Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are likely to have taken in their “last dance” at the World Cup finals, former France international Mikael Silvestre has told GOAL. Two all-time greats featured at the 2026 event, as their evergreen exploits thrill audiences across the globe, but Argentina and Portugal may be without their respective GOATs when the 2030 tournament rolls around.

Luis Suarez stepped up in the absence of Lionel Messi to score twice and guide Inter Miami to a 3-2 victory over Chicago Fire, spoiling Robert Lewandowski's MLS debut. After the match, Herons manager Guillermo Hoyos praised the Uruguayan veteran, comparing his tactical intelligence to that of his iconic Argentine team-mate.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have never been team-mates, but Mikael Silvestre has told GOAL that it would “make sense” for two GOATs to be kept apart in MLS if CR7 were to join his eternal rival in the United States. There has been talk of a remarkable union being pieced together at Inter Miami, but not everybody is convinced that a couple of iconic figures should grace the same team.

The World Cup that revealed the truth: the tournament that changed the rules of the game