For so long been we’ve been compelled to watch the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry play out on Spanish and European pitches. And as the new season rolls around the realisation looms large that we’ll never see another Clasico involving them. That should bring a sense of immense longing for supporters, for casual fans, for anyone with even a passing interest in football.
And who knows what effect it might have on the players themselves.
Ronaldo has been open about the fact that their feuds over the years pushed him to new heights. “I see him not as a rival but as a person,” he said of Messi in his 2015 documentary.