When Messi met Cristiano Ronaldo, the head-to-head conversation between the two has always been the highlight of football. Even if Ronaldo goes to Saudi Arabia, this time it is still a thousand votes. Saudi real estate businessmen spent 18.036 million yuan to get a special ticket, which proves this point.
From 2008 to the present, these 15 years have left too many unforgettable moments. If you look back at Messi's 10 classic battles against Cristiano Ronaldo, which one makes you the most memorable?
01. First conversation: In the semi-finals of the Champions League in '08, the battle for the Golden Globe began here
The battle for the Ballon d'Or between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi originated in 2008, when Manchester United and Barca met in the semi-finals of the Champions League, and the first head-to-head conversation between the two decided the Ballon d'Or that year.
Although he missed a penalty in the first leg, Cristiano Ronaldo is still a great threat to the Barca defense. This time he countered with the ball and was cut inside.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was the first to invest in the counter-attack, made a mistake by the Barca defender. Scholes followed up with a long-range shot to give United a 1-0 lead.
Ronaldo was frequently pulled to the left side of the front line to receive the ball, as an arrow to rush forward to get the ball and then make the ball for the teammates who followed in the back row.
This time attracted 2 defenders and returned the pass, Park Ji-sung's shot was close to the goal.
However, in terms of personal threat to the ball, Messi is clearly even bigger. In addition to creating a foul on Scholes clinging to the penalty area line, Messi also had a number of successful breakthroughs with the ball.
Unfortunately, his shooting skills were not yet at their peak at that time, and he was always a breath away from scoring goals, unable to lead Barca to complete the reversal, and could only accept the result of stopping in the last four.
02. Champions League Final '09: Messi opens the dream era
In fact, since ranking 3rd in the Ballon d'Or in 2007, Messi has begun to attack the highest throne in the football world. In 2008, if he had not lost to Manchester United in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Messi, who ended up in second place, could have gone further.
Fortunately, after only waiting another year, the 2008-09 season ushered in Pep Guardiola's Barca, opening the dream of the peak of beautiful football, and Messi also began his reign.
In the Champions League final in 09, although Ronaldo threatened the Barca goal with three powerful long-range shots as soon as he started, Valdés was a little busy.
However, Barca, who had held their ground, quickly responded, and Eto'o's goal gave the red and blue a lead.
Messi's dribbling and breakthrough at his feet put a lot of pressure on Manchester United's backfield. In the second half, in response to Xavi's brilliant pass, Messi scored with a less adept header to seal a 2-0 victory.
03. Barça 5-0 Real Madrid! Messi scored twice with an assist
After that final, Ronaldo decided to switch to Real Madrid, so Mero faced each other at least twice a year. However, Barca, who were at their peak at that time, had a great advantage, and Habaimei's combination made Real Madrid and Ronaldo breathless.
In the 2010 5-0 win over Barca, Xavi dominated the first two goals of the first half, while Messi extended his lead by assisting Villa twice in the second half.
When Heffren scored his fifth goal, Pique became a timeless classic.
At that time, Ronaldo tried very hard to break the Barça system, but in vain. At that time, there were not many shots that could make an impression, except for pushing Pep Guardiola, which was lost in Barca's possession system.
This time, Ronaldo was teased by Barca's backcourt pass, and his strength not to admit defeat may also be the reason why he can succeed in the future.
04. Messi beats the Bernabeu with 2 goals: He quieted the Real Madrid fans
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face the beginning of the conversation, and the younger Argentine has a big advantage. In the semi-finals of the 2010-11 Champions League, the two met again and Messi won again.
Real Madrid, who posed at the back of the three, began to collapse after Pepe's red card. This time Affele broke through and crossed, and Messi snatched a spot in front of goal to break the deadlock.
Sergio Busquets then provided Messi with the "assist of the century", and the latter's goal instantly plunged the Bernabeu into a dead silence.
This goal, arguably one of the most beautiful goals of Messi's career, has also become a timeless classic in the Champions League.
05. Ronaldo follows Jose Mourinho: opens the counter-attack against Barca
However, as Xavi gradually aged, Barca's possession system gradually became incomplete. This gave Real Madrid the opportunity, and Jose Mourinho's quick counter-attack and Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring efficiency allowed them to usher in a counterattack.
In the crucial La Liga title race in 2011-12, Cristiano Ronaldo's goal at Camp Nou allowed Real Madrid to win 2-1, thus sealing the La Liga title that season.
Cristiano Ronaldo's action to silence Camp Nou fans after scoring has become a topic of conversation among Real Madrid fans.
06. Cristiano Ronaldo teases Pique with his heel: Won the Spanish Super Cup
In the 2012-13 Spanish Super Cup, Real Madrid won the title by beating arch-rivals Barcelona 2-1 at home and scoring more away goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo teased Pique with his heel pick on the counter-attack, and then blasted the goal, which was impressive.
In the following game, Ronaldo took advantage of the counter-attack opportunity to create a foul on Adriano and let the latter be sent off with a red card. Although Barca recovered one goal, they could not prevent Real Madrid from winning the title.
Mourinho also completed the championship slam of four European leagues (Portuguese Premier League, Premier League, Serie A and La Liga), ushering in a new milestone.
07. MSN's turning point: 1-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid
In the summer of 2014, when Suarez arrived at Barca, the red and blue team that formed MSN once again reached the top of Europe, announcing the team's ZTE in the form of a treble.
However, in the 2015-16 season, even if Messi was injured, Neymar and Suarez could humiliate Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo with four goals at the Bernabeu, but the Blancos used an unexpected 2-1 comeback to put the MSN combination downhill.
It was thought that Suarez's goal would allow Barca to win the game easily. However, after Benzema's equaliser, Barca appeared a little anxious.
Repeatedly pre-forming gave Real Madrid the opportunity to fight back. This time Bale's cross was sent to the back post, and Cristiano Ronaldo's chest stopped the ball and burst into the goal, allowing Real Madrid to magically reverse.
Zidane's team thus began to win the Champions League three in a row, but Barca seemed to be under a spell, and they repeatedly rose and fell in the Champions League.
08. Messi shirt: Scored twice at the Bernabeu
Messi scored a hat-trick at the Bernabeu, but compared to the penalty shootout in 2013-14, Messi's goal and shirt at Real Madrid's home stadium in 2016-17 became an unforgettable moment for countless fans.
You know, Messi was still in that game, ushered in his 500-goal milestone.
A goal by Messi can be described as a very typical Messi-style goal, and in this way to break the defense of Real Madrid, Barca fans must miss the original time very much.
In the final moments of the game, the 10-man Barca launched a counterattack, and Roberto's advance with the ball tore through the Real Madrid defense.
Gomez passed to Alba, who reversed the triangle and returned to Messi to complete the 3-2 shootout. After the goal, Messi dried his shirt at the Bernabeu, which once caused heated discussions.
09. Ronaldo shirt: Helpless and then sent off with a red card
In the summer of 2017, with Neymar's departure, Barca were in turmoil. New manager Valverde was somewhat embarrassed in the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the season.
Even after Messi equalised with a penalty created by Suarez, substitute Cristiano Ronaldo scored strongly on the counter-attack to give Real Madrid another 2-1 lead.
He copied Messi's practice by taking off his shirt at Camp Nou to celebrate, receiving a yellow card.
Unexpectedly, one minute later, Ronaldo once again entered the Barca penalty area at high speed and fell to the ground under the defense of Umtitti. The referee decisively gave him a second yellow card and sent him off with a straight red card.
The angry Ronaldo pushed and shoved the referee, and was later punished. Perhaps from that moment on, it also paved the way for Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Real Madrid.
10. Last Champions League meeting: Juve 3-0 Barca
In Messi's final season at Barca, Ronaldo has moved to Juve. The conversation between the two teams at Camp Nou became Mero's last meeting in Europe so far (and perhaps in the future).
In that game, Messi had 7 shots on target out of 10 attempts, but unfortunately failed to score. Barca's tactic is to let Messi finish as much as possible, with all players on target except him.
At that time, Griezmann and Trincon partnered with Messi in the forward line, and the pure and fast style of play was a bit difficult in front of Juve's dense defense.
Although Alba sent crosses to Messi many times, it is a pity that this kind of shot under the inverted triangle has been repeatedly dissolved by Buffon.
In contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues to play the main counter-attack, took advantage of Barca's young centre-back Araujo's inexperience to win a penalty opportunity.
One penalty was scored in the first and second half, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice, won the game.
Conclusion:
The dialogue between Messi and Ronaldo has too many classic moments that people will miss. A review of 10 games is not enough to cover it all.
In the heart of every fan, there will be their most cherished moment. Even countless fans will long for another time. In this friendly match between Paris and Riyadh, will the protagonists still be Messi and Ronaldo? Or will it turn into a goal battle between Mbappe and Talisca ?