The twilight of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with their national teams: the beauty of the tribute in the face of the weight of age
While Lionel Messi, at 39 year old, officially bowed out of the Argentina team after a grand evening in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night, Cristiano Ronaldo, at 41 years old, saw his story with the Portuguese national team take a decidedly less glorious turn during this international break games.
Since he won the World Cup in 2022, joining their legend Diego Maradona in the Argentine national consciousness and signaling to the world that he was more than just the best player of the century, Lionel Messi has paid relatively little attention to the suddenly distant shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s prolonging the enjoyment, and he is happy to be there, carried by a frenzied fervor and completely devoted teammates.
The beauty of the public tribute paid to him on Tuesday night at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires almost erased the unpleasant memory left by some of the Albiceleste’s behavior this summer in the United States of America. The tears on the bus, the simple words of his speech, his eyes scanning the stands during the national anthem to imprint every detail of the moment of his memory: the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner departed in majesty at the age of 39 years old, with two goals assists and a final penalty kick, his 126th goal in 208 appearances games for Argentina national team.
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