Inter Miami are OUT of the Champions Cup and winless in five amid Lionel Messi injury concerns, while Al-Nassr’s title hopes fade and Cristiano Ronaldo sees red – what’s going on with the legends of the game?

Lionel Messi‘s first full season in MLS with Inter Miami is not going as smoothly as anticipated, despite the off-season addition of his former Barcelona running mate Luis Suarez.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner returned for Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final second-leg against Monterrey after missing four games with a muscle injury.

But Messi could do little to stop his side crashing out of the competition following a 5-2 aggregate defeat. It looks to be a similar case for his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

Like Messi, Ronaldo has maintained his stellar individual performance but major team success is proving difficult. Al-Nassr find themselves 12 points adrift of leaders Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League and they too have been eliminated from continental cup competition.

The late-career plight of this generation’s two greatest footballers has been brought into focus and raises several questions. Perhaps above all else, what are they still doing it all for?

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami squad was eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup after a 5-2 aggregate defeat to Mexican side Monterrey

Cristiano Ronaldo was shown the 12th red card of his career after losing his head in Al-Nassr’s defeat to Al-Hilal on Monday night