Brazil's Kaka had just won the 2007 Fifa Player of the Year award but it was an awkward moment next to him that was to go viral and provide perhaps the first glimpse of a generational rivalry. A youthful Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had finished second and third respectively but Brazil legend Pele mistakenly handed the latter the trophy for second place at the Zurich Opera House. Fifa president Sepp Blatter had to intervene to ask the duo to swap the trophies, with both looking suitably unimpressed.
For the next 10 years, Messi or Ronaldo won every Ballon d'Or and Fifa award going. In fact since 2007, 20 of the 29 gongs awarded for Europe's player of the year has gone to one of them. With approaching 2,000 career goals between them, 85 trophies for club and country and countless individual awards and records, Messi and Ronaldo will forever be remembered as two of the most decorated players in history.
It is a rivalry that has defined the last two decades of football, transcending clubs, countries and competitions to reshape how the game has been played, consumed and debated across the world. "Two players like them, competing at that level for so many years, fighting over the Ballon d'Or and scoring that many goals... I don't think we'll see it again," Argentina World Cup winner Angel di Maria, who played with both, says in BBC Sport's new documentary Rivals: Messi v Ronaldo. Driven by a pursuit of trophies, records and a relentless desire to be the best, the pair have pushed each other to new heights.
It is a rivalry that goes beyond the ultimate 'greatest of all time' debate they have fuelled."They both changed football," says Di Maria. Ask anyone who is the greatest and agreement is hard to find."It has to be Ronaldo," ex-Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand says. "Messi is the best there has ever been," insists ex-Barcelona player and manager Xavi. Ronaldo has had his say in the past, stating in 2012: "You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche.
It is a different engine. Some people say I am better, some people say he is. They are going to decide who is better in the moment and I think it's me." What do the numbers tell us? If it's judged on goals or Champions League trophies, Ronaldo leads the way.
If it's Ballons d'Or or total trophies, Messi shades it. For some, Ronaldo nudged ahead when he helped Portugal lift the European Championship in 2016, but Messi has since guided Argentina to two Copa America titles and a World Cup. "For me, Messi is the best player in history and Cristiano is the greatest goalscorer in history," says Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, who has written biographies of both players. And Deco, who played with Ronaldo for Portugal and Messi for Barcelona, says: "They are special.
They are totally different from the rest. It's not normal to be on this level all these years." Each year, there's a lot of players who do amazing things for a few years, but being almost 20 years is not normal."Perhaps the beauty of the GOAT debate is that it may never be settled - and does not need to be."They have come to appreciate each as the co-stars of the football drama they have appeared in for the last 20 years," says Jonathan Clegg, co-author of a Ronaldo and Messi book. The pair are seen by many as polar opposites.
The dribbler against the physical specimen. The shy genius against the arrogant ego. Pep Guardiola's Barcelona against Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.
Adidas against Nike. But, while the narrative of their rivalry was undoubtedly built on their differences, the similarities between the two were striking - even from an early age. Both players were raised in humble surroundings.
Both left their homes at an early age to pursue their dreams - Messi to Barcelona from Argentina at 13 and Ronaldo to Lisbon from Madeira aged 12 - and both struggled with home sickness after leaving their family behind.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing