The countless rivalries that exist within sports makes them that much more exciting. Whether they exist between individuals, teams, regions, or even different ethnic or religious groups, rivalries add a unique sense of excitement to any competition.

For the past nine years, the international football community has been fortunate enough to watch the greatest individual rivalry in the history of sports. While rivalries such as Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer, Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson and Sidney Crosby vs Alex Ovechkin all present incredible drama, none compare to the nine-year reign of dominance currently being displayed by Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid & Portugal and Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona & Argentina.

In American sports, the awards for Most Valuable Player are handed out at the end of the regular season and before the beginning of the playoffs. In sports like golf or tennis, there is a ranking system that varies regularly based on the performances of athletes in their respective sports. These are two places in which football awards are unique compared to other sports. To start, there is technically no such thing as playoffs (outside of the Americanized MLS), meaning that footballers are judged based on their performances for an entire calendar year. Second, there is no ranking system in place for individual players, only for national teams.

The official award for the best footballer in the world is the Ballon d’Or (ball of gold in French). There are 30 players nominated for the prestigious award, which accepts votes from professional football players, coaches from across the world and high-ranking journalists. With all of the individuals most centrally involved in the sport having a say in the selection process, the player elected winner of the Ballon d’Or is typically accepted without much fuss.

Incredibly enough, for the last nine years, either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo has won four Ballon d’Or trophies (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016), while Lionel Messi has won five (in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015). Between them, they have won 12 domestic league titles and seven Champions League titles, having broken a never-ending list of records on both the domestic and international level. Lionel Messi is widely considered the best player in the history of the sport, and some make their argument for Cristiano Ronaldo. Regardless of who one may consider the best, both of these players have undoubtedly cemented his place amongst the greats. It is important to note that one could easily argue Cristiano Ronaldo to have the more successful career between the two, but when it comes down to ability, Lionel Messi usually comes out on top.

In no other sport have two players remained in or immediately near the number one position in the world for so long, or so intermittently. After winning his first Ballon d’Or as a player on Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo watched Messi win the award for four straight years, before he came back and won it twice in a row as a player for Real Madrid. Messi then stole the crown again in 2015 before Ronaldo was again awarded the Ballon d’Or for the fourth time this past January. The rivalry between these two players is unprecedented considering the decade of consistency shown by both players, and we must remember to appreciate them both for the legends that they are despite all of the inevitable comparisons being made between the two players.

With that being said, we continue to compare.

While Cristiano Ronaldo is still performing relatively well, he is now 32 years old, and his form this season has not been quite as prolific by his sublime standards. He has looked slightly less sharp at times, and unless Real Madrid win the Champions League again this year as well as the Spanish domestic league, he is unlikely to ever win the Ballon d’Or again. Lionel Messi, on the other hand, is only 29 years old and is currently in mesmerizing form. Considering that Messi relies more on his technical ability, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo utilizes his physical dominance, Messi can likely win the Ballon d’Or at least twice more before somebody else finally takes the crown from the two superstars.

But who will it be?

Currently only 25 years old, Neymar is perfectly poised to win the next Ballon d’Or after teammate and mentor Lionel Messi decides to let him lead the frontline. FC Barcelona purchased the Brasilian in 2013 from Santos, his native club, where Neymar was considered a prodigious talent from the age of 16. He stayed in Brasil for a year longer than stardom-hungry European clubs wished he would, giving him another year to develop as a player, until finally moving to Barcelona at the ripe age of 21.

After a solid debut season with the club, Barcelona then bought Uruguay-native Luis Suarez from Liverpool, who is arguably best striker in the world. This trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez quickly gelled in the 2014-2015 season, becoming what is now considered the best attacking line in the history of the sport. This goal machine trio produced 122 goals that season between them, leading the club to their second treble in club history, with Neymar making an immediate impact, scoring in the Champions League final against Juventus. On April 2^nd 2017, Neymar scored his 100^th goal for Barcelona in less than four seasons, indicating his comfort at the club.

Neymar has grown as a player in every season that he has been with Barcelona. With the mentorship of Messi and Suarez, along with veterans like Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and coach Luis Enrique, Neymar will continue developing into the very superstar that people saw in him from day one. In fact, if he continues improving at this rate, he may even exceed those expectations. His ability to accelerate past players with innovative skill moves, use both feet to great effect, and his nose for both goals and assists make him the perfect winger. Most importantly though, you can tell in his style of play that Neymar lives for the joga bonito (the beautiful game in Portuguese).

Neymar has also proven his world-class abilities on the international stage, currently averaging well over half a goal a game for Brasil (a stellar statistic for a national team), which at this rate will see him easily passing the legendary Pele to become Brasil’s all time leading scorer. Neymar won Player of the Tournament honors at the 2013 Confederations Cup, had an impressive 2014 World Cup campaign before getting injured, and led Brasil to Olympic Gold for the first time in the country’s history last Summer. Neymar is the game-changing player that Brasil has been missing since Ronaldo (not to be confused with Cristiano Ronaldo) single-handedly won the 2002 World Cup with a brace in the final against Germany.

If Neymar would like to end the nine-year reign of Ronaldo & Messi more quickly than some may anticipate, he will need to perform just as the Brasilian Ronaldo once did for the national team. The World Cup is next summer, and with Neymar growing in confidence with every game, there is no reason that he cannot lead Brasil to their first World Cup since they won in South Korea in 2002. Such heroics would almost certainly guarantee him the 2018 Ballon d’Or, assuming that Messi wins the 2017 Ballon d’Or.

Realistically though, Neymar doesn’t need a World Cup to win the Ballon d’Or. As long as he continues to win trophies with Barcelona and performs at a high level for Brasil like has done for his entire career, it is only a matter of a time before Neymar is crowned king. He is simply that good. Surely, players like Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba are capable of beating Neymar to the throne, but none of them have hit the ground running in the way that Neymar has.

At this point, we are privileged enough to sit back, relax, and enjoy as Lionel Messi ever so slowly hands the torch to Neymar. Or, depending on what Neymar wants to do, maybe it won’t be so slow at all.

Over the course of three years, Luis Enrique has transformed F.C Barcelona into the most powerful team in Europe. Many wondered if there would ever come a time when Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, which doubled as the rise of Lionel Messi, could be recreated. After the disastrous seasons that followed his departure, the world thought that Barca’s golden age was over. But all of this changed with the introduction of Luis “Lucho” Enrique as manager of F.C Barcelona. In his first season at Barcelona, Enrique led the Basque men to an international treble, a feat only accomplished before by Guardiola’s Barcelona.

The 2016-2017 season marked the start of Enrique’s third and final season at F.C Barcelona. In just 2 seasons, Lucho was able to win eight major trophies, and he still has his eye on another international treble this season. Nothing could characterize Barcelona’s miraculous run under Enrique better than Barcelona’s historic 6-1 triumph at the Camp Nou against PSG. The past two years of magic leave one question in the mind of Barca fans and soccer fans all around the world: What will become of F.C Barcelona after the retirement of the glorious Luis Enrique? Apart from the emerging uncertainty stemming from the departure of Enrique, many sources are insinuating that Messi is having some issues with re-signing his contract with the club. From cryptic messages to the club President at times to his complete silence regarding the issue at other times, many fans of Barcelona are fretting the possible exit of the best soccer player in the world.

Who will take the reins of F.C Barcelona?

This is a question on the mind of all Barca fans, but one with no definitive answer just yet. After their victory against Sporting Gijon on March 1, 2017, Enrique announced his departure from the club and ever since, the pundits have been hard at work trying to predict the next manager at Barcelona. Possible candidates include Laurent Blanc, Jorge Sampaoli and Ronald Koeman, among others. Of these possible candidates, Jorge Sampaoli of Seville has emerged as the heavy favorite for taking up the reins at F.C Barcelona.

For most Barcelona fans, Jorge Sampaoli would seem like an outsider. His connections to the club are far and thin. He is an Argentine national and therefore has familiarity with star defender Javier Mascherano and living legend Lionel Messi. What makes Jorge Sampaoli such an enticing pick for the hot seat at Barcelona are his unparalleled credentials. In 2015, Sampaoli took the Chilean national team to the Copa America trophy for the first time in their history. Further, in just his first season at Sevilla, Sampaoli made them a fiercer contender for La Liga and took Sevilla to the brink of the Champions League quarterfinal. A feat which could have only been a dream just five years ago for Sevilla has felt like a reality under the management of Sampaoli. The only catch is the fact that Sampaoli has just signed on with Sevilla, and being that it is only his first season managing the club, it may take the European giants some convincing to bring Jorge Sampaoli on board so quickly as their next manager.

Laurent Blanc is another manager who fits the manager mold at Camp Nou. Blanc spent some of his soccer career playing for Barcelona in the 90s as a defender. He is one of the most respected managers across the globe and would certainly be qualified to take up the hot seat at F.C Barcelona. Starting off his career as a manager, Blanc led French club Bordeaux to a league title in 2009 and managed the Paris Saint-Germain team that won 11 trophies in a span of just three seasons. This makes Blanc one of the most qualified people to take over as manager of Barcelona. Furthermore, he is currently out of a job, making it easier for him to accept the offer.

Another option that Barcelona may consider is Ronald Koeman. He is a great managerial talent, but is not the most likely option for the Spanish giants. Koeman is a familiar face at Barcelona. He played for them in the 90s and even served as an assistant for quite some time. He coached Valencia to a Copa Del Rey title and has brought on prominent changes at both Southampton and current club Everton. Though Koeman is a worthy candidate, his lack of champions league experience and lack of credentials with bigger-name clubs will ultimately make him a less desirable option for taking over as manager of F.C Barcelona.

Again with the Messi hoopla?

It seems as though every season, Barcelona fans are barraged with breaking news stories claiming that superstar Lionel Messi will be leaving their club, usually with little truth to these rumors. However, this time around we see a very different attitude from the Argentine star and the club itself. The club knows the value of Messi and understands that their domestic and international level of supremacy cannot be met without the magic of the maestro Messi. One may then ask themself, “why then would Barca even risk having Messi disgruntled regarding his contract?”. After scoring a late goal in a 5-0 rout against Celta Vigo, Messi made a gesture to the stands in the form of a phone call. Many analysts and football pundits have found this to be a sign to club President Josep Maria Bartomeu. Throughout his presidency at Barcelona, Baromeu has been subject to much dispute with Messi regarding contract issues with the club. Many have begun to understand that Messi needs more support from the leadership at Barcelona.

Though Leo has dismissed his gesture as nothing more than a quirky celebration, many fans are wondering if their beloved “La Pulga” will abandon them at the end of the season. This seasonal concern by Barcelona fans has happened before, and looking at past trends and Messi’s faith towards F.C Barcelona, it can be concluded that he will not in fact be leaving Barcelona this Summer. Messi has spent his entire career and most of his life at Barcelona, and the club has become an integral part of his daily life and identity. At his stature and level, it is highly doubtful that Messi could be lured away from Barcelona by money. So rest assured Barcelona fans, the club will remain in good hands – for now.