For over fifteen years, any conversation about international soccer has come back to two players, Argentina's Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, undoubtedly the greatest of their generation but with styles, attitudes, and fan bases that couldn't be more different. To aficionados, "Messi or Ronaldo?" is a question of personal values and what global soccer is and should be, and here the authors trace their rivalry through their life stories, reputations, successes, and excesses.

"A comprehensive primer into the entwined histories of the two titans and the commercial forces that have molded their careers and, by extension, the sport."—NYTimes