Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could be handed a remarkable opportunity to play on the same team for the first time in their careers.
The two superstars spent much of the past two decades competing for individual honours and football’s biggest prizes, building one of the sport’s greatest rivalries in the process.
They have faced each other 37 times for club and country, but have never had the chance to combine as teammates.
That could change if Carlos Tevez succeeds in bringing the pair together for his planned farewell match in Argentina.
Tevez planning star-studded farewell
Tevez, 42, retired from professional football in 2021 while playing for Boca Juniors, the club where he began his career.
According to reports from TyC Sports, the former Argentina international is working on plans for a farewell fixture at Boca’s 57,000-capacity La Bombonera.
The match is being targeted for December, although plans remain at an early stage and a final date has yet to be confirmed.
Tevez reportedly wants the occasion to feature around 60 former teammates, friends and major figures from his career, creating a celebration involving some of football’s biggest names.
Ronaldo and Messi linked with reunion
The proposed guest list could include players connected to Manchester United, Manchester City, Juventus, Corinthians and Argentina.
Both Ronaldo and Messi have a clear connection to Tevez.
Tevez played alongside Messi for Argentina and shared the Manchester United dressing room with Ronaldo for two seasons.
The pair could therefore find themselves involved in the same farewell event, although it remains unclear whether either player has committed to taking part.
There is also no indication yet of which team Messi would represent if he accepts the invitation.
For Tevez, however, bringing together two players who defined an era of football would provide a fitting centrepiece to his farewell.
And if Ronaldo and Messi were eventually selected on the same side, the match could offer fans a sight that once seemed impossible: the two greatest rivals of their generation combining as teammates.
