FIFA World Cup 2022: For Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, a final shot at immortality

Is it even possible to have a conversation about modern football without the mention of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi? Is it even possible to overlook the contribution of these two legends to the sport? Is it possible that both these mega stars can end their careers without ever winning the World Cup? While the answer to the first two questions is a resounding no, the third one still remains in limbo.

Both Ronaldo and Messi have won everything there is to win at the club level and both of them have also guided their respective national teams to continental glory. However, the FIFA World Cup trophy continues to elude them. It was back in 2006 when the two footballers made their debut in the competition but except for 2014, none of them has come close to achieving the ultimate dream.

With the footballers slowly approaching the twilight of their careers, there is a strong chance that 2022 can be the final World Cup which will feature them both. Till now, the criticism was mainly against the rest of the side not being good enough to clinch the title. However, Argentina and Portugal both boasts of exciting squads at present and bookmakers have already hailed them as likely title contenders.

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But, when it comes to the two legends, the situations ahead of the tournament were poles apart.

Messi surprised the world in 2021 by joining French champions PSG from FC Barcelona in a move that saw him create a world-class attacking trio with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. While the first season was quite shaky, he found his footing in 2022 with 10 assists – the most in the five top European leagues – and seven goals with an impressive average of 1.2 expected goal involvements per 90 minutes.

With the Argentina team showing glimpses of genius in the qualification, Messi was once again the master conductor that made all the instruments click and produced perfect harmony in results. Ahead of the tournament, several Argentine footballers have already come out to say that they want to win the trophy for Messi and there is a combined sentiment that has driven the team in the recent past.

On the other hand, it has been a turbulent year for Ronaldo. He has hardly featured for Manchester United in the Premier League and his strained relationship with manager Erik Ten Hag has not helped matters. The story was not much different for the national team as he had a creative average of one goal per 284 minutes – the worst for him since 2009. Even when he got a chance for United, he proved to be wasteful and with just three goals in the entire season till now, he was unable to make his mark.

On top of the poor run of form, his recent tell-all interview with Piers Morgan once again put him in the crosshairs of the media and experts who questioned his professionalism. The situation reached such a level that his interaction with Portugal and Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes in the dressing room became massive news before both players officially denied any rift between them. In such a situation, questions continue to exist on what mindset he will be in as the tournament begins.

The stage is officially set and there is no turning back now. Both teams will begin their campaignthis week and in the next few weeks, we will know for sure whether any of these two legends can finally add the coveted trophy to their kitty. However, for the two legends who have miraculously never started in the knockout stages of a World Cup, the journey still seems long and quite tricky.