Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo Not Retiring Anytime Soon, Bound To Face Challenges This Year

Soccer living legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo aren’t going to retire anytime soon and are expected to have a challenging year ahead.

Contrary to what some reports claim, longtime rivals Messi and Ronaldo are not calling it a career anytime soon. In fact, Barcelona F.C. just handed Messi 12 historical feats that the captain must and more likely to accomplish this year.

The list of challenges is consists of a series of challenges that Messi is bound to achieve. Among the most notable feats is beating Brazilian legend Pelé as the top goalscorer for a single team .

According to history, Pelé has scored a total of 643 goals in competitive games for Santos. Messi on the other hand, already owns 618 goals across his name from all competitions. With just 25 goals away from the Brazilian, Barca hopes the Argentine will be the player to set a new record this year.

Another challenge demands Messi to “win a fifth Champions League. ” Currently, “Leo” has already won the title four times (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015) but he and the team have been opting to end a five-year drought this year. Needless to say, a fifth continental title in the European stage would leave Messi just a title away from the record holder, Francisco Gento, who has won six with Real Madrid.

More importantly, Barca also wants Messi to cop the most prestigious award given to an individual player – the Ballon d’Or trophy. Messi already proved that he’s the best in the world this year by earning his sixth but would definitely add more glamour to his stellar career by winning a seventh Ballon d’Or award.

While Messi’s 2020 challenges is already laid out by Barcelona, Ronaldo’s future with Juventus is a bit uncertain. However, reports claim that Juventus are now considering offering “CR7” a contract extension which could keep him at the club until the age of 38.

It will be remembered that Ronaldo inked a four-year deal with the Turin giants when he joined for a whopping fee of €100 million (US$112 million) from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018. But according to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, the Portuguese superstar and Juventus have both displayed genuine desire to extend the deal until 2023.

From the look of how things could end up for Ronaldo, it appears the he is bound to chase titles and individual recognitions with Juventus while dealing with the changes in his body as he aged.

Ronaldo and agent Jorge Mendes reportedly have discussed the forward’s future on a recent trip to the Emirates, where the Juventus ace received the “Player of the Year” accolade at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.