The evergreen pair of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may continue to defy the laws of time but a changing of the guard has started to emerge at football's elite level.

David Alaba believes that Bayern Munich teammate Robert Lewandowski should be rated alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best player's in the world. 

Former Argentina forward Diego Maradona suggested Lionel Messi was 'in decline' after Barcelona's 1-1 draw in the Champions League against his old side on Tuesday evening.

Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted celebrating Vinicius Jr's opening goal during Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Barcelona on Sunday night after the Brazilian copied his famous celebration.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Vinicius delighted the Bernabeu - including the watching Cristiano Ronaldo - by opening the scoring against Barcelona. So is the 19-year-old Brazilian coming of age?

The Barcelona captain scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining to give his side all three points, and in doing so scored his 438th La Liga goal in his 474th appearance.

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo could be seen pretending to high five the absent fans as he made his way off the team bus ahead of the match at Allianz Stadium in Turin.

PETE JENSON: Real Madrid will need goals when they face Manchester City next week. They will also need goals if they are to overturn Barcelona's two point lead in LaLiga.

Cristiano Ronaldo is remaining in quarantine in his Madeira home after Juventus team-mate Daniele Rugani tested positive for coronavirus. 

Cristiano Ronaldo might be locked down in Madeira but he is clearly not letting himself go amid the coronavirus crisis. He posted a photo of himself after working out with his family.

Brazil legend Pele has added his opinion about who is the current world's best between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - with the three-time World Cup winner plumping for the former.

Pele this week said that he believes Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi, a view that goes a long way in strengthening the Portuguese's case. But what have other legends made of the rivalry?

The current nationwide lockdown is due to expire on Friday but Italian health experts have said the need to try to contain COVID-19 will likely last weeks beyond that.

Ronaldo's enormous £500,000-a-week wages - his contract is worth over £27m per year - could prove too much for Juventus to sustain even when revenue streams return.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid footballer in Serie A, earning £27.5million per season. He could leave Juventus if he demands the lost wages back rather than sign a contract extension.

Ferguson won an unprecedented 38 major honours during his reign at United, managing to maintain the club's dominance over two decades before retiring in 2013.

Former Real Madrid and AC Milan star Kaka believes Lionel Messi is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo. This came as a surprise as the former Brazil international played with Ronaldo.

Xavivplayed with both during his career at Barcelona, with Messi essentially replacing Ronaldinho as the star player upon Pep Guardiola's arrival as manager in 2008.

Italian Football Federation are hoping to restart the Serie A season in mid May, and with that in mind Juventus have allowed Adrien Rabiot to return to France for the remainder of the lockdown period.

The Juventus star has regularly updated his 211 million followers on Instagram about his recent activities with football indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Portuguese talisman brought the curtain down on nine trophy-laden years at the Bernabeu in 2018 before making a £100million move to Turin, where he is under contract until 2022.

The former Madrid captain and goalkeeper proposed that former players of Real Madrid and Barcelona came together for a game where proceeds would go to charities for those in need.

Madeira's regional secretary of health Pedro Ramos said the Portugal international did not have 'special authorisation' to work at the stadium. Ronaldo was allowed by to return home by Juve.

Ronaldo has rented the villa for him, his partner Georgina Rodriguez and his children, and comes with a swimming pool, top-floor games room and six bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.

With football on lockdown, Cristiano Ronaldo has kept his 212 million followers on Instagram up to date as he tries to stay in good shape. Though working from home faces its distractions.

West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic has predicted there will be widespread change to football finances after the coronavirus crisis comes to an end.

The Juventus talisman is spending time with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez at the residence with football suspended, and has been attempting to remain fit by using a local stadium to train.

Ronaldo started his career at Nacional, representing the club between 1995 and 1997 before winning a move to Sporting Lisbon but returned as he tried to kill time during the football shutdown.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as the two biggest stars in world football. Though Roberto Mancini has claimed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 'on the same level'.

Real Madrid had publicly courted Ronaldo throughout the 2008-09 season and shattered the transfer record that summer by paying £80m to bring the Portuguese star to the Bernabeu.

The prospect of the 2019-20 season being declared 'null and void' looms large over football. We take a look at some of the records, achievements and landmarks that could be erased from history.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO IN ITALY: Christian Vieri was a goal machine in every sense. As one of just six Italians in history to win a golden boot at a foreign club, Vieri is well aware of what it takes to succeed.

A tricky game has been sweeping social media in which you are challenged to select a World XI, who you've seen play, but with no two players having represented the same club or country.

Sadio Mane had an ally in Lionel Messi after being 'left with a bitter taste' by Jurgen Klopp's decision to back Virgil van Dijk for last year's Ballon d'Or.

Phelan took part in a Q&A on Twitter on Friday night on the official account of the Manchester Football Association. Fans asked a host of questions to Sir Alex Ferguson's old No 2.

Neymar worked under Unai Emery in his first season at Paris Saint-Germain after completing a world record £200m move to the French club from Barcelona in the summer of 2017.

The Argentine full-back was one of the last signings made by the club prior to the new owners, arriving just days before the Abu Dhabi buyout was confirmed in September 2008.

Andres Iniesta has no concerns over Spain's form as they prepare to begin their Euro 2016 campaign against the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky is fit and ready to play in his country's European Championship opener against defending champion Spain on Monday.

Tomas Rosicky may have left Arsenal this summer after 10 years at the club but there is still life in the old dog yet as he takes to Euro 2016 with the Czech Republic.

The former Arsenal veteran believes his country should be positive after their narrow defeat to Spain but has called on his side's youngsters to step up on the big stage.

While Group A, B and C may be taking shape, attention turns to Group D and E on Friday. Italy stormed to a 2-0 victory over Belgium and will want more success against Sweden.

CHRIS HATHERALL IN SAINT-ETIENNE: Croatia fans threw flares on the pitch and fought in the stands as their team threw away a 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic to draw 2-2.

Former Croatia manager Slaven Bilic has warned there will be more crowd trouble after condemning the violent scenes which marred his country's draw with the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky will miss the rest of Euro 2016 with a thigh injury suffered in his side's 2-2 draw with Croatia on Friday in St Etienne.

Fatih Terim offered an emotional defence of his contribution to Turkish football on the eve of Tuesday night's game against the Czech Republic.

Sportsmail's Martin Keown offers his assessment of Tuesday's two late games at Euro 2016 as Spain face Croatia in Bordeaux and Czech Republic try to reach the last 16 with victory over Turkey.

Turkey’s teenage star Emre Mor helped keep his country’s last-16 hopes alive and also sent Northern Ireland into delirium, as Turkey beat Czech Republic 2-0.

The Gunners goalkeeper scored an unfortunate own goal to put Saints ahead in their clash at the Emirates Stadium before birthday boy Laurent Koscielny levelled with an acrobatic overhead kick.

MARTIN KEOWN - INSIGHT: Gareth Southgate will have learned a lot about his players on Friday in what would have been a very disappointing night for him.