Where does football go as it moves on from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup done and dusted, we may have already seen the last of Cristiano Ronaldo and his greatest rival, Lionel Messi in national colours. Ask almost anyone to name a few footballers, and chances are those two names will be mentioned first, if not the only ones at all. Such has been the scale of their rivalry that it has become almost impossible to mention one without immediately thinking of the other. Yin and yang. Tom and Jerry. Messi and Ronaldo. A rivalry that has stretched across two decades.

And now, that rivalry, one which transcended football in many ways, is approaching its final chapter. After this World Cup, although neither has confirmed it, international retirement feels inevitable, with club retirement unlikely to be too far behind. They will still play football after the World Cup, but it will likely be far away from the wider audience's eyes.

That begs the question — what next? What will football do after the duopoly is done? I think football will do exactly what it has done throughout its entire history — move on. It moved on from Ferenc Puskás, from Pelé, from Johan Cruyff, from Franz Beckenbauer, from Diego Maradona, from Ronaldo Nazário, from Zinedine Zidane, from David Beckham, from Ronaldinho, and it will move on from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. That is not to say these names are going to be forgotten, of course not. Legends are always remembered and respected by the game. Perhaps the question we should be asking is not "what next?", rather "who next?". That is a significantly more difficult question to answer.

An analogy that can help paint the picture comes from a sport (or rather sports entertainment) that found me before football, before cricket — professional wrestling.

During the late '90s, WWE revolved around two larger-than-life personalities — Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Whether it was battling over championships, headlining shows or simply trying to outdo one another on the mic, they became the defining rivalry of an entire generation. Of course, supporting stars like The Undertaker, Triple H, Kane, Mankind and Shawn Michaels were all major attractions in their own right, but more often than not, the biggest feuds on the biggest stages belonged to Austin and Rock.

Fast forward to early 2000s, both men moved on from full-time competition, leaving WWE with a question it had never really faced before. How do you replace two stars who had become bigger than the company itself? There were two options available. One would not happen until nearly two decades later. The other happened almost immediately. Do you spend years searching for another Steve Austin and another Rock, or do you accept that such rivalries cannot simply be recreated and instead build something different?

WWE chose the latter.

The Ruthless Aggression Era

With Steve Austin and The Rock no longer at the heart of the company, WWE entered what became known as the Ruthless Aggression Era. Instead of desperately searching for the next Austin or the next Rock, they spread the responsibility across an incredibly diverse group of performers. World Championship reigns were shared among vastly different characters, each bringing something unique to the table.

There was John Cena, the charismatic rapper turned franchise player. Batista, the unstoppable powerhouse. Rey Mysterio, the masked superhero while also being the ultimate underdog. Kurt Angle, the Olympic gold medalist whose intensity made him one of the greatest in-ring performers ever. The Undertaker, the supernatural "Deadman" whose aura alone made him feel larger than life. Edge, the Ultimate Opportunist. Randy Orton, the third-generation prodigy. Eddie Guerrero, the lovable rogue whose "Lie, Cheat, Steal" persona became legendary, and several others.

None of them were Steve Austin or The Rock because they were never meant to be. WWE stopped searching for direct replacements and instead embraced an era where multiple stars, each with their own personality and strengths, collectively carried the company forward

Football may now be approaching a similar crossroads. 

The next era may not necessarily need another Messi and another Ronaldo. It may simply need enough exceptional players to ensure the sport never feels the absence of either. For nearly two decades, the sport has revolved around two men. Almost every Ballon d'Or conversation, every GOAT debate and every major individual accolade eventually found its way back to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. For the first time in nearly two decades, football could be entering an era where the spotlight is shared rather than dominated — an entire generation of new superstars, each leaving their own mark on the game

Leading that generation is, quite naturally, Kylian Mbappé. Already a World Cup winner, twice a World Cup Golden Boot winner, his place among football's elite has long been secured. Alongside him stands Erling Haaland, whose goalscoring numbers continue at an incomprehensible rate, defining what consistency in front of goal looks like. Between them, they have spent the last few years being viewed as the most likely successors to the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly.

Yet they are far from alone.

Vinícius Júnior has developed into one of the most electrifying players in world football. Jude Bellingham already looks like the complete midfielder despite still being in the early years of his career. Harry Kane, soon to be 33, perhaps belongs in a category of his own. His prime arrived during the Messi-Ronaldo era, making him more of a bridge between two generations than the face of the next one. Even so, his influence on football is far from over, and he remains one of the defining players of this transitional period.

Then comes the next wave.

Lamine Yamal is already doing things at an age that should be impossible. Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and several others are beginning to establish themselves among Europe's elite, while countless more talents are waiting just below that level. Add to that names such as Florian Wirtz, Cole Palmer, Pedri, Bukayo Saka, João Neves, Jamal Musiala, Pau Cubarsí, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Dean Huijsen, Estêvão and many more, and it quickly becomes clear that football is not running out of stars.

Perhaps this is simply the direction modern football is heading. Better coaching, improved academies, global scouting networks and unprecedented investment have transformed the game into one where elite talent is produced at an unprecedented rate. Celebrity-backed projects are no longer just publicity stunts either. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have overseen Wrexham's remarkable rise through three consecutive promotions, taking the club from the National League to the Championship, while Michael B. Jordan's investment in Bournemouth has helped the club to qualify for European competition for the first time in their history.

As investment spreads across football, academies continue to improve and talent pools grow larger, the gap between good and great has never been smaller. That makes it harder for a player or two to dominate the era. But history has a habit of repeating itself. What if football produces another duopoly?

The Post-COVID Modern Era

For a while, WWE's experiment worked exactly as intended, multiple stars shared the spotlight, each contributing in their own way. Yet, as the years passed, something familiar began to happen. Two names gradually began separating themselves from the rest.

Initially performing in front of empty arenas during the pandemic, WWE quietly began building another megastar in Roman Reigns. As championship reigns continued to stack up and his mere presence became the biggest attraction on weekly television, fans gradually embraced him as the company's focal point. WWE had done an outstanding job of creating the perfect villain, but there was one problem. They had no hero capable of bringing him down.

That is where Cody Rhodes comes in. After leaving WWE, helping launch rival promotion AEW and proving himself elsewhere, Cody returned as exactly the man the company needed. With both sides of the equation finally in place, WWE once again had two faces of the company around whom the entire product could revolve. Once again, supporting acts such as Seth Rollins, CM Punk and Gunther remained integral, but more often than not, the biggest matches and the biggest moments belonged to Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, and they continue to do so today.

WWE eventually found another rivalry that came to define an era, today's era, even if it looked very different from the one before it. Football could follow the same path. While one possibility is an era shared by many superstars, another is that two extraordinary talents gradually separate themselves from everyone else. The obvious candidates in most fans' minds are Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.

On the surface, it makes perfect sense. Every season, it feels as though the race for the Golden Boot in La Liga and the Premier League is decided before a ball has even been kicked. A similar argument can often be made in the Champions League too, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. Both are devastating in completely different ways. Haaland's physicality and aerial dominance are virtually unmatched, while Mbappé's explosiveness and finishing make him one of the most terrifying forwards in world football. Mbappé has already built a genuine case to be remembered as one of the greatest World Cup players ever, while Haaland has produced one of the greatest debut seasons football has ever seen, spearheading Manchester City's historic treble.

However, the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was never just about goalscoring. It was about so much more. It was Champions League finals and semifinals. Ballon d'Or after Ballon d'Or after Ballon d'Or. Ridiculous records being broken as though they meant nothing. It was FC Barcelona against Real Madrid — the El Clásico featuring two players in their prime going head-to-head. Pep Guardiola vs José Mourinho. Adidas vs Nike. One player gliding past five defenders before finding the back of the net, the other scoring from 40 yards out. Two completely different footballers, each redefining greatness in their own way.

Perhaps the most important part of that rivalry, however, was the fans.

Messi and Ronaldo completely split the world of football into two halves. Millions passionately defended one while millions stood just as firmly behind the other. In many cases, one player's biggest supporters became the other's biggest critics. They created fan cults unlike anything football had experienced before, where every goal, every trophy and every individual award added fuel to the fire.

Mbappé and Haaland do have their own fanbases, but the rivalry feels different. There is admiration between the players, respect between most supporters and nowhere near the same level of animosity. They have not formed their cults yet and that is for the better. Football is always better when rivalries remain fierce on the pitch without becoming toxic away from it. On paper, Mbappé and Haaland tick many of the same boxes. In reality, the wider narrative simply has not reached the level that Messi and Ronaldo once did.

Another rivalry many fans have already begun talking about is Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.

Once again, there are many similarities. Mbappé's arrival at Real Madrid has aligned perfectly with Yamal's emergence as Barcelona's new superstar, giving football another El Clásico rivalry to dream about. Yet, so far, those encounters have been surprisingly one sided. Since joining Real Madrid, Mbappé has faced Yamal six times and lost five of them. He has also faced Yamal's Spain thrice, losing on each occasion.

That is not to say Mbappé has been poor. Far from it. Across those eight matches, he has produced seven goals and two assists, numbers that would normally define a successful rivalry. The problem is that as much as rivalries are individual, they are shaped not only by individual performances but also by collective success. So far, Barcelona have rarely allowed Real Madrid to gain the upper hand since Yamal became a regular starter.

Then there is the most obvious obstacle of all — their age gap.

Kylian Mbappé is almost a decade older than Lamine Yamal. That is simply too large an age gap for the two to realistically spend their entire primes competing against one another. Hopefully, for however long their paths continue to cross, fans will be treated to many more phenomenal performances from both of them.

So, now what?

Clearly, what Messi and Ronaldo conjured up throughout their careers, and particularly during their primes, was lightning in a bottle. Never to be copied, never to be replicated. Someone might surpass Cristiano Ronaldo's goalscoring records. Someone might even complete football like Lionel Messi. But all things considered, I truly find it incredibly improbable that two players will ever reach that level of rivalry.

People often call artists like The Weeknd or Taylor Swift the closest thing to Michael Jackson, at least in terms of commercial success. Sure, they are amazing artists, but with all due respect, the comparison is laughable. Not just about the numbers.

Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan and Pathaan may have shattered box office records, but do they truly capture the cultural impact of his incredible run from the mid '90s to the late 2000s? Not just about the numbers.

The Indian cricket team has enjoyed one of the most successful periods in its history, but does it really compare to Australia's dominance from the late 1990s to the late 2000s, or to the fearsome West Indies sides of the '70s and '80s? Not just about the numbers.

Avengers: Doomsday may go on to earn billions, but can it ever recapture the magic of Avengers: Endgame? Not just about the numbers.

It is a shame that the talent of Lionel Messi could not win a Puskás Award during his career. It is an honour that the same talent won him the World Cup. It is a shame that the talent of Cristiano Ronaldo could not win the World Cup. It is an honour that the same talent won him the Puskás Award.

It is a shame Messi could not win five Champions Leagues. It is an honour Ronaldo did. It is a shame Ronaldo could not win the Ballon d'Or eight times. It is an honour Messi did. Both have different achievements. Both are historical in their own way. The footballing gods were kind enough to give them both to us at the same time.

So perhaps the question was never "what next?". Rather, it has always been "who next?". Maybe the next great rivalry has already begun. We just haven't realised it yet.

by ShotBlogged