Leo Messi, Rafael Nadal, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Three of the most gifted athletes on the planet, but who will replace these uniquely talented individuals when they are no longer active?
Their longevity and unceasing quality makes them what they are. Messi, Nadal and Ronaldo stand among the most conspicuous names in the sporting world (and beyond). With each of them embarking upon the final chapters of their decorated careers, we examine who might succeed them once their playing days are numbered.
Each of the aforementioned competitors has dominated the headlines recently with their auras and prowess simply standing out above those of their peers. But this is nothing new to them. These superstars have been atop their disciplines for close to two decades and they are evidently still going strong.
Messi and Ronaldo have been, and continue to be, pitted at the centre of the most incessant debate in the global sporting community: who is the greatest footballer of all-time? While the two footballing icons have maximum respect for one another, their respective fanbases do not merely bond accordingly.
Last week Messi and his native Argentina collected their second international trophy in the space of a year as La Albiceleste thumped Italy, 3-0, in La Finalissima at Wembley Stadium. More recently, Argentina swept aside lowly Estonia in an exhibition as Messi (in the month of his 35th birthday) scored all of his side’s five goals on the night.
Messi’s second five-goal haul of his career takes his national team goals to 86 (versus 30 different nations) and he now sits as the fourth-highest international goalscorer of all-time. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner remains 31 shy of the world record 117 international goals, held by his opposite number Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s exceptional tally is more than any other player in international football history and the Portugal captain struck twice in his country’s recent UEFA Nations League encounter with Switzerland. Ronaldo is unquestionably the most potent goalscorer of all-time, with 815 career goals for club and country.
The 37-year-old is a league winner in each of the three most competitive European domestic leagues and he has scored the most UEFA Champions League goals of all-time, as well as the most goals in a single UCL campaign. Moreover, Ronaldo has netted against 46 different countries and he has countless other records and milestones to his name.
Kylian Mbappé has been widely tipped as the best prospect of the new generation and, aged 23, he still has a number of years to assert himself as the successor to Messi and/or Ronaldo.
Mbappé scored in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final at the age of 19 and went on to collect a winner’s medal – something neither Messi nor Ronaldo have been able to claim up until this point.
Although Messi and Ronaldo will eventually be usurped as the hottest properties in world football, there will never be two special talents quite like them – at least not in this lifetime. The very fact that we fans are blessed with the priceless privilege of witnessing these two in the same era is beyond incomparable.
Last but certainly not least, Nadal is another who may prove truly irreplaceable. Two days after celebrating his 36th birthday, and exactly 17 years after he stormed to his first Roland Garros success, Nadal stole the show once more in Paris. Nadal was in attendance to witness Real Madrid clinch a 14th Champions League crown at the Stade de France and eight days later he sealed his own La Decimocuarta with a record 14th French Open championship.
Nadal beat Casper Ruud in straight sets in the Men’s singles final on Sunday, and the Spaniard now holds more than double the amount of Roland Garros titles than any other Men’s competitor throughout the Open Era (1968-). Nadal’s 14th conquest of La Coupe des Mousquetaires also represents his 22nd Grand Slam triumph, two more than both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have celebrated.
Whilst Messi and Ronaldo continue to be engrossed in a long-standing GOAT debate, Nadal has found himself in the middle of a similar notion involving both Djokovic and Federer. These three tennis royalties have accounted for winning 58 of the last 69 major championships (dating back to 2005) and they have been ranked at the summit of the ATP rankings for a combined 892 weeks (and counting).
Nadal has hinted he is unsure of how long he can continue at this level, but there is little to no doubt he will give everything until he has nothing left to give. Following a simply sensational victory on Sunday, Nadal said he would play at Wimbledon later this month provided his body allows him to do so.
His compatriot Carlos Alcaraz appears to have a truly promising career ahead of him and is one potential heir to Nadal’s throne. Last month Alcaraz picked up a maiden Masters 1000 title on clay, winning the Madrid Open days after turning 19, to become the youngest winner of the tournament.
Born in 2003, Alcaraz claimed victory at the Rio Open and the Miami Open earlier this year before reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time.
The identities of the next best superstars are yet to be determined, but whoever eventually grabs the spotlight away from these three living legends will have nothing less than enormous shoes to fill.
Ronaldo is the best