For more than a decade Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been at the center of a fierce and largely 7️⃣ unsettled debate over who is the greatest player in soccer history.

A decade from now, they might still be part of 7️⃣ that debate. Only the question then may be more like “who were those two guys who came before Kylian Mbappe 7️⃣ and Erling Haaland?”

That might sound like a bit of a stretch, but consider the evidence.

Ronaldo, 38, and Messi, 36, rewrote 7️⃣ the record books, redefined greatness and took the sport to new plateaus. Soccer is more popular, more profitable and better-played 7️⃣ than at any point in its history, and Ronaldo and Messi, who defined an era if not an entire sport, 7️⃣ are big reasons why.

Playing much of their careers against one another in Spain’s La Liga — Messi for Barcelona and 7️⃣ Ronaldo for Real Madrid — they pushed one another, combining for 19 league championships, four Champions League titles and 13 7️⃣ Ballon d’Or awards, achieving levels of greatness together neither could have reached alone.