Four great contemporary champions are in action simultaneously. The oldest, Cristiano Ronaldo, is 41, and playing his final World Cup, as is Lionel Messi, 39. In England, Novak Djokovic, 39, is attempting a record 25th Grand Slam title. Playing nearby will be Virat Kohli, 38, cricket’s version of the others.For nearly two decades, these men owned sporting time. But all sport conspires against longevity. Before Messi won a World Cup four years ago, many had already written his epilogue; but he is showing his hunger again. Ronaldo continues scoring with the determination of a man negotiating with biology. Djokovic keeps returning from injuries and controversies. Kohli remains Kohli, only more so. All very inspiring, possibly absurd too. Great athletes normalise absurdity, delaying our tryst with middle age.Djokovic began as the inconvenient third man in a love story featuring Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. By the time history paused to count, he had accumulated numbers that demanded conversations about the greatest of all time, the fan’s favourite acronym, GOAT. He became statistically the greatest while never quite becoming the sport’s most universally beloved. Sport, like literature, prefers flawed heroes to perfect accountants.FIFA World Cup 2026: News, Fixtures, Results & Live ScoresIn search of a unique heroSignificantly, as these athletes prepare to leave, their sports are in transition. Football belongs increasingly to systems, data models and pressing structures. The geometry of straight lines is taking over from the poetry of curves. The artist still exists, but is measured by sprint distances and defensive recoveries. Tennis has become a contest of physical power played at high speed by competitors who have inherited the standards Djokovic himself set. Ironically, the champions shaped the landscape that will eventually exclude them.