If Kylian Mbappé stays healthy, the Frenchman will be breaking records and collecting prizes in a big way.
When the great athletes leave the scene, the same questions keep arising: who will follow them? And everything will get worse in the future because it doesn’t get better? Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two defining figures of the past two decades, have not yet disappeared. Indeed, he is also putting his mark on the World Cup in Qatar with appearances and goals. Ronaldo scored in Portugal’s win over Ghana. And Messi? The Argentine had one of those Messi moments again in the Albiceleste intersection match against Mexico.
But just as sports fans at some point had to part with the illusion that Michael “Air” Jordan would forever fly through the air and that Roger Federer would still be on center court at Wimbledon at age 50, the Fairytale careers of Messi and Ronaldo are inevitably approaching that end. This tournament gives both of them one last chance to once again step onto the biggest stage of them all. To show the whole world what they are still capable of. Yes, Messi (35) and Ronaldo (37) can still decide matches. But the future belongs to others.
