Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 20th (Reporter Bian Liqun) Only one minute into the game, Messi broke through with the ball, Ronaldo kept up with the defense, the former knocked the ball with his heel, and passed the ball to his teammate...
The 37th Melo match kicked off with a dialogue with enough visual impact.
In just a few seconds, 15 years passed in a trance.
In the friendly match, Paris Saint-Germain led by Lionel Messi beat Ronaldo's Riyadh All-Stars 5:4.
Image credit: Paris Saint-Germain FC social media.
Back in time to the first leg of the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, the 20-year-old Messi and the 23-year-old Ronaldo faced each other for the first time, and the era of "Peerless Twins" began.
Ronaldo, who was still "Little Ronaldinho" at that time, gradually replaced his youthful and rebellious attributes with his unique attributes.
Scored 31 goals in 34 Premier League games that season, leading the team to win the 11th Premier League trophy in team history.
In the Champions League, Ronaldo played 11 times and scored 8 goals.
On a cold and rainy night in Moscow, Ronaldo was crowned the Champions League Golden Boot for the first time in his career and won the Champions League trophy for the first time.
After that, he won the World Footballer of the Year for the first time.
The 37th Melo matchup.
Image source: IC photo
A year later, Messi on the other side took over Ronaldinho's mantle and wore Barcelona's No. 10 jersey for the first time. He played 51 times in various competitions, scored 38 goals and assisted 17 times.
The "six crowns" Barcelona, which was recorded in the annals of history, was born. He led Barcelona to beat rival Real Madrid by 9 points and won the La Liga championship.
He himself also embraced the honors of the Champions League champion, the Champions League Golden Boot and the World Footballer of the Year.
The opponent in the final at that time was Manchester United led by Ronaldo.
Also in the summer of that year, Ronaldo landed from Manchester United to the La Liga giants Real Madrid with a sky-high transfer fee of 80 million pounds.
From the confrontation across the sea, to the reunion in Iberia, and then to going their separate ways, Melo's duel spanned nearly fifteen years.
How many fifteen years can one live?
Data map: Messi and Ronaldo.
35-year-old Messi and 37-year-old Ronaldo, the 37th Melo matchup in history, was staged in Saudi Arabia.
A friendly match with a big score of 5:4.
There is no more tension in the past, and it is more about enjoying football itself, and it is the same for the spectators.
Only 3 minutes into the game, Messi scored for Paris Saint-Germain.
In the 34th minute, Ronaldo equalized the score with a penalty kick.
Nine minutes later, Marquinhos scored to help Paris lead again.
In stoppage time in the first half, Ronaldo scored twice.
Easy side to fight again, Ramos scored to help Paris lead again 3:2.
Then Zhang Xianxiu scored a goal to help the Riyadh All-Stars equalize the score again.
In the 60th minute, Mbappe shot to overtake the score again.
The 37th Melo matchup ended with Ronaldo replaced, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar and other main players were also replaced.
Maybe it was because of the enthusiasm of the game, or because the scene was too hot and carried too much expectation. Ronaldo, who originally decided to play for 45 minutes, played for 61 minutes, allowing the long-lost Melo to face off and dance for a while.
Data map: Messi and Ronaldo face off in the 2020 UEFA Champions League.
The last time the two faced off was in the Champions League in December 2020. Ronaldo's Juventus defeated Messi's Barcelona 3:0.
Times have changed, and the Peerless Twins are approaching the end of their careers.
And after Messi's World Cup dream came true, the debate over the peerless double arrogance is also over.
There is no first in literature, and no second in martial arts.
Perhaps the peerless twins are destined to win or lose.
But in any case, they are peerless twins, competing with each other and achieving each other.
Similarly, they can't resist the ruthlessness of the years.
The 37th Melo fight.
Image source: IC photo
At the end of his career, Ronaldo went to the Saudi League to start a new journey.
Messi, who came to the same goal by different routes, returned to Qatar, the World Cup-winning place, for training after a month, and then transferred to Saudi Arabia to participate in the 37th Melo matchup.
After today, it may be difficult for the peerless twins to have a direct dialogue-it is only a matter of time before they gradually leave the mainstream football arena and the national team retires.
So the time for the peerless twins to dance together is really running out.
But this moment has nothing to do with the future, the important thing is to enjoy the present moment, watch and cherish it.
(Finish)