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00:04We haven't had you both together for a while, so while you're both here we
00:08noticed you've been talking a lot. Do you miss him?
00:18Messi versus Ronaldo.
00:20There's simply been nothing like it in football history.
00:24Messi and Ronaldo completely changed the game.
00:28The strength, the passion, the fierce polarisation made this a unique rivalry.
00:34That goal scoring record is just phenomenal.
00:37Lionel Messi shows his genius bicycle kick from Ronaldo!
00:42They have that obsession that lives and breathes inside of them.
00:45They made the impossible feel like it was possible.
00:51The Ballon d'Or became a private competition.
00:54Bravo!
00:55It was an unbelievable fight between them.
00:57They became the most followed people on social media.
01:00For the first time, the world divided itself with players.
01:05You've got them over there for Messi, them over there for Cristiano.
01:08Messi's the goal!
01:09Messi and Ronaldo have achieved a level of fame that even presidents and popes have never matched.
01:14We shared the stage for 15 years.
01:16The same two guys.
01:18So, it's not easy.
01:21They are special.
01:23It's not normal to be on this level all these years.
01:30The question is, how have they shaped an entire era of football just by being at each other's throats?
01:36It will be difficult to see something like this ever again.
02:04Messi and Deca
02:07back in 2008 football was desperate for a superstar the era of the Brazilian
02:16Ronaldo David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane had passed we were waiting for a new
02:21generation of star to emerge that's right when Messi and Ronaldo came along
02:28in 2008 semi-finals of the Champions League that was the first time Cristiano
02:34Messi faced each other on the pitch 20 and 23 Messi and Ronaldo are already lauded as
02:47the best young players in the world but we haven't yet reached that point at which
02:51they are incontestably the elite of world football
03:02we were starting to see the beginnings of the rivalry in terms of how people talked about
03:07Ronaldo's physical prowess versus Messi's skill as a dribbler
03:16they were such different characters two players who have absolutely everything in the world at their
03:24feet full-time in the new cap Barcelona nil Manchester United nil Cristiano was the first player that I
03:32saw take different components of what makes a footballer great he had that obsession with
03:39being at the top he wanted to be the best player in the world Messi 16 años ya veías algo
03:47algo
03:48diferente sino la intensidad en lo que en lo que hacía no no no he was one of our key
03:55players we
03:56needed him and that time una agresividad ofensiva que no había visto en mi vida era sensación esa de
04:03la intensidad y te recorto otra vez y te meto gol in the second leg played at Old Trafford
04:12course goal scored the only goal and Manchester United went on to the final
04:15Manchester United are through to their Champions League final their dearest place
04:20you could see that Messi's already the best in La Liga and Cristiano the best in the Premier League
04:25and to see those two kids on the pitch together was the sign of something to come
04:45I never met a young player that was so confident
04:50knowing what he wanted the moment he came to Manchester United it was just for him a logical
04:56step to become the best footballer in in the world none of us had really played with anybody like that
05:04before so Alex Ferguson said this and we're building a team now around the likes of myself
05:11Wayne Rooney as well and Cristiano was the heartbeat moving to Manchester United was huge for a young
05:19boy you don't know the language don't know the culture you've got these huge characters in a
05:23dressing room for Cristiano that was a massive challenge there's enormous talent there he's not
05:32fazed by anything every dressing room particularly that Manchester United dressing room is a school of
05:37hard knocks the most common phrase would have been that he played as a something of a show pony
05:44so Alex Ferguson was the key he took him under his wing it was tough love at times but it
05:54was also
05:54I really care about you the most important message was Cristiano you are a special player you can do
06:03special things however it is important that those special things are put towards the team that we
06:11benefit from it all together he changed his playing style and realized it wasn't about putting the camera
06:18on him on him and his stepovers all the time he embraced everything that would make him a better player
06:27here he comes oh it's absolutely magnificent bringing him from somebody who could score a goal to a goal
06:34scorer he went from being a gawky Bambi not too sure his legs to being the dominant alpha male at
06:43Manchester United 2008 we won the Premier League but you need to do it in the Champions League to be
06:51cemented as a great team
07:00if you get your hands on that trophy you elevate yourself then to be part of the elite
07:18and for Cristiano on top of that he wanted to be the best player in the world
07:34he didn't want us to be saying it which we were he's the best in the world he's the best
07:40he wanted it to be confirmed it's very beautiful to be part of history which is that Ballon d'Or
07:46the Ballon d'Or represents the confirmation that you are the best in the world
07:54Bravo when he won that you could see it it was like I should win it I deserve to win
07:59it I'm the best
08:02and that kick-starts the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry for the next 10 years the award is shared by either
08:09Ronaldo or Messi every year the question is will it be Messi or will it be Ronaldo
08:21his FF
08:22and
08:23and
08:23and
08:23and
08:31and
08:32and
08:32so
08:32and
08:34I'm
08:35and I'm
08:43the
08:44I'm
08:44He had a happy childhood because he found a place of fun and good disposition that he loved during the
08:52whole day.
08:55We started training with Cristiano with 9 years old at the National.
09:00And it was easy to see that there was a kid that distinguishes the rest of us.
09:08He was a leader, whether it was in the field or outside of the field, whether it was recognized.
09:16I know that he liked football, that he hated losing.
09:21Even in a small game, it was all competition for the Cristiano.
09:30Messi grows up in a town called Rosario.
09:32His father works an industrial job and he comes from a very modest background.
09:37Very early on, the legend of Messi spreads unbelievably quickly.
09:42Everyone knows about this kid with, like, magnets in his boots.
09:48Alguien muy competitivo, con muchas ganas de ganarlo todo.
09:54Era un comentario general del barrio a ese nene que se decía que iba a ser el futuro Maradona.
10:02And pretty soon, he lands on the radar of Barcelona.
10:13Before it was not that normal seeing someone coming from so, so far away at such a young age.
10:20We all thought, wow, this boy must be something really special.
10:24Messi!
10:25Messi!
10:25Mira Messi ya!
10:36In 2008, Pep Guardiola became the manager of Barcelona.
10:40And the career of Messi changed from that moment on.
10:48I don't like too much to talk about building around one guy, but we had that Ronaldinho.
10:56He's the number 10 in Barcelona. The number 10. They are the leaders and they are the top guys.
11:03We could see that Leo was coming and there is only one number 10 in a team.
11:10Messi was completely in awe of Ronaldinho.
11:16Ronaldinho puts his arm around Messi and says, would you take the number 10 shirt for me?
11:24Because I'm going to leave. No, no, no, no, number 10, that's you.
11:28Who just looks like a kid amongst his heroes. He's only 18 of them.
11:32He had tears in his eyes. That is a moment where he had to say goodbye to something that made
11:36him happy.
11:36But realized wasn't going to make him the best that he could be.
11:42First season of Pep as a coach, he was thinking he is the best. He's going to make us win.
11:48And we could build around him.
11:59I think Pep for Leo used the qualities of Leo in a way much more intelligent and where he could
12:09even mark the difference.
12:12You look at every single player in every single position and every single player on the bench in that Barcelona
12:18side.
12:18They all played this incredible system, but it was all about Messi.
12:25The last classico of Pep Guardiola's first season was set up almost as a final. The stakes couldn't be higher.
12:31And a way win would pretty much clinch the league title for Guardiola and Messi.
12:37Pep em diu, si em puc esperar, que vindrà el Leo, que li vol comentar una sèrie de coses, a
12:42veure si ell s'ho sent al Bernabéu, no?
12:45Jo me'n recordo que va dir, tinguis l'ordinador preparat, perquè vindrà el Leo i vull parlar amb ell.
12:54Pep has got a eureka moment.
12:57There's a gap between the midfielders of Real Madrid and the centre-backs of Real Madrid.
13:01And he thought, what if we switch and put Messi not on the centre-forward but in the midfield, with
13:07the 30 metres to run.
13:10That day, I think, changed the history of football.
13:14The history of FC Barcelona and the history of Messi.
13:21Messi, in midfield.
13:23False name.
13:28Todo este engranaje hacía que Leo fuera incluso mejor.
13:33The 2008-2009 season ends with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo winning the league title.
13:39And this really cemented their place as star players at two of the world's biggest clubs.
13:49Everybody is calling this final Messi vs Ronaldo. What do you expect from that encounter?
13:54Both are marvellous players. For Manchester, Ronaldo is very important. For us, Messi are very important. So, the most important
14:02thing is we're going to try a good game.
14:05In 2009, the Champions League final, you could see that there was a game that could define an era.
14:13England vs Spain. Barcelona against the huge Manchester United.
14:20Messi vs Ronaldo.
14:22Messi vs Ronaldo.
14:22At that particular time, I think there was no other contest in the world of football than Messi vs Ronaldo.
14:27In the best球, Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo vs Ronaldo.
14:34There was a game of the United. The first 15-20 minutes… we were missing…
14:43The final thing, I remember. I was shaking with Cristiano the first 15-20 minutes… I said, my God, no?
14:51Here's the world player of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo, for the first time with the ball at his feet.
14:58Here it goes, Valdez! Squared it out!
15:00The only 15 minutes were from United, totally.
15:04And Ronaldo shoots from distance.
15:07Barcelona couldn't get control of Cristiano Ronaldo.
15:09If Cristiano had the pilot, it was a feeling of danger.
15:14Ronaldo shot right across the face.
15:18Pep Guardiola decided to use again the false nine, but not from the beginning.
15:25After 10 minutes, Eto'o and Messi swooped.
15:28Barcelona eased their way back into the match, and NES is running at the United defence for the first time.
15:33Lays the ball off to Eto'o. Eto'o's gone through the challenge!
15:35Eto'o's shot, and it's gone in off, Valdezal!
15:40We were ready for Messi, yeah, we thought. But this was a different Messi.
15:47Xavi, Valprofessor, de nuevo, buscando el área de los ingleses.
15:50¡Qué buen balón, Messi!
15:51¡Goal!
15:52With a header, the smallest player in the fifth,
15:55Lionel Messi, makes it 4-0 to 2, Manchester United now.
16:00¡El Barça's campeón!
16:02And Leo was already fundamental, right?
16:11There is a sense now that this establishes Messi as the best player in the world.
16:20That final, we could see that Cristiano was there, on the top, and Leo was coming.
16:37In that final is when the world realizes, oh my God, what is going to happen here.
16:43Are you going to stay at Man United or are the rumors about you going through?
16:46I don't know.
16:50I spoke to him a lot about staying at Man United, because he's that jewel in the crown.
16:56Come on, man, please. And he was like,
16:59I've dreamed about playing for Real Madrid.
17:02Manchester United's goal-scoring, money-making machine.
17:05Ronaldo is sold for a world record fee.
17:08He's heading to Madrid for £80 million. He's a one-man business plan.
17:13The city was just buzzing, knowing that this megastar is coming in.
17:21He's the best of the world. More than Messi, more than Kaká, and more than anyone.
17:2780,000 people were allowed to flood into the Bernabeu.
17:35Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid is one of the most influential transfers in history.
17:39This has reached a level, an enormity, that we've never seen before.
17:50There is no doubt that being in the same league changed everything.
17:56It was a motivation for all Barcelona players to beat Real Madrid,
18:00to beat this Real Madrid with Cristiano.
18:03That's never, ever happened in the history of the game,
18:05where the two best players in the world were actually in the same league,
18:09fighting for the same titles.
18:11In Spain, you've got two huge teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
18:18These two incredible arch rivals.
18:23You knew that this rivalry was about to be turbocharged.
18:35It was one of the best seasons of Real Madrid in the history of La Liga.
18:52It was just not enough to beat Barcelona.
18:55Yes, he kills it!
18:56Oh! Brilliant!
19:01Barcelona were playing a brand of football which was electric and it was adored.
19:06There is Messi!
19:08Messi can win the fourth!
19:10Goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal!
19:14Even Real Madrid fans would admit that that Barcelona, 2008, 2010, it was impossible to stop.
19:21The Barcelona champion of the Liga!
19:25Messi seemed to be winning hands down to Cristiano Ronaldo which, of course, Cristiano hated.
19:41That was a moment of recognition that Real Madrid had to act.
19:46They needed to do something big to be able to rival Barcelona and Messi.
19:51The self-styled special one.
19:54Jose Mourinho will be introduced as the new Real Madrid coach on Monday.
19:59Jose Mourinho had won the treble with Inter in 2010.
20:04It was a man who understood how to defeat that style of play that was so tremendous under Pep Guardiola.
20:11You knew that this was the moment where the excitement, the fun was about to begin.
20:17It was the perfect storm.
20:24When Barcelona play Real Madrid, it's called El Clásico.
20:28Towards the end of Mourinho's first season, we get an opportunity for Real Madrid to turn the tables on Barcelona.
20:34You get four Clásicos in just 18 days.
20:39This period of time became almost more important than politics, than culture, than anything.
20:46Everything was related to football, this big, fierce rivalry.
20:51For Cristiano was Leo, and for Leo was Cristiano.
20:54I need to beat this guy.
20:56Welcome to a resplendent Bernabeu.
20:58The scene for tonight's El Clásico encounter.
21:01This was the passion and the other was what was brought to those games.
21:12The referee has pointed to the spot, and it's a red card for Raúl Albiol.
21:20Jose Mourinho wanted the Real Madrid players to think that Barcelona were the enemies.
21:25Pega Messi, gol!
21:26Let's go!
21:28The two were the Champions League, the two were in the Champions League, the two were in the Champions League
21:31and the Liga.
21:32The Messi versus Cristiano was the match.
21:36It was even more strong.
21:41The first of four El Clásico's over 18 days ends one apiece.
21:48Clásico is always a special game.
21:53When you go around the city, the fans say to you,
21:57we need to win, this match is too important for us.
22:05Cristiano Ronaldo!
22:16It was a complicated game where it was the Barça
22:19and we were able to do football.
22:27I'm really happy for that title,
22:29but we had to suffer a lot.
22:38I remember being fed up of El Clásico because it became a bit toxic.
22:44Mourinho is there to try and create an environment that allows his team to compete,
22:48and that involves this kind of psychological warfare.
23:10What happened in the semifinals of the Champions League was that Pep Guardiola was drawn in.
23:14In this room, he's the **** chef, the **** amo, who knows the world.
23:19I don't want to compete in any instant.
23:21That time, I think it should have been more about the football players,
23:25and it was not, it was more about the managers.
23:28Mañana, a 8.45, nos enfrentamos aquí, en el campo.
23:31The Catalans against the Spaniards, Madrid-Barcelona.
23:34Fuera del campo, y ha ganado.
23:36Le regalo su Champions particular fuera del campo.
23:40Aixequen tots els jugadors, però per ells sols ningú els va dir, aplaudint-el,
23:45i crec que va ser molt important en aquell moment.
23:54Game starts. Pepe gets sent off.
23:57Real drama here in this Champions League semifinal first leg.
24:01Jose Mourinho gets sent off.
24:03We've got this elevation of this rivalry, teams, managers, players.
24:10And, of course, it's the goals that those players will score that will define it.
24:20Barcelona ha scored!
24:21It's Lionel Messi who scores from close range.
24:25Leo ha preferido mantenerse en el segundo plano y ahora en el campo.
24:36Messi now runs through the entire defence, into the penalty area.
24:39He shoots, he scores, it's 2-0.
24:42Lionel Messi shows his genius again.
24:45Aquellos estaban at 100%.
24:48Si vos no estabas at 120, era muy difícil poder pararlos.
24:54Iniesta, and there is space there, and he plays it through brilliantly for Pedro,
24:58who scores for Barcelona.
25:01And that must be Barcelona going to Wembley.
25:06That drama of the four Clascos in just 18 days really elevated the Messi-Rinaldo rivalry,
25:13not just in Spain, but everywhere.
25:16The ball played between Xavi and Iniesta once more.
25:19Messi's available.
25:20Messi gets the ball now.
25:21Scourish forward.
25:22Never cut!
25:23What a goal!
25:25Wembley, la manera va ser espectacular.
25:27The ball of Leo Messi!
25:29And Leo, then, in front of the world, if someone had doubts,
25:33he would understand that he was the best player.
25:35The Barça is the champion of Europa.
25:38Come on!
25:43I remember standing on the pitch and just going,
25:45we just need to get after it.
25:46Because they took our soul, basically.
25:49And Messi was the main ingredient.
25:53Respecto a Leo, ya lo hemos hablado muchas veces.
25:56Yo es el mejor jugador que he visto,
25:57probablemente es el mejor jugador que voy a ver.
26:00That year is the confirmation of Leo saying,
26:03guys, I'm here.
26:05Messi es único.
26:08Es irrepetible.
26:09It was so long.
26:10It was all about Barcelona.
26:11It was all about Lionel Messi winning all the Ballon d'Ors.
26:16It was time for Ronaldo to make a difference.
26:25Messi and Ronaldo are always presented as so different,
26:27but the things that forged them in their childhood
26:29are incredibly similar.
26:33Very early on,
26:34both Messi and Ronaldo realized that
26:37football is the best thing that they could offer to the world,
26:40to themselves, to their families,
26:42no matter what the consequences.
26:53That first year in Barcelona, because of red tape and injuries,
26:58Messi hardly plays that season.
27:00His sister wasn't adapting.
27:02His brother, Matias, he had a girlfriend back in Rosario.
27:05And the whole family sits around the table and they say to 13-year-old,
27:10Messi, what do you want to do?
27:12And Leo said, I want to succeed.
27:15I want to be a professional player.
27:17The consequences of that,
27:19mom has to take back to Rosario his sister and his two brothers.
27:24And his dad has to stay with him.
27:26So the family has to split.
27:28I'm not sure as a 13-year-old you realize what you've just done there.
27:32Often he would go into his room and put his head under the pillow and cry.
27:36And he did that so his dad didn't hear him cry.
27:41Because of his decision,
27:42now it was his time to deliver.
27:48Cristiano Ronaldo went to Lisboa for 12 or 13 years.
27:56And even though, the first year of Cristiano,
27:59Alvalade didn't work very well.
28:00He was young, he had 12 years, he was alone.
28:02He was a proud family, he was a proud family that never had been done for so long.
28:08And he began to feel sad.
28:13The mother of Ronaldo was, in fact, the great support,
28:18not only financial, but also from the point of view of the family.
28:25Dolores grew up in poverty,
28:27but he was determined to guarantee Cristiano Ronaldo
28:30and the rest of the family would not have difficulties.
28:34Dolores left his children back and moved alone to Paris.
28:39Dolores Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon.
28:43She didn't just show him love and protect him
28:46and give him the freedom to move to Lisboa, age 12.
28:50She demonstrated to him that survival,
28:53that being the best version of yourself is relentless.
28:56Morning, noon and night.
28:59I'm always going to play these games, I'm always going to play.
29:02Football for Ronaldo was a way out of poverty.
29:05I will use this skill I've got, I will use this ball.
29:09That brings a pressure, but it's not a crushing pressure.
29:11For Ronaldo particularly, it's an incentive.
29:18They both go to a place that tells them,
29:21we're going to take your talent and make you even greater.
29:24That promise seems appealing, but it's a huge gamble.
29:30So that moment of total commitment is when they realise,
29:35OK, this is not kid stuff anymore.
29:37If I'm going to be the greatest of all time, this is where it begins.
29:43Ronaldo played an extraordinary role in Real Madrid's title victory in 2011-12.
29:56Cristiano Ronaldo's 42nd goal of the season.
30:00It was incredible what the Barça was at that time,
30:04but we had our ways to fight against that.
30:08Real Madrid, La Liga champions.
30:10For Cristiano, beating Messi was certainly a target.
30:17The rivalry, the desire for supremacy was again stepped up a notch.
30:23We play better than them this year, I'm sure about that.
30:26Every year, your numbers keep going up.
30:29Every year, Leo Messi's numbers keep going up.
30:32How tired, though, are you of being compared with Messi every day?
30:36We cannot compare Ferrari with a Porsche or, you know, it's different in Jane.
30:43So are you better than him now this season?
30:46Some people say I'm better, the other people say it's him.
30:48But, you know, at the end of the day,
30:51they're going to decide who is the best player in the moment.
30:55Which is, I'm thinking, it's me.
31:00I'm very proud to give the Ballon d'Or in 2012 to Lion Messi.
31:05Despite Real Madrid's title victory in 2011-12,
31:11Leo Messi won the Ballon d'Or again.
31:16Leo Messi had become not this upstart who'd been on the podium
31:20when Cristiano Ronaldo won his Ballon d'Or at Manchester United.
31:23He'd become dominant.
31:26At the time in the media, there was a very clear division in how they were seen.
31:33Messi is essentially the good guy and Ronaldo is the bad guy.
31:38At the same time, Facebook and Twitter and later Instagram were really starting to grow.
31:43If they do something special on the field, that can be shared instantly on social media.
31:49It really pushes this rivalry further.
31:52And so their legend can grow even among people who have never seen a complete match in La Liga.
31:57They see 30 seconds, and that is enough for them to know,
32:01OK, these guys are different, this is something for me, and I prefer this one.
32:06It wasn't so much, oh, isn't it great that we have Messi and Ronaldo at the same time?
32:10It's more like, I'm a Ronaldo fan, or I'm a Messi fan.
32:13Everyone had an opinion.
32:15This highlights that shift in modern sports, where people love supporting players, not just the club.
32:23Messi was sort of seen as the natural genius.
32:25Barcelona took on some of that characteristic as the sort of purveyors of football purity.
32:30Real Madrid took on a lot of Ronaldo's characteristics, which are his ambition, his striving for greatness.
32:37It was Real Cristiano against FC Messi.
32:41This arriving era of social media is literally perfect for Cristiano Ronaldo.
32:49Ronaldo joined Instagram first in 2012, and Messi followed them ten months later in 2013.
32:57But Ronaldo at that time is joining a platform that is simply photo sharing.
33:03Ronaldo began to rebrand himself. He looked at how much he allowed people to see his life, what aspirational values
33:10he shared.
33:12He's showing his personal life, his training regime.
33:17This was a glimpse into his real world in a way that footballers and athletes before had never really had
33:22the chance to express themselves directly to fans.
33:24It was specifically targeted at convincing people that he was a good guy.
33:30There's a lot of Cristiano who wants to hit Cristiano.
33:36Real Madrid became a perfect foil for the person Ronaldo wanted to be seen as.
33:43Ronaldo!
33:43Ronaldo!
33:44Messi was best before, but now it's Ronaldo time.
33:47Cristiano Ronaldo.
33:48The cumulus of the off-the-pitch marketing and his on-pitch exploits gave him that 2013 Ballon d'Or.
33:57And it was vital to him.
33:59Good night.
33:59Good night.
34:01Good night.
34:02Good night.
34:03Good night.
34:10The heartbeat of everything that he does is about the team.
34:13And he knows that something that comes hand in hand with that, if he does produce the goods, he's the
34:18personal one of us.
34:19And he's not ashamed in saying that.
34:21He's a man who wants to be remembered forever, without any doubt.
34:30He's a man who wants to be remembered.
34:312014 was an opportunity for Ronaldo to take the upper hand with Madrid's obsession, the Decima, the 10th European Cup.
34:39Real Madrid don't simply think they invented the Champions League.
34:44They think they own it.
34:46And so, the 10th, the Decima becomes an absolute obsession.
34:54This was an opportunity, of course, for Ronaldo, not just to win the European Cup, not just to end Madrid's
34:59desperate search for this 10th European Cup, but to cement himself as the central figure.
35:10And when it came to the final, it was Cristiano Ronaldo with a goal, with an assist.
35:17He was at the heart of everything, the image of Real Madrid's European Cup's success.
35:27It was what the Real Madrid wanted for years ago, what the Real Madrid wanted for years ago, and being
35:33able to achieve it was something unique.
35:36People are celebrating in the dressing room, the trophies getting passed around.
35:39Then I saw a small group of players, Marcelo, Pepe, Fabio Contral, and Cristiano.
35:46I had to ask, Cristiano, what are you talking about? Because I don't speak Portuguese.
35:50And he said, we're talking about next year, we have to go and win it again.
35:56And I just thought, wow, that is the difference.
36:00Are you the best footballer in the world right now?
36:02I think so, yes. In my mind, I'm always the best.
36:05Maybe in your opinion, Miss is better than me, but in my mind, I'm better than him.
36:09So it's simple.
36:12When the entire world is telling you you're the greatest of all time, at some point you start to believe
36:16it, and both of them believed it.
36:20There's a genuine animosity that begins to grow.
36:24They didn't acknowledge each other that much.
36:27They hated comparison.
36:35In any moment I see what Cristiano does to try to be better than him or compare me to him.
36:41Cristiano gave him a plus, a plus more, to overcome himself.
36:50In 2014-15, with the arrival of Luis Enrique as manager, would be the moment that Messi came back to
36:57the floor.
36:59Messi is now playing with Neymar on one side and Luis Suarez inside.
37:03And this is the beginning of what's known as the MSN.
37:06Messi into the penalty, shoots, blocked by the goalkeeper, snapped into the net.
37:10Luis Suarez has got the goal and they have won the Champions League for Barcelona.
37:16It was all about Messi in the build-up.
37:18The season after Ronaldo has won a European Cup.
37:20What's the way to respond to that? There's only one way.
37:24The Champions League is the most difficult competition in the world.
37:28To win that is when you can say, I'm the best in the world.
37:38Both of them, whether they would like to admit it or not, was fiercely driven by the idea of becoming
37:42the best.
37:46Leo Messi was 16 years old.
37:50He's a very shy person.
37:52He's a very shy person.
37:53He's hard to express what he thinks and what he feels.
38:11He lives for football. He loves football.
38:15But in his private life, he's very humble. He doesn't seem like a star.
38:22I consider Leo a very humble guy.
38:26But when he crosses the white line inside, he's a different person.
38:31He just wants to win at any cost.
38:36When I was playing the national team with Leo, he's always been a true leader.
38:41He always played with the same passion when he was 20.
38:45We all know what he's done in football.
38:49But the most important thing for me is always being a great human being.
39:01Madeira is special.
39:04Not because I was born there, but all my family is there.
39:08My friends and uncles, everyone is there.
39:13This is why it's a special island for me.
39:18He was super proud of Madeira.
39:20And you couldn't speak badly of Madeira, even in just around him.
39:24He's a hero over there, and that's what he's driven by.
39:27He's driven to prove people.
39:29He don't need to prove nothing to no one.
39:31He's won more trophies than most.
39:32He's just built differently.
39:35He yearned for Portugal to win international tournaments.
39:40He wanted to put Portugal back on the football map.
39:53Despite huge success with their clubs, neither of them had won an international title yet.
39:58And given how important their national teams were for them,
40:01what it meant for them, that really hurt.
40:07Going into Euro 2016, Ronaldo wanted to make up for all the failures
40:11that he viewed as personal shortcomings with Portugal before then.
40:15The defeat in the Euro 2004 final.
40:18Missing out in a World Cup final in 2006.
40:22Penalty heartache in 2012.
40:32He didn't play at the peak of his powers, but he was needed.
40:38He had to step forward.
40:42He turned into this great team player.
40:45He sort of dragged his country right through that tournament.
40:54Cristiano Ronaldo yearned for this trophy, I think, more than anything else.
40:59One of the key themes about Cristiano Ronaldo is that he's always thought that he can't be beaten.
41:18Cristiano Ronaldo is unapologetic with his attitude and his demeanour on the football pitch.
41:25But he's emotional.
41:28The way he was trying to drive his team, his country forward from the touchline.
41:36You could see he was kicking every single ball.
41:42This is his time for, I can do more than be an individual legend.
41:46I can do something for my country here.
41:50He wants to be outright the best.
42:07He knows if he wins the Euros with his national team,
42:12if Messi won anything with Argentina, it's another feather in his cap.
42:20It has been a monumental effort by Cristiano Ronaldo's team.
42:27For all Portugal, the nation was amazing.
42:31But for Cristiano, it was special because he tried all these years before and he achieved.
42:45What he wanted more than anything in the world, more than all the Champions League,
42:48more than any of the individual accolades, was to win a major trophy for Portugal.
42:54Not any of the individual trophies, not the Champions League.
42:57This is the most happy moment in my life.
42:58I've already cried three or four times.
43:00Really, even from my heart, I swear to my son,
43:03it's the most happy moment in my life.
43:05I'm really happy, but happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy.
43:08One day, 100 times.
43:10I'm really happy, really happy.
43:12It was the type that was missing in my career.
43:20At the same time, in the Copa America final, Messi misses a penalty.
43:36So in the cruelest of contrasts, you get Cristiano Ronaldo winning the European Championships
43:41and Messi missing the decisive penalty in the final of the Copa America.
43:46That was the third final that we lost in a row.
43:51He came out of that tournament thinking,
43:53I don't want to be part of this, this hurts too much.
43:57He was suffering in the national team, because he was not winning.
44:19I think it's hard to express just how much Messi wanted to do well for his country,
44:24and how crushed he was every time he failed.
44:30Back in La Liga, Ronaldo's dominance continues.
44:33Cross la deja tras Cristiano, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol, gol.
44:40Real Madrid take the level higher under Zinedine Zidane,
44:44and Messi hates that.
44:46Andre Gomez ante Carvajal, Andre Gomez la meta para Jordi Alba.
44:49El centro atallega, Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi, gol.
44:51At the Bernabéu, Barcelona wins 3-2,
44:55and Messi grabs his shirt and shows it to the camaraderie fans.
45:02That was an iconic moment.
45:04People that are very close to him, including his family,
45:06they were surprised that he would actually do that.
45:09He's not a man of showing off,
45:11but there's something inside him saying,
45:14I've conquered you in your own place.
45:18In the popular narrative, Cristiano had been the diva,
45:22and Messi had been the humble servant of Barcelona.
45:25But this was a moment of Messi
45:27reasserting his own presence in that rivalry,
45:30saying for the first time maybe in his entire career,
45:33look at me.
45:34There's a coldness and a coolness about it.
45:39I must have heard Cristiano,
45:40because in the Super Cup at the Camp Nou,
45:43Cristiano does exactly the same,
45:46shows the shirt.
45:52If you needed proof of how much it meant to each other,
45:57to beat each other,
46:00those are the pictures.
46:03Real Madrid began to overshadow Football Club Barcelona.
46:09In that era, 2016 to 2018, under Zidane,
46:15they won three Champions League trophies in a row.
46:20To win three in a row, I think, is history.
46:24This time was unbelievable, no?
46:25Because we feel like we will win always, no?
46:28One of the key elements to it was the relentlessness of Ronaldo.
46:33Zidane knew that if he got the best at Cristiano Ronaldo,
46:36they'd have a machine who won finals.
46:39Bicycle kick from Ronaldo!
46:42He's accepted!
46:43He wants to reach every record.
46:45He wants to reach every single title.
46:50These three Champions scored a lot of important goals.
46:53And without him, it was not possible, sure.
47:05After much speculation on a possible transfer...
47:08One of the world's greatest...
47:10Cristiano Ronaldo...
47:11Cristiano Ronaldo...
47:12...to join Juventus...
47:13...in a deal worth...
47:14...reported $100 million.
47:18For us, it was a surprise, a big surprise,
47:21because we want to keep with Cristiano a lot of more years.
47:27Cristiano, how are you? How are you?
47:28This moment was hard for the club, for the teammates, for everyone.
47:33Everybody knew an era was coming to an end.
47:37For the two artists, that in that moment, it was all a success,
47:40and that that rivalry kept for so long,
47:43in that time, the two coincided together.
47:46That period of time, the world, they were looking at the Liga.
47:52That Leo and Cristiano changed the Liga for always.
47:55I think that they were the Liga for today.
47:59You, together all the alicenters,
48:02Barça, Madrid, Títulos, Champions, Copas del Rey,
48:05Balones de Oro.
48:06By the time Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid in 2018,
48:10both he and Messi have five Ballon d'Or apiece.
48:17During the nine seasons they shared together in La Liga,
48:19Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 games.
48:24And Messi scored 472 goals in 476 games.
48:30They've just taken it to levels that we've not seen.
48:33Their goal-scoring record is just phenomenal.
48:37There's simply been nothing like it in football history.
48:44Ronaldo joins Juventus and sells 520,000 shirts in 24 hours.
48:50Jump to 2021 and Messi arrives in Paris
48:53shifting 150,000 shirts within seven minutes.
48:58Those are moves that for the first time in their career
49:00are more commercially motivated than by football.
49:03You're not buying sporting excellence.
49:06You're buying a one-man economy.
49:08Manchester United welcomes Ronaldo back in August of 2021.
49:12And what happens?
49:13Ronaldo sells almost double the amount that Messi did at PSG.
49:17They're able to pick up, take and export fandom
49:21to a whole different place wherever they go.
49:23Messi and Ronaldo aren't just athletes.
49:26We know them as a cultural phenomenon.
49:28They are the two most followed people on social media.
49:32Because of their global appeal,
49:35they have endorsed, signed, sponsored, hawked,
49:40all manner of products that you could imagine.
49:43They are on either side of this sportswear rivalry as well.
49:47Messi with Adidas, Ronaldo with Nike.
49:51Fans are signing up for which values they align with.
49:55They've become enormous global brands.
49:58And what's so amazing about them is they have to say almost nothing
50:02to become the world's biggest pitchman.
50:07The Louis Vuitton chess picture came out right before the 2022 World Cup.
50:12It's known as the picture that broke the internet.
50:17People are seeing something they've never seen before.
50:19The ability to think about them, sat at the same table,
50:22what discussions they'd be having.
50:25At that time, people were wondering,
50:27would either of them ever win the World Cup?
50:32In Argentina, we are very passionate people about football.
50:37Football is like a religion.
50:51When Maradona and Argentina won the World Cup in 86,
50:55Diego brought so much joy to the Argentina people.
50:59In Argentina, Diego is God.
51:02Messi was something else.
51:07For many years, there was enormous pressure on him to perform
51:12or be or behave to the expectations of some nebulous demand
51:17to be more Argentinian, to be more passionate,
51:20to be more like Maradona.
51:22For a long time, he was uncomfortable with that.
51:28For a long time, he won the Copa America in 2021.
51:31He liberated him. He broke free.
51:35Before everyone expecting Messi to do everything,
51:40this young team understood how to play for him.
51:45I think that after 2021, everything changed.
51:50To be the champion of the team after 28 years.
52:00But what the Argentinian fans expect from Leo is to win the World Cup.
52:05And they're all at sea suddenly here, Argentina.
52:08And they're now behind.
52:11No siempre se puede ganar.
52:13A veces también se puede perder, empatar.
52:16El fútbol es así.
52:17It's one of the World Cup all-time shots.
52:20It's one of the World Cup all-time shots.
52:21It was just a game.
52:22And from there, it started a new World Cup for us.
52:27Messi for Reigns.
52:31Argentina's savior.
52:32For people who know Messi from a long time,
52:35we all know that he's the leader.
52:37In that World Cup especially, he was more than that.
52:41He was always a bit angry.
52:45And, well, that's a bit of what people asked him, Leo.
52:50That, well, in this World Cup,
52:51people felt more identified with him
52:54in those gestures, in those feelings,
52:55in those ways of expressing what he felt.
52:59The lights shone on him just performing.
53:03Alvarez has got his second, made by the master.
53:07A driven, almost obsessed Messi,
53:09led Argentina all the way through to the final,
53:12or elevating them with every game.
53:16Meanwhile, Ronaldo and Portugal
53:18were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
53:26Most of the world wanted Messi to win the World Cup.
53:31It wasn't Argentina favourites.
53:33It was just Messi.
53:34We want Messi to win it.
53:36What is your dream?
53:38For the Argentina seleccion.
53:38No, really.
53:41We saw the madness of the final.
53:42We saw the madness of legacy and history being played out.
53:47And then being ripped up and rewritten.
53:50This is the conclusion of everything.
53:54There was a sense that this was about Messi.
53:57Well, the referee has pointed to the middle and said goal.
54:00One thing missing from here was the World Cup.
54:02The final has gone to penalties.
54:06Saved by Martinez.
54:09It was as if the entire world was gathered in the Sistine Chapel,
54:13watching Michelangelo, waiting for him to apply the last brushstroke.
54:21It's Argentina.
54:23Kings of football for the third time.
54:27We can't ask anything anymore, the truth.
54:29I'd like to thank God for everything that gave me.
54:31I'd like to finish this way.
54:34It's so much for me, for my friends, for all of Argentina.
54:40And we're the champions of the world.
54:47Messi deserves it.
54:49We want to win it because of him.
54:51Creo que termina tocando el cielo con las manos.
54:57Leo Messi lifting the World Cup trophy
54:59is the most liked photo in the history of the internet.
55:07I think why many people loved it
55:09was because it felt like the culmination of a journey.
55:13There were no worlds left for him to conquer.
55:18Messi has the one thing that Ronaldo does not,
55:20which is a World Cup.
55:24Now, the question is, well, did Messi win?
55:28Did he win this entire era of football?
55:33The World Cup adds another dimension, another level
55:36to the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry.
55:40Who's the GOAT?
55:41Who's GOAT Messi?
55:42I think it's, it's, it's done.
55:44Ronaldo.
55:45To me, it was never a debate.
55:47Messi's the GOAT?
55:47This is the, this is the 10.
55:50Ronaldo.
55:51Ronaldo.
55:53Messi's the best player in the history.
55:55I'm a Messi man, to be honest with you.
55:57What's the Spanish word for GOAT?
55:59La cabra.
56:00Of course, Cristiano is the cabra.
56:04The raging, the polarizing, never-ending debate
56:09over who is the best cements their rivalry
56:11as the greatest footballers ever seen.
56:15Their influence is so global that entire leagues
56:19use them to give themselves legitimacy.
56:22No one has done that more effectively than Saudi Arabia.
56:25They brought Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the Saudi league,
56:28had him back their World Cup bid to host in 2034.
56:32Of course, Messi coming to enter Miami
56:34has completely changed things, right?
56:36It's had the impact that David Beckham really wanted
56:39to draw Americans into the sport.
56:41It is ubiquitous to see kids around the country
56:45wearing bright pink jerseys
56:47with Messi's number 10 on the back.
56:50The rivalry is pushing their wider reach.
56:54We're seeing attendance go up, sales go up,
56:56viewership go up, which is extremely powerful
56:58and it just shows you the global impact that they have.
57:01They will sort of forever be inextricably linked
57:04in the annals of the game.
57:07They've come to appreciate each other as the co-star
57:10of the football drama that they appeared in for the best part of 20 years.
57:19The first connection they had was one of rivalry.
57:23They wanted to be better than each other.
57:28Along the way, they realized that actually the journeys were very similar.
57:34By chance, by destiny, they shared almost a decade in the same league.
57:40They were competing for the same titles.
57:42They wanted to achieve the same challenges.
57:44The consistency over so many years.
57:46I've never seen anything as relentless as it.
57:49Goal!
57:50De Messi!
57:51De Cristiano!
57:52Goal!
57:53Goal!
57:54Goal!
57:54Goal!
57:55No, never really.
58:10We have been so lucky to live in an era where we've watched
58:14those two every single week.
58:19The legacy will be both on the pitch that people follow them and their techniques and their training,
58:24and then off the pitch that people are already looking to build their brands like Ronaldo and Messi have.
58:31It's not easy to be always at the peak of your game. It's basically impossible.
58:36But they made it feel like it was possible.
58:41100% they knew that they were rewriting the history books every time they took the pitch.
58:47He pushed me and I pushed him as well.
58:49So it's good to be part of history of football.
58:52I'm there and of course he's there as well.
59:10It sounds like a video.
59:26It sounds like a video of playing games.