Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been at the top of the soccer world for so long that it's hard to imagine there will eventually be a time when they aren't.
Yet that time is getting closer by the day as Messi (33 years old) and Ronaldo (35) approach the usual retirement age for professional athletes. That's not to say that either man is ready to step away from the game just yet — both players are still considered to be the best in the world — but it's evident that they've each got more good years behind them than ahead.
Between them, Messi and Ronaldo have countless individual and team honours. Their overlapping careers have spawned endless debates as to who is the better player, with each boasting the kind of silverware that would normally end any such arguments except for the fact that they co-exist at the same time.
Among their many individual plaudits, they're currently Nos. 1 and 2 on the UEFA Champions League all-time goal scoring chart (Ronaldo leads Messi 130-116, with the next highest total being Raul's 71). The two superstars have made bigger marks on the Champions League than any other players in history, with Ronaldo having led his teams to continental glory five times while Messi has lifted the trophy four times.
As the players push into their mid-30s and beyond, the question becomes whether either of them will get the chance to claim club soccer's ultimate prize again. On the latest episode of "Shoot-Out," hosts Steve Bower and Greg Brady discuss the likelihood of either man again lifting the Champions League trophy before hanging up the boots.
Brady can see it happening, but he thinks it may not be with either superstar being the leading man for their respective teams.
"Their best football's behind them, but there's a lot of time left," Brady said. "I could easily see ... one of them winning the title while not being the best player at their particular club, so that may not happen this year."
Bower wasn't as optimistic, partially for the same reason Brady said yes. Barcelona and Juventus are both in the midst of a squad upheaval, meaning neither side is particularly primed for a long Champions League run soon, he said.
"Both of their clubs at the moment are going through something of a rebuild, something of a reboot," Bower said, while acknowledging that Juventus has won nine straight Serie A titles. "[Juve's] trying to get the team younger — they've got youth into it, they haven't got a great deal of depth, they've got [Giorgio] Chiellini on the way [out], [Leo] Bonucci at 33, 42-year-old [Gianluigi] Buffon still on the bench. I don't see Juve being a giant [in Europe], even with Ronaldo to get there. And Barcelona's the same under Ronald Koeman."
While Ronaldo's Juventus project is in Year 3, Brady noted that Messi may be off to another European giant soon. After nearly leaving Barcelona for Manchester City over the offseason, Messi could join the Sky Blues as a free agent next season and be part of a team that's built to compete for the Champions League right away under former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.
"We know how heavy and hot those Man City rumours were in the summer," Brady said. "If Pep's [still] at Man City, that reeks of a two, three-year contract for Messi to give it a test drive and see what it's like playing at the Etihad for his old manager, [and] playing alongside Kevin De Bruyne in his prime."
Watch the entire episode of "Shoot-Out" above, in which Bower and Brady also discuss whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic can topple Juventus, or on DAZN's YouTube page.