You can be a supporter of one or the other, but nobody doubts that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the best players that have been seen in the history of football. For years, the Portuguese and the Argentine have dazzled with their mastery of the ball and have made a big name for themselves in the sport.
However, this 2020 was bittersweet for both. Accustomed to an almost absolute role during the past decade and winners of eleven of the last 12 Ballon d’Or (it was Luka Modric who broke with duality in 2018), Cristiano and Messi had chiaroscuro in the year of the pandemic.
The reunion of Cristiano Ronaldo y Lionel Messi en Champions. (Reuters)
It is true, Messi beat Pelé As the player with the most goals scored with a single team, while Cristiano Ronaldo is very close to surpassing King in targets scored in a lifetime, but it was also a complicated year, in which the Portuguese could only win Serie A and the Rosario left empty-handed.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are still ball geniuses and retain their magic, but also It was a year in which they could not have the expected stardom, because even Juventus and Barcelona, their teams, spent discreetly in a year in which they were expected to compete for everything.
Cristiano Ronaldo y Lionel Messi en la Champions League. (AFP)
Only the Scudetto
In 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo arrived as the brand new Juventus reinforcement so that the Old lady could win the Champions League, a title they have been denied since 1996.
Two years later, CR7 and Juventus have not been able to conquer that feat. In his second season, the Portuguese striker had little to do with Olympique Lyon, in what was his first knockout knockout since 2010.
It was not the only title that was lost. Lazio beat them the Italian Super Cup, while Napoli denied them the glory of the Italian Cup.
On an individual level, it was a productive year, becoming the first player with more than 50 goals in three of the European leagues important, thanks to your annotations in the Premier League with the Manchester United (84), in The League with the Real Madrid (311) and in the A league with the Juventus (64).
However, Cristiano could not keep the Golden Boot at the end of the 2019-2020 season with 31 goals, below the 34 scored by Ciro Immobile with Lazio and the 34 goals scored by Robert Lewandowski with Bayern Munich.
Beyond Serie A, 2021 will be an opportunity for CR7 lead Juventus to glory in the Champions League, the tournament in which he built his figure and established himself as one of the best footballers in history.
For this, they will first have to overcome Porto in the round of 16, but the 0-3 defeat against Fiorentina a few days ago leaves a bad taste in their mouths.
A fractured relationship
Last season was a shutout for Messi and Barcelona. Without the League or the King’s Cup, the straw that broke the camel’s back was beating that Bayern Munich gave them in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (2-8), which caused a restructuring of the team and discontent in the Argentine star.
Bayern Munich eliminated Barcelona at Estadio Da Luz. (AFP)
The departure of Luis Suárez to Atlético de Madrid, together with the humiliating beating received by the Bavarians made the relationship with the board was tense, to the point that the Rosario requested his departure from the team, even when Ronald Koeman requested it as a cornerstone for his project.
Messi finally stayed, while Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned from the presidency of the club. Even with this, the situation has been nothing for Koeman’s Barcelona, which is in the fifth position of the local classification with 24 points, although they even reached the middle of the table.
Away from Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid, Barça will have to start a race against the clock to try to be crowned in Spain, while they will face Paris Saint-Germain in the second round of the Champions League.
Messi and Barcelona will embark on another odyssey to be European champions or add another disappointment for the Argentine, who cannot give his team a continental joy since 2015.
Their numbers
Cristiano Ronaldo
2019-2020
42 matches
35 goals
5 assists
2020-2021
14 matches
16 goals
2 assists
Lionel Messi
2019-2020
44 games
31 goals
25 assists
2020-2021
18 matches
10 goals
3 assists
GIVEN
The best of the century
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo compete against Ronaldinho and Mohamed Salah for the award to footballer of the century Globe Soccer Awards. A winner will be chosen on December 27. In these same awards, the duo compete against Robert Lewandowski to define the footballer of the year.
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