Final show for Messi and Ronaldo
Some rivalries define generations.
Ali and Frazier. Fergie and Wenger. Federer and Nadal. Oasis and Blur.
In football, there has only ever really been one debate.
Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?
For two decades they've traded blows, shattered records and collected trophies at a rate that has made comparison almost impossible. Now, at the 2026 World Cup, incredibly, at the ages of 39 and 41 respectively, they are going to be to the forefront of the narrative yet again.
Ronaldo and Messi continue to be central figures for Portugal and Argentina despite playing their club football outside Europe's elite leagues.
Messi is orchestrating matches in the MLS.
Ronaldo is still scoring relentlessly and winning titles in Saudi Arabia.
And, Betfair are offering punters one final opportunity to put their money where their mouth is on this debate.
Who will score more goals at the tournament?
Messi is the marginal favourite at 10/111.91 - while Ronaldo can be backed at 5/42.25.
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Can Messi's moments trump Ronaldo's goals?
The market has Messi slightly shorter than Ronaldo. I'm not sure that's right despite how important Messi remains to the way Argentina play.
Messi doesn't need to dominate physically anymore. His game evolved years ago. He can influence matches through moments rather than constant involvement - that has been shown at club level with Inter Miami, where he's still managed to score at a rate of 0.88 goals per game in the MLS in 2026 despite father time appearing on his doorstep.
And, we've seen that repeatedly with Argentina - he topped their goalscorer charts in qualification with eight goals for a team that are the defending champions, won the 2024 Copa America and then dominated the South America qualifying.
Group games with Algeria, Austria and Jordan do provide ample opportunities for Messi to add to his 13 World Cup goals.
However, some pre-tournament fears over his fitness don't bode well for his chances of mass minutes, especially as boss Lionel Scaloni has said the pressure is off Messi to deliever following their achievements in 2022 and that he wants his star man to prioritise "enjoying" the experience.
Read Mark O'Haire's verdict on Argentina in his team preview here
Writing off Ronaldo has rarely been a wise move
Every time football decides Ronaldo is finished, he finds another way to score and remain one of the superstars of the game.
He's become perhaps the purest penalty-box striker the sport has ever seen. He doesn't need 60 touches. He might only need one chance.
And unlike Messi, there remains a scenario where Portugal's attacking structure is designed almost exclusively around feeding him opportunities.
He has scored 25 goals in his last 30 appearances for Portugal to justify Roberto Martinez's faith despite calls from some quarters that a reliance on Ronaldo is holding back a team capable of winning this tournament. They are contenders and are shorter in the outright betting than Argentina at the time of writing.
The creative juices certainly flow in this Portugal team which bodes well for a finisher like Ronaldo against DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia in the group.
Bruno Fernandes, the Premier League player of the year, pulls the strings with the likes of Nuno Mendes and Joao Cancelo providing quality from wide areas.
Ronaldo will not be rested
A key factor in favouring Ronaldo at the prices is Martinez's reluctance to substitute him, too. At Euro 2024, Ronaldo played the full 120 minutes in back-to-back knockout games. The ramifications for Martinez for making such a bold and newsworthy call are clearly in the manager's mind.
If Ronaldo is fit, Ronaldo stays on the pitch.
That's important because this bet isn't just about individual quality. It's about opportunity. The deeper your nation goes, the more minutes you play and the more chances you get for this bet to land.
The greatest rivalry football has ever known may have one final chapter left.
And if this truly is the last dance, I'd rather side with the player whose game is now all about scoring goals, nothing else.