Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi has been a battle for the ages. It's European vs. South American; Argentinian against Portuguese; a 6-foot-2 athlete blessed with Terminator-like remorselessness and ruthless technique pitted against a 5-foot-7, instinctive genius of juvenile physique; power, precision and pride vs. impish eruptions of intuitive invention.
If you've been ferociously caught up in taking sides between Ronaldo and Messi, big-upping one while trying to belittle and diminish the other instead of luxuriating in one of the all-time great sporting rivalries, then shame on you. And if you have been, perhaps you haven't noticed recently that Father Time, stealthily and pitilessly, has entered the fray to suddenly make it a three-way battle.