The 2026 World Cup may be the last trophy Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ever jointly compete for.They are among the greatest players to ever kick a ball and their compelling rivalry has transcended the sport for decades. They may have barely shared a pitch in the past eight years but comparisons between the two remain constant — and perhaps always will, whatever they do for the rest of their careers and lives.It has been a rivalry of trophies, goals and resentment, even spawning a culture war.This is the story of football’s GOATs (Greatest Of All Time). We may never see this again.It began on April 23, 2008, when Messi’s Barcelona hosted Ronaldo’s Manchester United in a Champions League semi-final, first leg, at the Nou Camp.Given what would become of these two incredible players, the first on-pitch meeting wasn’t exactly a sign of things to come. Ronaldo, who was born in 1985, missed a penalty in the third minute, Messi (born in 1987) was subbed off after an hour, and the match finished 0-0.Ronaldo misses a penalty in his first meeting with Messi (Mike Egerton – PA Images via Getty Images)Of the 36 occasions they have faced each other in their careers at club and international level, this has been the only goalless encounter.Ronaldo was 23 at this point and already a favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, while the Argentine had emerged as Barcelona’s next superstar.When they shook hands before kick-off, producing an iconic photograph, it is believed this is the first time they had met face-to-face.Messi chases Ronaldo in that first match (Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)How different were the two players as youngsters? Diego Forlan played alongside a fledgling Ronaldo at United and then was in La Liga with Villarreal and Atletico Madrid to see the Messi phenomenon unfold as their rivalry took hold.Forlan tells The Athletic of Ronaldo: “He wanted to work on perfection, he wanted to be the best. You could see he was going to be important soon, but when he started, he was all about dribbling, skills and doing all kinds of tricky things.“Then he became a striker and he’s been scoring goals since then — a lot of goals.“It was only after he changed his way of playing that he became a killer, scoring so many goals and becoming the great player he is.“Messi was different to Cristiano because he remained the same type of player. All that changed was that he started scoring more goals with experience.“He was always very unpredictable, very good, a superb passer, incredibly decisive. Different player but the same results: lots of goals.”Back in 2008 and their first head-to-head meetings, Ronaldo’s United won the second leg 1-0 at Old Trafford (Paul Scholes scored the winner) and they won the Champions League the following month, while Ronaldo also pipped Messi to win his first ever Ballon d’Or that year, a reward for scoring 42 goals in 49 club matches. Messi was runner-up.Ronaldo with the Champions League trophy after Manchester United beat Chelsea in the 2008 final (Julian Finney – Uefa/Getty Images)“Manchester United have quality everywhere but if I had to pick one out, it would be Ronaldo,” Messi said a year later, ahead of the pair meeting in the Champions League final in 2009.“He is a player I would pay to watch.“He and I are very different players but he is unbelievable, very special, and it will not be easy to stop him.”Ronaldo said around the same time: “He’s a very good player, but comparisons are never useful. I don’t like them.”He would have to get used to them. Barcelona won the Champions League that year, and Messi won the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo was second. It had begun.Their rivalry was cemented, amplified and became the biggest talking point in world football from the years 2009 to 2018, in which they played for Barcelona and Real Madrid.The two best players in the world playing for the two biggest clubs, breaking record after record, facing each other 30 times on the pitch and knowing that, if they did not win La Liga, or the Champions League, or the golden boot, or the Ballon d’Or, the other almost certainly would instead.Away from El Clasico, they have only faced each other on six occasions (three Barcelona v United games, one Barcelona v Juventus clash and two Portugal against Argentina matches).This was the peak, this was unprecedented, this was history unfolding every single year, constantly jostling not just for individual awards but for every major honour in football.Each extraordinary performance by one seemed to demand an immediate response from the other. Hat-tricks, breathtaking goals and decisive moments became almost routine, creating the sense that neither would allow the other to pull clear.Messi celebrates a goal against Real Madrid with his Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez (David Ramos/Getty Images)Their contrasting personalities only fuelled the fascination. Messi’s quiet, instinctive genius contrasted sharply against Ronaldo’s relentless drive, supreme athleticism and unwavering self-belief. Fans inevitably took sides, while the media framed almost every achievement through the lens of their rivalry, turning each Clasico into a global event watched by hundreds of millions.The competition reached its peak between 2011 and 2014, when Barcelona and Real Madrid were Europe’s dominant forces under Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and later Carlo Ancelotti. During that period, domestic and European honours were often decided by which superstar could deliver the defining moment.La Liga, by default, became the must-watch league in the world, too. “It gave the league a stamp of being the best,” Forlan says. “The best players at these huge clubs. Not even the Premier League could say that.“It wasn’t just in La Liga where they met either. They’d meet in the Copa del Rey, in finals, in different games. Maybe the only game they didn’t meet was in a Champions League final. Imagine that? The stadiums were always full for Clasicos but the TV audiences became global.”In those nine seasons, they won eight La Liga titles (Atletico Madrid's 2014 triumph being the only exception), eight Pichichi (the La Liga golden boot, with Luis Suarez in 2016 the only exception), six Champions Leagues and seven Copa del Reys, while smashing the all-time goalscoring records for both clubs.Ashley Cole was considered one of the best left-backs in the world at the time and faced both players in their peak years.He was also thought to have a good record against both players, but as he tells The Athletic, it felt almost impossible to contain either of them.“I live on the statistic that Messi never scored against a team I played in,” he says. “For me, he was the best in the world. He was just so unpredictable, very clever, and astute.Cole challenges Messi during a match between Barcelona and Chelsea in 2009 (Clive Rose/Getty Images)"You could not give him a second to breathe and when you tried to stop him at source, it was just impossible."He could go left, he could go right, he was strong, he was powerful, he was dynamic. He had everything a full back hated to go up against."He would take up positions where he was impossible to mark, in between the back line and the midfield, between the centre half and full-back."As a group, you just had to try to manage him, to try to limit him in and around the box. At Chelsea, we kind of did that. In the 2012 Champions League semi-final, he missed a penalty and that was the luck that we had with our run to winning it in Munich."With Ronaldo, it was always a battle against him and we had many, but I always say this: if it was just me versus Messi or me versus Ronaldo on a pitch, it is a case of 'bye bye' because they are just too good at what they are great at, going left, going right."They have a great understanding of dragging full backs to where they want them. It was not just a one-man band against these players. As a group, we tried to nullify their strengths and use my strength within a team."Ronaldo ghosts between Cole and Frank Lampard while playing for Manchester United (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)By the time Ronaldo left Spain for Juventus in 2018, the rivalry had reshaped football's modern era. Between them, they had rewritten goalscoring records and elevated each other to unprecedented heights, creating a standard that may never be matched.Those impossibly high standards were reflected in the number of Ballon d'Ors they won.First, some context. The record number of Ballons d'Or awarded to a single player before Messi and Ronaldo came along was three, jointly shared by Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.For further context, Kylian Mbappe is probably considered to be the greatest current player in football. He is Paris Saint-Germain's all-time record goalscorer, he is France's all-time record goalscorer and he has scored more knockout goals in World Cup matches than any player in history. He may also end the current tournament as the man who has scored the most goals in all World Cup games, ever.He is 27 years old and has never won a Ballon d'Or. Ronaldo has won five. Messi has won eight.Messi after winning his sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019 (Kristy Sparow/Getty Images)It is hard to imagine either of their numbers being beaten, let alone Messi's.From 2008 to 2021, they won every Ballon d'Or between them, save Luka Modric's 2018 win.Ronaldo claimed the first in 2008 before Messi responded with an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles from 2009 to 2012. Ronaldo then closed the gap with victories in 2013 and 2014, Messi regained the crown in 2015, and Ronaldo finished the unbroken era by winning back-to-back awards in 2016 and 2017.Winning was all that mattered. When it was obvious Modric was going to claim the 2018 edition, neither Messi nor Ronaldo bothered to attend the ceremony, despite the latter being runner-up."It's their choice; it doesn't make sense, does it?" a disrespected Modric said. It seems these votes and awards are only significant when they win."It's unfair to fellow players and voters who have nominated them in the past 10 years, as well as to football and the fans. However, people will act the way they think they should."Ronaldo's most recent Ballon d'Or came in 2017 when he was still at Madrid (Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)The award arguably showcased their rivalry more clearly than any other stage because it forced direct comparison. Every goal, trophy and standout performance was weighed against the others' achievements, fueling both the debate and their rivalry.They had separated themselves from the rest of world football and winning the Ballon d'Or was no longer simply about being the best player on the planet; it now meant proving one had been better than the other.Could any frustration be sensed at the Ballon d'Or ceremonies when the other claimed the crown? Forlan was present for many of them."I’d say disappointment rather than frustration," he says. "Because they both wanted to be the best and only one could win that, though both won it many times. And there was always respect for each other, even if some people searched for a negative angle and their rivalry."I don’t think Cristiano or Lionel would be happy when the other won; I do think it motivated them even more to be better and better. They would not have been as good if the other didn’t exist."Messi scored three goals versus Algeria in the World Cup and you could see Ronaldo’s face the next day. You know he wanted four. Or to win the World Cup. And what a rivalry it has been.Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Uzbekistan last week (Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)"It was like a fuel that both needed. They gave each other a reason to search for perfection."The numbers they have generated, the records they have broken, defy belief.There are 27 male footballers in the history of the game who have scored 500 goals or more for club and country combined.Among them include current players such as Robert Lewandowski, Harry Kane and Karim Benzema, as well as true legends of the sport such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Eusebio and Gerd Muller.For some context as to where Messi and Ronaldo sit in that pantheon of goalscoring greats, in fifth place is Ferenc Puskas with 725 goals, then comes Romario with 756 and in third place is the man long considered football's true GOAT, Pele, on 762.Messi has scored 917 goals. Ronaldo has scored 975 goals.It's not even a close contest.Eight clubs and two countries have been the beneficiaries of their unparalleled goalscoring prowess, chiefly Barcelona and Real Madrid.Messi's record of 672 for Barcelona may never be broken. He is 440 goals ahead of the club's next-best goalscorer, Cesar Rodriguez on 232.Ronaldo holds the Real Madrid all-time goalscoring record, 96 goals ahead of the second best (Karim Benzema on 354 goals).They both hold their national team records too and, again, may do for a very long time, with Messi having scored more than double anyone else for Argentina and Ronaldo more than triple anyone else for Portugal.The pair have also scored at remarkably similar rates for the past two decades, posting comparable numbers year on year, with obvious exceptions being Messi's 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina in the calendar year 2012, a world record which surpassed Muller's 85 set in 1972. Messi scored those 91 goals in 69 matches.Ronaldo's 2023 spike was for 54 goals in 59 matches for Al Nassr and Portugal, while his high water mark came in 2013 with 69 goals in 59 matches for Real Madrid and Portugal.The club team that Ronaldo has scored the most goals against is Sevilla, with 27.Spanish side Sevilla play an important and unfortunate part in the rivalry as they are also the side Messi has scored the most against, with 38. Atletico Madrid are also second on both players' lists.At international level, Luxembourg are Ronaldo's most punished opponents with 11 goals, just ahead of Hungary on nine, while Messi has chiefly enjoyed scoring against Bolivia (11 goals), followed by Ecuador and Venezuela (seven goals each)."The rivalry is gone," Ronaldo said in 2023. "It was good, spectators liked it."Those who like Cristiano Ronaldo don't have to hate Messi and vice versa. The legacy continues, but I don't see the rivalry like that anymore."The careers of these two players will be celebrated, studied and rated long after anyone reading this article in 2026 has left this earth. For decades, even centuries, people will pore over their scarcely believable achievements and their intense rivalry.They were never friends; they never had to be, but the respect was always there, even if it felt a little begrudging sometimes."The competition with him was on the pitch," Messi said last year. "Off the pitch, we're two normal people."We're not friends because we don't spend time together, but we've always treated each other with a lot of respect."I have a great deal of admiration for him and for the career he's had and continues to have, because he's still competing at the highest level."(Josep LAGO / AFP via Getty Images)The pair might consider the rivalry finished, at least via what they say in public, after their moves away from Europe to Inter Miami and Al Nassr and, yes, certainly on the pitch it has become sadly scarce for Ronaldo and Messi to share a stage.Since Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018 (their final El Clasico was, fittingly, a 2-2 draw in May that year with both players obviously scoring), they have met on just one solitary occasion, and that was in an empty stadium when Juventus won 3-0 at the Nou Camp in 2020 (Ronaldo scoring twice).If that was clearly not a fitting way for possibly their last competitive meeting to be played out, well, we should remember that we were all spoiled by those halcyon nine years in Spain when they met 30 times in club games.The only comparable individual football rivalry would be the age-old Pele versus Diego Maradona debate, which, before Messi and Ronaldo came along, was widely considered to be football's GOAT question. But with Pele retiring in 1977 and Maradona making his Argentina debut that same year, they never faced each other on the pitch.This was the closest we got.Did anyone win the Messi v Ronaldo rivalry? Does it even matter? Well, the answer to the second question is irrelevant, for the debate will rumble on for a long time yet.As for the winner, there's no obvious conclusion. Messi perhaps bookends it either side by being more of a wonderkid phenomenon at the start and arguably performing to a higher level at the end (Ronaldo's recent two goals against Uzbekistan ended a sequence of Messi scoring 11 World Cup goals since Ronaldo had scored his last, against Ghana in 2022).A winter Olympic GOAT weighs in on Ronaldo vs. MessiJames Horncastle and moreMessi won more Ballons d'Or. But that's an award now voted for by, with the greatest of respect and present company of course excluded, journalists. It's a subjective view. Ronaldo has unequivocally scored more goals and is heading towards 1,000 for club and country, which would be one of the most significant individual milestones in the history of the sport. Perhaps even the most significant ever.There is no universal view, which in itself is one of the beauties of the game, but there are also political, psychological and social factors to consider. You might be a Messi person or a Ronaldo person.A recent study of more than 10,000 people across 26 countries by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore found that liberals favoured Messi and conservatives favoured Ronaldo, with those views particularly keen among young people. People with high self-esteem? Ronaldo fans.Assoc Prof Saifuddin said: "Messi and Ronaldo project markedly different public personas. Messi is commonly associated with a quieter, team-oriented image, while Ronaldo is known for openly expressing his ambition and celebrating individual achievement. People may be more drawn to the player whose public image aligns with their broader values."Had Portugal won their group at the current World Cup, their pair would have been on a collision course to meet in the quarter-finals. As it transpired, they finished second, and the only prospect of them meeting in the tournament is in the final. Now that would be a way to bow out.Messi and Ronaldo at the Champions League draw in 2019 (Harold Cunningham - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)However, even if they never meet again, their rivalry will endure, beyond when they stop scoring, beyond when they hang up their boots, not just in the records they leave behind, but perhaps inevitably, in whatever they do beyond their playing days.Maybe they'll both own teams in the U.S. who go head to head in an MLS Cup final, perhaps they'll both be pundits and a debate will rage over who offers the most eloquent insights, or, who knows, maybe at the 2034 World Cup they'll be managing Argentina and Portugal.Basically, it will never end, but it will also never get better than those nine years when possibly the two best players of all time played for the two best teams in the world, in the same country, the same league and as part of the most famous club rivalry our sport has to offer.The final words can only belong to them.Messi: "What happened was a beautiful sporting rivalry. I think we'll continue to be remembered for a long time."Ronaldo: "We've changed the history of football."