Empty arenas are no places for seminal moments. But neither echoes nor fake cheers could conceal the magnitude of what happened in football this week.

The game’s reigning kings, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, were eclipsed by their heirs apparent, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Braut Haaland.

There was no ceremony, no handing over of the baton, but the silence seemed to respect the ending of an era.

In three games over two days, the coming generation announced its arrival with devastating speed and power, and five goals between them.

Mbappe’s glorious hattrick in PSG’s 4-1 thrashing of Barcelona was right in front of Messi’s disbelieving eyes.

A day later, Haaland bagged a brace in Borussia Dortmund’s win in Seville as Ronaldo’s Juventus slumped to defeat in Porto.

Messi did manage to convert a penalty and things might have been different had Ousmane Dembele accepted his gift-wrapped pass to make it 2-0. Ronaldo also might have had a penalty to save Juve.

No one is saying Messi, 33, and Ronaldo, 36, are finished. Both still have quite a bit left in their lockers and are giving Old Father Time a decent joust.

And even when their physical prowess diminishes further, both have the intelligence to adapt to more cerebral roles.

In fact, they already have to some extent with Messi no longer making a pretence of tracking back while Ronaldo has become more of a poacher.

Both also have their eyes on big tournaments for their countries this year.

Portugal are defending European champions and, with an exciting crop of young stars, believe they can retain the crown. It’s not an occasion Ronaldo will want to miss.

Messi, for his part, incredibly still seeks a senior trophy for his country and as Argentina are co-hosts of the Copa America with Colombia, will see it as his last chance to get that pesky monkey off his back.

But overall neither is as good as he was. Nor are their respective teams.

Messi was the supanova of the magical Barcelona widely considered the greatest club side of all time. Now they’re in disarray, facing bankruptcy and with Messi, himself, uncertain about his future.

Ronaldo was also the main man at Real Madrid where he won four Champions Leagues to the one with Manchester United. And now, after moving to Juventus, the Old Lady is not the force it was when he joined.

It is fair to say that Messi, in particular, is better than the team he plays for. Although the mesmeric moments are less frequent, look at the teammates he’s lost: firstly, Xavi and Iniesta and more recently Neymar and Luis Suarez, reducing the fabled MSN to a lonely and sometimes forlorn-looking M.

He may still have an Indian summer elsewhere at either Manchester City or PSG, but it would be sad to see him leave Barca, the love of his life.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, has often talked of playing till he’s 40 and you wouldn’t put it past him.

But the duo’s era of dominance is over. They won 11 Ballon d’Or’s between them but you can’t see either winning another.

It has been a fantastic era since Messi first flitted onto the scene when he was known as “the flea”, and Ronaldo started doing stepovers for Manchester United, both callow teenagers.

Each has their followers but whoever you favour, few would disagree that no one else has been fit to tie their bootlaces for well over a decade.

But all eras come to an end and if this week’s events were not the final act, they were clear signposts.

And for those who doubt whether anyone will ever be as good, it’s worth looking at the Champions League stats for a comparison.

Norway’s Haaland, 20, and France’s Mbappe, 22, have scored 28 goals since the start of the 2019-20 Champions League to just 15 combined from Ronaldo and Messi.

Mbappe (19) and Haaland (18) are the top Champions League scorers before their 21st birthday. Messi had only eight and Ronaldo none at that age.

As CR7’s former United teammate, Rio Ferdinand, put it on Wednesday: “Last night Mbappe overshadowed Messi and tonight Haaland overshadowed Ronaldo on a night where they both played.

“It’s the changing of the guard. This could be another rivalry which lasts 10 years. How long have we been asking ‘what’s next?”

Sometimes, it can just be a moment or an image that sums up the ending of an era and last Wednesday there was one such image.

It showed a despairing Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique, trying to cling to Mbappe’s shirt as the youngster steamed away from him, arms pumping like pistons.

It was in vain and Pique, along with fellow aging lion of the Nou Camp, Sergio Busquets, was soon substituted.

Like the famous shot of Maradona mesmerising half a dozen Belgium defenders at the 1986 World Cup or Muhammad Ali staring contemptuously down at a fallen Sonny Liston, it captured the moment: the changing of the guard.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.