No Messi or Ronaldo in UCL quarterfinals for 1st time since 2005

At long last, it feels like we're truly witnessing a changing of the guard in world football.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both failed to reach the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League, as Barcelona and Juventus were eliminated in the round of 16 this week by Paris Saint-Germain and FC Porto, respectively.

It's the first time since the 2004-05 season neither Messi nor Ronaldo's team will feature in the last eight of Europe's premier club competition; 16 years ago, the diminutive Argentine was just breaking into the Barcelona senior team, making his Champions League debut, while Ronaldo was in his second season with Manchester United.

It's been a while.

Their respective setbacks this time around are accompanied by questions over their futures. Messi, 33, famously tried to engineer a transfer last summer to no avail, while suggestions Juve could part ways with the 36-year-old Ronaldo quickly began circulating after Tuesday's surprising result.

Neither Barcelona nor Juventus appear close to competing for a Champions League title at the moment, contributing to calls for both players to move on if they have any hope of adding to the nine European Cups between them.

The pair being ousted from the tournament also comes against the backdrop of the game's two brightest young superstars, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, marching into the quarterfinals after dominant displays this week.