Published Oct 7, 2026, 10:37 AM ET · Updated a month ago · 1 source

Tears, drone ads and a 1,740-word manifesto: Messi v Ronaldo gets one more chapter

guardian
guardian
·
Original Report
INFERY
Tears, drone ads and a 1,740-word manifesto: Messi v Ronaldo gets one more chapter

Nothing compares to sport’s contrasts, and few are as stark as the exits of two defining icons of the modern football era. As one continues to negotiate his grand departure from the international stage in a swirl of petulant rancour, bitterness and posturing, the other’s farewell was – up to a point – a study in dignified grace. Ignoring the somewhat jarring moment when an otherwise quite touching drone display lit up the night sky over Buenos Aires with an advert for an insurance company, Lione