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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barry Glendenning

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

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Lionel Messi was making an emotional Argentina farewell, Cristiano Ronaldo was busy in the Notes app. Composite: Getty Images

JUST ENJOY THEM

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, Lionel Messi’s final match for Argentina was the perfect curtain call.

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