Ángel Di María hugged his friend and compatriot extensively and looked him in the eye for a long time. Julian Draxler also seized the opportunity and stopped Lionel Messi to get his number ten jersey before the Argentine quickly disappeared into the catacombs of the Parc des Princes.
The miracle did not happen for FC Barcelona this time. The story of the legendary 6-1 comeback between the Catalans and Paris, the “Remontada” from 2017, was never repeated.
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The outstanding two-legged player this year wasn’t Messi, who scored in both games but wasn’t decisive. No, it was Kylian Mbappé, who was eleven years his junior, who shot Paris into the round of the last eight with a total of four goals – and thereby ushered in the end of an era.
Ronaldo and Messi: series breaks after 16 years
On Tuesday, Messi’s long-time opponent Cristiano Ronaldo with Juventus Turin surprisingly failed in the round of 16 at FC Porto (1: 2/3: 2) – for the third year in a row!
For the first time since the 2004/2005 season, when Jürgen Klinsmann was still national coach and Julian Draxler played in the D-youth of FC Schalke, neither of the two superstars is in the quarter-finals of the premier class.
A total of nine CL and eleven world football titles have since gone to the account of the two exceptional athletes who had dominated European football for the past 16 years like no one before them.
But the time of Ronaldo (134 CL goals) and Messi (120 CL goals) will run out at some point. While the next generation around Mbappé and Erling Haaland, who also scored four times for BVB in the round of 16, heralded the changing of the guard, the Juve and Barça strikers each played a tragic role for their team.
Ronaldo under fire – Messi awards penalties
Ronaldo was heavily criticized in Italy for simply turning away instead of blocking the ball when Sérgio Oliveira scored the decisive free kick in extra time. “The worst Ronaldo of all time will be used against Porto,” scolded the “Gazzetta dello Sport” of the 36-year-old.
Messi equalized in the second leg in Paris with a fantastic long-range shot in the corner (37th), but missed a penalty shortly before the break (45th + 3) and thus the 2-1 lead, the Catalans once again could have instilled new courage.
Barcelona showed a clear improvement, but Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Co. failed their nerves several times in the second half in front of Keylor Navas’ goal.
Ronaldo and Messi: future in Barcelona and Turin uncertain
It is quite possible that it was the 33-year-old’s last Champions League game in the Blaugrana colors. Messi wanted to leave the Catalans last summer, only an expired deadline in his contract prevented him from doing so.
So it cannot be ruled out that we will see Messi and Ronaldo in a different kit and maybe even on a different continent in the coming season.
This would mean the end of an era for good.
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YESTERDAY AT 10:46 PM
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