Messi v Ronaldo: A rivalry that has dominated for two decades

By Andy Cryer BBC Sport senior journalist Brazil's Kaka had just won the 2007 Fifa Player of the Year award but it was an awkward on-stage moment next to him that was to go viral and provide perhaps the first glimpse of a generational rivalry. A youthful Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had finished second and third respectively but Brazil legend Pele mistakenly handed the latter the trophy for second place at the Zurich Opera House. Fifa president Sepp Blatter had to intervene to ask the duo to swap the trophies, with both looking suitably unimpressed. For the next 10 years, Messi or Ronaldo won every Ballon d'Or and Fifa award going. In fact since 2007, 20 of the 29 gongs awarded for Europe's player of the year has gone to one of them. With approaching 2,000 career goals between them, 85 trophies for club and country and countless individual awards and records, Messi and Ronaldo will forever be remembered as two of the most decorated players in history. It is a rivalry that has defined the last two decades of football, transcending clubs, countries and competitions to reshape how the game has been played, consumed and debated across the world. "Two players like them, competing at that level for so many years, fighting over the Ballon d'Or and scoring that many goals... I don't think we'll see it again," Argentina World Cup winner Angel di Maria, who played with both, says in BBC Sport's new documentary Rivals: Messi v Ronaldo. Driven by a pursuit of trophies, records and a relentless desire to be the best, the pair – likely to be making their final World Cup appearances this summer - have pushed each other to new heights. It is a rivalry that goes beyond the ultimate 'greatest of all time' debate they have fuelled. "They both changed football," says Di Maria. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Watch the trailer for Rivals: Messi v Ronaldo Ask anyone who is the greatest and agreement is hard to find. "It has to be Ronaldo," ex-Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand says. "Messi is the best there has ever been," insists ex-Barcelona player and manager Xavi. Ronaldo has had his say in the past, stating in 2012: "You cannot compare a Ferrari with a Porsche. It is a different engine. Some people say I am better, some people say he is. They are going to decide who is better in the moment and I think it's me." What do the numbers tell us? If it's judged on goals or Champions League trophies, Ronaldo leads the way. If it's Ballons d'Or or total trophies, Messi shades it. For some, Ronaldo nudged ahead when he helped Portugal lift the European Championship in 2016, but Messi has since guided Argentina to two Copa America titles and a World Cup. "For me, Messi is the best player in history and Cristiano is the greatest goalscorer in history," Spanish football expert Guillem Balague says. And Deco, who played with Ronaldo for Portugal and Messi for Barcelona, says: "They ar