"The era has changed" - Frank Leboeuf says Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not seen as the 2 best players in world football anymore
Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf believes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's era of dominance is slowly coming to an end. The duo are currently well into their 30s and have entered the twilight of their respective careers.
Leboeuf feels the footballing fraternity is keen to see more of the other two upcoming talents in Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. According to him, the world now needs to shift their attention from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to these two explosive talents.
Speaking on ESPN FC's YouTube channel, Frank Leboeuf said:
"I think we have to stop focusing on those players and we don't have to compare them anymore and of course, they have been fantastic and are still fantastic players but the era has changed. We are waiting for Haaland next season, we want to see Mbappe more, some new players are going to come up and we are going to forget a little bit about those 2 fantastic players and will recognize their talent, but won't see them as the 2 best players right now in the football world."
It has been a difficult last few days for both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The duo have both faced season-defining setbacks in their respective campaigns.
Lionel Messi saw his Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) side get knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the Round of 16. This prompted PSG fans to jeer him and Neymar during their Ligue 1 game against Bordeaux on Sunday (13 March).
Ronaldo, on the other hand, also suffered Champions League heartbreak when his Manchester United side were knocked out by Atletico Madrid. The Red Devils lost 1-0 to Diego Simeone's side at Old Trafford on Tuesday, which was enough for Los Rojiblancos to advance to the last eight.
Ronaldo and Messi both go out in the last 16 of the Champions League for the second straight year 💔 https://t.co/ZSXBvKseO9
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were expected elevate their new teams
Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo joined new teams in the summer of 2021. Despite their high-profile arrivals, both forwards have had underwhelming seasons for their respective sides.
Lionel Messi has moved teams for the first time in his career after 17 seasons at Barcelona. He has found it difficult to get accustomed to his new surroundings.
The 34-year-old forward has scored seven goals and provided 11 assists in 26 appearances for PSG across all competitions. However, only two of those goals have come in Ligue 1.
'Messi’s clearly lost his magic since leaving Barca. Ronaldo’s kept it at many clubs!'
Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan get into heated row over whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is truly football's 'GOAT' trib.al/9uQKbw0
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, has had a relatively better season compared to Messi. The 37-year-old forward is Manchester United's leading goalscorer this season. Ronaldo has scored 18 goals in 32 games for United, including a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur on the weekend (12 March).
However, the Portuguese forward did have a long barren run in front of goal prior to his hat-trick. Cristiano Ronaldo scored just once in 10 matches across all competitions before returning to form against Spurs.
As things stand, Messi's PSG is doing slightly better than Cristiano Ronaldo's United. The Parisians have been knocked out of three competitions - the Champions League, the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions - but look set to win their eighth Ligue 1 title in 10 years.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have also been knocked out of all domestic and European competitions as well and only have an outside chance of finishing in the top four.