3 Possible individual rivalries which will rock football in the near future
People of our era are grateful to witness one of the greatest rivalries of all time. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominating world football for more than a decade and shocking the audience by doing the impossible has become almost a routine for the audience.
There is no doubt that we are lucky to witness two of the greatest players in history go toe-to-toe in such a manner for over a decade. Their inhumane consistency and statistics make it feel almost normal though it is almost impossible to comprehend how they kept themselves at the very top and maintained their performances.
Cristiano will soon turn 34 in February and Leo, 32 next June. As the tragedy of life goes, they are not getting any younger. Yet it would be a crime to rule them out as they are still playing at the highest level and dominating every week.
But with the dawn of the new era, new superstars are coming into the scene. It wouldn't be wise to think there will be another rivalry like this one but the football world awaits more sensational players fighting for glory.
Without further ado, let us take a look at a few possible individuals who have the potential to take it to the next level and fight it out when it comes to individual awards:
#1 Eden Hazard ( 27, Chelsea) vs Neymar (26, PSG)
The one rivalry which is already turning into quite a battle is between Neymar Jr. and Eden Hazard. They have already faced each other in the World Cup where Belgium got the better of Brazil despite Neymar's best efforts. And the current season is turning out quite fruitful for both of them.
Eden Hazard is on fire for Chelsea since his sensational World Cup. He bagged 4 Man of the match awards in Russia, scoring 3 goals and assisting two.
Since then, Hazard has managed to carry his red-hot form into the Premier League, where he scored 7 goals and provided 4 assists in 12 games so far. There is no doubt that he is the biggest reason behind Chelsea's unbeaten streak this season.
Despite Brazil's loss against Belgium in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Neymar created seven chances in that losing cause. He was out injured for months before the World cup but got better as the tournament went on, only to be beaten by Eden Hazard's Belgium in the last eight.
It seems Neymar has shrugged off his injury struggles and Brazil's bitter failure at the World Cup, as he started the season on a high note with Paris Saint Germain. As usual, he is running riot in the Ligue 1, scoring 10 goals and assisting 5 in just 11 appearances for the club.
But what is truly satisfying is his performance in the UEFA Champions League so far. In the group of death comprising of Liverpool, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade, Neymar has managed to bag 3 Man of the match awards in 4 appearances. He is the main driving force amidst a plethora of stars in PSG.
It seems both Hazard and Neymar is almost certain to miss out on the top three of Ballon d'Or this year but we should expect them on the podium of individual awards if they keep their sensational form in the near future.