erling Haaland.

In the round of 16, their respective performances earned them praise from the press:

"If it is not a passing of the baton, we are not far from it. (...) Mbappé banged his fist on the table for the succession to Messi and Ronaldo", has also greeted La Gazzetta dello Sport after the hat-trick at the Camp Nou of the Frenchman against FC Barcelona

Haaland is not left out.

With Dortmund, he dominated Sevilla FC on his own or almost, with a double and an assist (3-2).

And in a press conference, he spontaneously referred to his rival.

 "When I saw Mbappé register a hat-trick yesterday (Tuesday night at Barça-PSG, 1-4), it gave me motivation, so I thank him," said the prodigy of Borussia Dortmund.

@bvb



Haaland: “Real?

It's always nice when someone wants you ”



🗣️After his double against Sevilla last night, the Borussia player spoke to the press:“ When I saw Mbappé register a hat-trick yesterday, that gave motivation, so I thank him "pic.twitter.com/S1tThusdDs

- Info🗞️ Max (@ InfoAuMax1) February 19, 2021

From there to seeing the beginnings of a rivalry that would animate the next decade of football, there is only one step:

"Haaland seems to be loud mouthed. Mbappé too. Both have performances and attitudes which make this duo to compete with Ronaldo and Messi on the length ... Maybe!" Judge Alexandre Seban.

"We must be right to keep with Mbappé and Haaland. They are clearly the next generation but they are not immune to injury. There have been many early talents who have withered away, often due to injuries: I am thinking in particular of the 'real' Ronaldo (Brazilian Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, Editor's note) whose statistics over the early years were even crazier than Haaland and Mbappé. "

"However, I don't think Mbappé and Haaland will ever have the same aura or the same impact as Ronaldo and Messi. Whether it was in terms of attitude, the way of playing or of radiating, there was something else. with these two. There was something crazier, ”judges the sports journalist.

Alexandre Seban notes, however, that the sanitary period serves both players for their emergence:

"The stadiums are empty. It serves them at the media level: Messi and Ronaldo had these crazy moments where they manage to turn an opposing stadium on a sublime action, like this volley in February 2019 from Messi to Sevilla. The whole stadium was standing and clapping. Haaland and Mbappé can't make that kind of impact right now. "

Haaland and Mbappé in the same championship?

The journalist and essayist also sees another obstacle to the emergence of such an intense rivalry between the two young football prodigies:

"When Ronaldo left La Liga, we lost something in this duel. Mbappé and Haaland will have to end up in a league. One has to go to Barça and the other to Real, which would probably be the best solution. to start piling up the titles and that the media start to get carried away, ”Judge Alexandre Seban.

At the moment, the two stars have faced each other only twice, the time of a double confrontation between PSG and Dortmund just before the health crisis.

If this round of 16 in the Champions League had turned in favor of PSG in terms of the result (3-2), individually, it was Haaland who had won his duel against Mbappé: two goals against a single assist.

"But basically, I don't think we will duplicate Messi and Ronaldo. Messi and Ronaldo have totally different styles, it's Olivier Aton and Marc Landers (the big rivals of the cartoon Olive and Tom, Editor's note). 'one often means to hate the other. I do not think that Mbappé and Haaland have this opposition of style so marked ", concludes Alexandre Seban, whose book on the legendary rivalry concluded thus" Leo sublimates football, Cristiano dominates it . "

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR