GOING PLACES

THOMAS HEATH LOOKS AT THE PATH TAKEN BY LIONEL MESSI AND CRISTIANO RONALDO'S NEW STOMPING GROUNDS...

- THOMAS HEATH

NCE upon a time, in Spain's golden era, the two superhuman pillars of modern football would come face to face with each other in famous annual spectacles.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo wore the crests of two footballing superpowers, Barcelona and Real Madrid, globally admired clubs with their very own footballing philosophies and immortal icons.

Now, Messi and Ronaldo spend their days on different sides of the world at clubs that have truly only been in the global eye since their arrival.

Messi's Inter Miami line up in Major League Soccer, a league with sizeable global recognition but limited worldwide viewing.

Ronaldo's Al Nassr compete in the ever-developing Saudi Pro League. The Portuguese great won't be the only inhabitant being eagerly watched in the coming year as the league have amassed quite a collection of superstars this summer.

Whether you like it or not, MLS and the Saudi Pro League look set to increase in importance on the global football stage in the coming years, particularly with Messi and Ronaldo on board. They've both come a long way from more humble beginnings...

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER

The MLS has always had a sparkly new shine to it with its palm-tree-surrounded stadiums and team names that sound more like those of an American teenager's FIFA team.

And that may well be because the league is relatively sparkly new. It wasn't formed until 1993 but this was not the beginning of US soccer. The true professional era began in late 1967 when the United Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League merged to form the North American Soccer League.