Be it the La Liga, the Champions League, or the World Cup, every tournament invariably becomes about these two – Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It has been 10 years since these two have dominated the world stage by winning all the Ballon D'Or trophies between them. The world has never been fixated on and divided by just two players so much. Yes, we still have the Pele vs Maradona debate but their careers hardly overlapped in terms of playing years. 

Source: Reuters

Cup after cup, Messi has been carrying the expectations of not just his own nation, Argentina, but of millions of fans who worship him and consider him to be from another planet. It's an open secret that if Leo manages to lift the World Cup, he will stamp his authority as the greatest player of all time. However, the World Cup has eluded Messi. He came within touching distance of lifting it in 2014, but an extra time stunner by Goetze saw Germany lifting the cup. 

Source: Reuters

Last night, people from around the world witnessed the brilliance of Ronaldo, when he struck 3 goals, taking his hat-trick tally to 51. What's more special is that he managed to score the goals against a formidable Spanish squad and, arguadbly, the world's best goalkeeper De Gea. He lit up the World Cup and gave an open challenge to Messi after stroking his chin while celebrating the first goal. It was an inkling that he's the G.O.A.T. – Greatest of all time. 

Source: Reuters

They are such fierce competitors that both of them up their game after seeing the other perform. Will Messi be able to give the world reasons to celebrate ecstatically, just like Ronaldo did last night? Or will the pressure weigh too heavily on him as Argentina face World Cup debutants Iceland up first? We hope for the former!

The legends are almost neck-to-neck as far as records are concerned - 

Messi:

Games: 15

Goals: 5

Assists: 3

Ronaldo:

Games: 14

Goals: 6

Assists: 2

(Updated after last night's Spain vs Portugal game)

Argentina play debutants Iceland today at 6:30 pm IST