IN football, memories are short. You’re only as good as your last game is a cliché that has more than a grain of truth to it, particularly in the way that you are perceived by supporters, and these days, among the commentariat on social media.

That is why, according to the court of public opinion, over a decade of brilliance from Lionel Messi has now been cast asunder by two below-par performances at the World Cup. To use a phrase the little magician will likely not be familiar with, gie’s peace.

Yes, his performances so far in Russia have been way below what you would expect from a five-time Balon D’or winner, and Cristiano Ronaldo – who he will forever be compared to – has been imperious. But why on earth should that debate over who is the greatest of those players, as tedious as it is becoming, be settled upon what happens here?

Why not the 2014 World Cup, when Messi dragged his Argentinian side to the final while Ronaldo scored just once and Portugal failed to progress from the group stage? They were thrashed 4-0 by Germany, drew with the USA and narrowly defeated Ghana to finish third in their group. Was that the defining moment of Ronaldo’s career, and the reason he will never be the greatest of all time? Of course not, so why should this be seen as Messi’s?

I have seen it suggested that Ronaldo dragging a poor Portuguese side through the last two matches (they still haven’t qualified for the next phase) and Messi failing to inspire Argentina in similar fashion is proof once and for all that Ronaldo is the best. But there are some mitigating factors to consider. First of all, Argentina are a shambles from top to bottom. Coach Jorge Sampaoli flitted between looking like a middle-aged divorcee out on the pull at Yates’s to someone pacing a hospital floor awaiting news on a dying relative during the calamitous defeat to a classy Croatia.

His body language was appalling, his team selection laughable, and his plan to get the most from some of the most gifted attacking talent on the planet was ingenious in its inefficacy. Put simply, the plan seemed to be to allow the players to figure it out and hope somehow that Messi – as he has done so often in the past – came up with something to win them the game.

As far as strategies go, adopting one that sees perhaps the best player in the world starved of possession made Craig Levein’s infamous 4-6-0 look like a common-sense approach.

So, while Messi is placed in the middle of an Argentina side who go about their business like those little vibrating men in Electric Football, at least Ronaldo has the benefit of a semi-organised unit behind him that keep it tight and allow him to do what he does best.

You could argue fairly that in terms of individual talent, Messi benefits from being part of a far more gifted squad of players, but what good is that when the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Paolo Dybala are on the bench, and the various journeymen and clapped-out stars such as Javier Mascherano have no structure or discernible plan to follow? All of this is not to denigrate Ronaldo and his achievements. The Real Madrid superstar is doing wonderful things with both club and country, but let’s not forget that it was Messi – a playmaker – who picked up the European golden boot last season.

And while as a fully paid-up and self-confessed member of the Messi fan club I am going to defend him, even he is not immune from criticism for his part in all of this. At times during the match he frankly looked disinterested, but it is his own body language during the anthems that was most telling.

Repeatedly rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed, Messi looked like a man with the weight of his country, and the world, upon his shoulders. Perhaps the burden of expectation has finally gotten too much even for him to bear.

Does that mean he isn’t the greatest of all time? Not in my book. But that’s the point, everyone has their own book, and there will never be agreement on who the greatest player of all time is. Maradona, Pele, Ronaldo (the original one), Cristiano and Messi will always be part of the debate, so let’s just be thankful that we still have two of them playing and enjoy it while we can.