Although the group stage draw for the Champions League was the usual long drawn out process, it did throw up, as always, a handful of tasty ties.
Perhaps none more so than the Barcelona v Juventus match-ups, which will see Cristiano Ronaldo pitch up against old foe Lionel Messi once more.
In the lead up to those two games in particular, there’s bound to be the usual comments as to who’s better, and why, but that age-old argument is moribund now.
Each are world class in their own right and deserved to be celebrated as such.
And the fact is that these two matches could very likely be the last time that the pair face each other in elite level combat unless the footballing Gods happen to be smiling down on us again in the future.
It’s about time we sat back and enjoyed what both bring to the table rather than pore over the minutiae.
Like Federer v Nadal, Borg v McEnroe, Hearns v Hagler and Ali v Frazier, this individual battle writes the narrative, yes.
However, this particular time around should be savoured and not used for point scoring by the pro-Cristiano or pro-Messi groups.
It will take away from the enjoyment of what’s expected to be one final curtain call.
Drum roll please…