Christian Vieri has admitted that he fears for football once Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hang up their boots.
The former Italian striker, who played for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Inter, sees the pair's rivalry as unique due to their consistency.
"This has never happened in world football," Vieri told Miguel Serrano on YouTube.
"To play like they do in every match, in every season, scoring 40 to 50 goals.
"This hasn't happened in the history of football.
"And when they're old, when Messi and Cristiano retire, it's going to be a tragedy for world football."
Vieri also had his say on Real Madrid's recent troubles.
"They've won four Champions Leagues in five years and you have a year where, unconsciously, you relax," he explained.
"Many players were fatigued, tired... that's normal after a World Cup.
"It's the whole team that hasn't performed, not just one or two players."
The 46-year-old spent one season at Atleti and spoke about his good memories of his time in LaLiga Santander.
"I always say that the league where I had the most fun was the Spanish one because it's open football, face to face," Vieri said.
"Whoever is stronger wins.
"I arrived at Atletico Madrid and at a stadium, the [Estadio Vicente] Calderon, with 55,000 people singing every Sunday... It was quite a sight.
"And then how we played. One-two touch, possession of the ball... That year I won the Pichichi.
"I played in attack with Juninho [Paulista] and Kiko, two great players that helped me score so many goals."
ReyG602
380
Us when Ronaldo and Messi retire:
raynknight
275
For some Football will Be Over..... Love and JoY will be Over... I don't how I will react or will I ever be able to Recover..... I will cry my heart out BoTh r Football
CR7RealMadrid12
101
He is right... It will be a tragedy when the GOATs retire... The excitement that both of them bring is incomparable, just take a lot at how el classico now seems like a normal league game, all because the rivalry between the teams and the GOATs was so intense in just that game... Yes! We have other great players like, Mbampe, Kante, Neymar, Mane, Salah and many others but they just don't compare to the real legends of football... LM10 and CR7 you will be missed once you retire
grizou
72
when Messi and Ronaldo retire : 1_ many football fans will stop watching football bcz 2_ the biggest rivalry will end 3_ many barca fans will stop supporting barca and many juventus Portugal and Real Madrid fans will stop also watching matches 4_ people will start to create another rivalry between young talent : Mbape and Felix or de Jong and de light but their performance will not keep stable 5_ news stars : Hazard Griezmann and salah will lose followers because they haven't Messi or Ronaldo to compete with 6_ UCL will be boring 7_ ballon d'or award will be waste of time 8_ all football users will decrease
Tupaeikmr
67
For some The fight will be Over including me 😭 I don’t know how I will explain my Children the Joy of those two GOATS I’m fan of CR7 but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect Mess. When We( football fans) lost those GOATS, We Will Realize How important THEY ARE don’t hate one of them just enjoy watching
Irfan19
56
It's damn true. When there will be no Messi and Ronaldo, football will not be worth watching. Love the both GOATs.
raynknight
53
One Day they will Return To their planet and Football will again be Open and will return to its Normalcy...... The world will reunite and Will cry at the Same Time ......... Start Loving and Adoring them coz they won't ever Come Back
messidai
52
i dont know about a goalscorer but the magician will really be missed... his scoring, dribbling, playmaking, passes oh god😔😔... messi is really a god like in football who is 3 in 1 player.... goalscorers come and go... but complete player like messi come once in a decade😥😥
raynknight
50
Football is most certainly the winner as the successes of one becomes the catalyst for the other to raise their game. And when you think that you’ve seen it all, the bar gets raised yet again. If U r a Fan of Beautiful then U sud be a Fan of Both...... Immortal they will remain and World will never see Such Greats ever Again..... I Bow Down to U GOATs....
raynknight
48
The Greatest Were They and will remain Greatest..... They were Eternal rivals and they Were The Rulers..... Earth Isn't their Planet coz They aren't Humans.... God Created them by His Own Hands and Filled them with their Powers.... Football isn't just a Game Coz They filled us With Emotions and Love..... They r Immortals and will Live with us Forever and Ever
Mosanya
47
The media and fans of this two makes it a rivalry, when the reality is it's a friendly competition where both have pushed each other to have the Incredible career they have. Both individual strengths should be appreciated as two of the best of all time rather than arguments over who the best player is, it will be a sad day for football world if this two retire, football will not be the same, let's enjoy the time they have left...
iamildaz
45
Let us enjoy the Two Greatest Players of all Time while it lasts....A long time Rivalry between them has given them room for improvement and make them the GOATS of all time....
AviralTrivedi
45
well all good things come to an end........ and so must this beautiful pair of rivals....... it sure will be too hard to handle for any of us..... but that is the harsh reality and... even the thought of one day not seeing messi and ronaldo play.... it just scares me a lot
Hacker65
43
That would be the saddest and the most crying part of my life and football... I knew the beauty of Football by these two goats. No matter what they both makes football love ❤
vomcikmrt
35
I think the biggest issue will be expectation from fans.There are alot of great young players out there but I'm not sure anyone can maintain this kind of standard for so long.So pple better take their expectations back to pre 2007
Chrismaris1
34
alot was said too when legends stop playing and here we are seeing others taking over doing even better.. so all these quotes or posts don't get me... football will continue to to improve and players will continue to rise...but I want players like Ronaldinho to arise...we have missed joy in football.. the two mentioned here only bring too much hate most times to their fans.... Ronaldinho oh...he doesn't believe in pushing all these individual awards making people greedy in football..he just enjoys the joy football brings
Hacker65
32
Vieri you must never ever had said that its soo much disappointing 💔 I cannot even imagine football without them Well some years are left so I have to stop crying and enjoy it
SingamFootball
11
Leo & Ronaldo... Legacy Rises on