Messi and Ronaldo at the 2026 World Cup: the final act of two legends in twilight

The 2026 World Cup opens a page of history: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are almost certainly playing their last World Cup tournament, two legendary careers reaching their end at the same moment on football’s biggest stage.

Argentina, the defending champions, enter the competition from Tuesday to Wednesday night against Algeria. Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, approaches this tournament without the void that long haunted him: he lifted the World Cup in December 2022 in Qatar. His 13 goals in the final tournament nonetheless open a concrete target for him: the record of 16 goals held by German Miroslav Klose.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, the equation is different and more urgent. At 41 years old, the Portuguese player has never held the trophy in his hands, and this edition almost certainly represents his last opportunity to remedy that. CR7 nonetheless holds a unique mark in the competition’s history: he is the only player to have scored a goal in five separate editions — 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.

But their current status fuels debate. Since the two men left the major European leagues — Messi for Inter Miami in MLS, Ronaldo for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia — their daily level of competition has noticeably dropped. “Time passes, we must make room for the young,” declared Christophe Dugarry. “They play in Miami and Saudi Arabia, neither of the two makes me dream again. Thank you for everything you have done.”

This 2026 World Cup could thus serve as the official closing of the longest rivalry in modern football history. Two parallel trajectories, one same tournament to draw the curtain.