GOATS are not slowing down as Ronaldo scores a bicycle kick and Messi answers with pure magic

GOATS are on duty once again and it feels unreal to witness this at a time when most players their age are long gone from the elite stage. Cristiano Ronaldo lit up the night with an outrageous bicycle kick at the age of 40 to score Al Nassr's fourth goal against Al Khaleej. The technique, the timing and the ambition were a reminder that his fire still refuses to fade. Earlier in the week Scott McTominay had scored an incredible bicycle kick to take Scotland to the World Cup and Cristiano could not care less. He went out and produced his own, as if to remind everyone that the stage still belongs to him.

Messi replies with mastery

A few hours later Lionel Messi answered on the other side of the world with a performance that felt almost unreal. In the Eastern Conference semi final against Cincinnati he opened the scoring with a brave header and then created 3 more goals, including a beautiful trivela through ball that split the defence in a way only he can imagine.

Inter Miami have scored 25 goals in their last 7 matches and Messi has contributed to 22 of them. This is not normal. It is obsession mixed with genius. In the MLS play off, Miami have scored 12 goals and Messi has been involved in every single one. On top of that he has now set the record for the most goal contributions in Audi MLS Cup Playoffs history. This is 38 year old Messi still bending the game to his will.

An era we are lucky to witness

Messi has now reached 1300 goal contributions in all competitions and his 404 assists remain unmatched in the history of football. Cristiano continues his march toward 1000 career goals after reaching 954 last night, while Messi sits on 896. They are aging only on paper. Their performances say something else.

They pushed each other for nearly 20 years and shaped a whole generation. Their rivalry created emotion, storylines and memories that will stay with us forever.

Cristiano might be the greatest for many and Messi for others, but the sport will feel a vacuum when they walk away. Football will move on because that is its nature, yet this chapter will never be written again.