EURO 2024 and Copa America have confirmed what we’ve known for a while now - two of the world’s greatest footballers have little time left on the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi haven’t exactly lit up their respective continental competitions, and after six combined games, they can only boast of an assist and a missed penalty apiece. Cristiano Ronaldo’s struggles have been more obvious. At EURO 2024, he’s taken 20 shots without scoring. To put this in perspective, only four players have taken more shots without scoring in a single EURO tournament since 1980. If he fails to convert his next five shots, he’ll have the record all to himself. His emotional breakdown after missing a penalty against Slovenia showed he still cares deeply for the game, but also showed a guy desperate to prove something to himself instead of just letting the game flow. At that moment, he seemed like a shadow of the player who, less than a year ago, confidently declared “I don’t follow the records, the records follow me.” **Impact on their respective National Sides** With the two players years removed from their peaks at Real Madrid and Barcelona, our sample size will be taken from Portugal and Argentina, which represent their only taste of top-level competitive football these days. **Ronaldo:** A chronic knee injury in the mid-2010s meant that Ronaldo had to adapt his game and become more of a penalty-box presence. However, the older he’s gotten, the more confined to the penalty box he’s become. The tactics of modern football, which require a striker to contribute to their team’s link-up play has meant that his shortcomings have been exposed, instead of his remaining strengths being maximized. As a result, Portugal has become a country that has relied mostly on crosses – they currently lead in that metric at EURO 2024 with 36 corners and 7.3 accurate crosses/game. Ronaldo’s failure to score from any of these so far is the clearest indication that he’s past it physically, at this level. **Messi:** The Argentine No.10 has aged slightly better than Ronaldo due to several factors – a willingness/ability to play further back in midfield and the willingness of his international teammates to be his legs while he focuses his attention on the attacking side of the game. And it worked recently, too. At the 2022 World Cup, he scored 7 goals and racked up 10 goals + assists (the highest at the tournament). Just like Ronaldo, his goalkeeper saved his blushes after a missed penalty and at this year’s Copa America, several other players have been much better. Which brings an obvious, uncomfortable question to the fore - if Messi cannot provide much of an output despite other players doing all the running for him, what does he bring to the team as a starter? **Quarterfinals** Today’s France vs. Portugal quarter-final game is a must-win for the two teams, and France can be ruthless if they smell blood. Already, there’ve been calls for Cristiano Ronaldo to be benched in favour of younger options like Gonçalo Ramos, João Félix, or even Diogo Jota. This might not sit well with Ronaldo, but it could be the right move with the tournament on the line. For over a decade, Ronaldo has primarily been a goal-scorer, and as he’s aged, his overall game contribution has lessened. This was a key reason for his fallout with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, which led to the termination of his contract. Messi, however, has always contributed more to the overall gameplay. At least, until this tournament. Even when he was not scoring, he still positively influenced the game. However, he’s had a failed to provide his usual spark and even played terribly against Ecuador. While Argentina is through to the semifinal, that’s down to Emiliano Martinez’s heroics. Worrying for the Argentine legend, he has not been the best player for La Albiceleste in any of their four games so far. With their next opponent one of either Venezuela or Canada, they don’t need their best player at his best. However, with Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia in the other end of the bracket, a below-par Messi could spell danger to Argentina’s chances of retaining the trophy they won in 2021. One of our betting tips today? We think that France has the edge over Portugal, especially if Ronaldo starts, especially with N’golo Kante rolling back the years to his early Chelsea days. It should be a close game, but Les Bleus seem like the safer bet for finding a breakthrough.
**Conclusion** So, is this the year Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi finally fade from top-level football? Nope, that happened last year, in 2023. When they left Europe – the continent they ruled for almost two decades – for Asia and North America, it was a sign that they couldn’t keep up with the demands of top-level football on a weekly basis anymore. And “weekly basis” is key here. Both players can still pull off amazing moments and wow fans. In the Euro 2024 Qualifiers, Ronaldo scored 10 goals, showing he can still step up in important games for Portugal. Messi, meanwhile, has scored 3 goals in 5 World Cup qualifiers ahead of 2026, proving he’s still got it too. But two seasons ago, their club performances – Ronaldo at Manchester United and Messi at PSG – showed they were struggling with the weekly physical demands of European football. Since leaving Europe, both players have been fantastic for their respective clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 64 goals in 69 games for Al-Nassr in all competitions since joining on a free transfer in January 2023 and led them to a second-place finish in the Saudi Pro League. Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has scored 25 goals and provided 16 assists for Inter Miami in just 29 appearances and set a league record with his 5 assists in a game in their 6-1 win over NY Red Bull. However, according to The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), the Saudi Pro League is ranked 33rd in the world while the MLS is ranked 63rd, which puts the duo’s impressive statistics into perspective. With the 2026 World Cup two years away and these two beloved icons on their way down from the mountain top, this could be the last time we see them at an international tournament. Let’s cherish what is left.
The best betting site in Nigeria, offers you the chance to win big by betting on hundreds of football matches across the globe including the [**Euros**](https://m.betking.com/sports/events/prematch/football/uefa-euro-2024/euro-2024) and [**Copa America.**](https://m.betking.com/sports/events/prematch/football/copa-america-2024/copa-america) [**Join us**](https://m.betking.com/account/registration?redirect=/) today to get started.