The debate over who the superior player is between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will rage on long after both have retired, but the way they hang up their boots could help or hinder their respective legacies.
Last season saw Ronaldo finish as Manchester United's top scorer, while Messi took perhaps more time than many would have expected to settle in at Paris Saint-Germain. However, things have flipped on their head and then some this term, as the contrasting fortunes of both has continued as a theme this term.
The most effective way to summarise the level both players are currently at would be to turn to their respective managers and see what they have to say on them. PSG boss Christophe Galtier couldn't help but wax lyrical over Messi in the wake of his side's 3-0 win over Ajaccio on Friday evening, branding him the "best player of all time".
As many expect from him every time he takes to the field, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was pulling the strings for the Parisians from the first whistle, showcasing his supreme technical quality with some ludicrous deft touches as Messi registered two assists and scored the other himself.
"The pace was less intense in the second half and we were in technical control," Galtier explained. "We had some key moments and didn’t score, which gave Ajaccio some hope, before our two magnificent goals, including Messi’s.
"People come to the stadium to watch Leo play – he’s the best player of all time. He likes playing with the others, he has this quality of wanting to play with others, he is very altruistic and he was amazing on the second goal."
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Messi's goal was a thing of beauty as he combined with Kylian Mbappe on the edge of the penalty area before doing what he has done so many times before in his career and made a fool of the goalkeeper.
The ex-Barcelona icon sat Benjamin Leroy down with a drop of the shoulder before prodding home into an empty net. It was his sixth Ligue 1 goal of the season in 11 games.
On the very same day that Messi was starting and finishing off sumptious team goals, his long-time Ballon d'Or rival Ronaldo was being publicly disciplined for storming off the Old Trafford pitch during United's recent 2-0 home win over Tottenham.
At first, it seemed as if the 37-year-old had walked off minutes from full-time because he wasn't going to be brought on, but boss Erik ten Hag has since explained that the former Real Madrid man actually refused to come on.
"What the talk - if you ask about that - is between Cristiano and me," Ten Hag told reporters. "The statement is also clear, I think. He remains an important player in the squad.
"I am the manager, I am responsible for the culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them. In the team, we have values and standards and I have to control that.
"After Vallecano, I told him it was unacceptable but not him everyone, this is the second time, there are consequences. We miss him tomorrow. It's a miss for the squad but it's important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea as that is important."
In Messi and Ronaldo, the football world has been gifted each season for more than a decade-and-a-half to the kind of talent that does not come around often. It makes Ronaldo's decline that has produced just two league goals this term all the more painful to witness.
It seems a shame that both are nearing the stage exit with such contrasting circumstances surrounding them, rather than both - not just Messi - bowing out at the top of their game.
