TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

Götterdämmerung Awaits

The beautiful game has bought us many mercurial players, many heroes and many all time greats. A lot depends on when you did your football watching, who you support and external matters more to do with the character of the players taken to heart.

With Pele, Maradona, Cruyff and the like, they were generally without true competition for the title. Great players abounded around them, lets be clear about that, but the sort of player that stands at the summit finds himself in rarified atmosphere.

That changed in our recent football watching lives as there have been two kings at the summit Messi and Ronaldo.

Their achievements, statistics and moments of sheer magic are really quite remarkable. One is a one club man who has set new standards in ability, consistency and WTF moments, the other has proved himself in England, Spain and now Italy and has been machine like in his efficiency. put them together and you probably have a Frankenstein's Monster of the perfect footballer.

Seeing these colossi trudge of the pitch as Barcelona and Juventus exited the Champions League last night felt like a defining moment. There's probably plenty more gas in the tank but what last night reminded us is that they are fallible, they are only human after all.

Like all greats a time will come when curtains are drawn on glorious careers and memories will be all that is left. But what memories we shall have, what youtube highlights we will be able to show the grandchildren.

But when the king is dead its always a case of long live the king and perhaps Kylian Mbappe and Erlin Haaland are waiting in the wings in anticipation of the passing of crowns, but they will have to be patient a little longer as the final act of Messi and Ronaldo's careers may have a sting in the tail. And if so would that surprise anyone?

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