Fans, pundits, current and former footballers, and others have discussed the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the past 15 years.

During their respective careers at Manchester United and Barcelona, Ronaldo and Messi played each other for the first time in a match in the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Before Ronaldo later joined Real Madrid to play in the LaLiga, the pair's rivalry had already begun. In recent weeks, the rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi has reached its zenith.

Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d'Or seven times, while Ronaldo has won it five times.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo had his final chance to possibly surpass Messi in terms of career accomplishment.

At the beginning of the tournament, the captain of Portugal hoped to lead his country to the final, but he was unable to walk the path.

Throughout the World Cup, Ronaldo was benched by former Portugal manager Fernando Santos, which posed a number of challenges.

Ronaldo was extremely demoralized by such a significant setback. In addition, his personal difficult year in 2022 did not assist him.

The former forward for Juventus decided that everything was probably too much for him to handle, so he left Europe to join Al-Nassr in the Middle East, a club based in Saudi Arabia.

Is Ronaldo finally giving up on his never-ending rivalry with Messi? This is the big question.

Stanley Smart, an Abuja-based sports journalist, told DAILY POST, "Well, many people never expected Ronaldo to leave Europe for Asia after his contract with Manchester United was terminated by mutual consent."

“During his well-known interview, Ronaldo had promised British journalist Piers Morgan that he wanted to continue playing at the highest level.

However, he signed a significant contract to join Al-Nassr. He will continue to be one of the game's greatest players.

He did not, regrettably, win the World Cup in Qatar like Messi did.

I admire both players for their contributions to football over the past few years. However, I believe the Ronaldo vs. Messi debate will continue even after they retire from professional football.

He went on to say, "I believe Messi will also continue to set new records until he hangs his boot," and "I believe Ronaldo will set more records in Asia after what he did in Europe."