拋開每場比賽的結果來說，其實世界盃期間有很多有趣的“幕後”故事，讓我們那顆被賽事牽動的心得到一絲絲慰藉。
The debate over the two greatest football players of this age – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never seems to end, even when they are both bidding us farewell after the two teams, Argentina and Portugal, got ousted from the 2018 FIFA World Cup on Saturday.
當地時間6月28日，當阿根廷隊抵達喀山入住酒店時，出現了略顯尷尬的一幕——酒店旁邊的牆上，赫然出現了一幅巨型C羅壁畫。更戲劇性的是，梅西有可能從他的房間裡直接“觀賞”到這幅壁畫。你可以想象此刻阿根廷人的心理陰影面積了。
When Argentine officials came to Kazan, Russia ahead of the last-16 clash against France, they were left red-faced when they saw a giant mural of the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo showing up near the Ramada Hotel where they were going to stay at.
這家位於喀山的Ramada Hotel是阿根廷隊的唯一選擇，因為全市僅有2家酒店有資格接待世界盃決賽隊伍，而另一家酒店已經在小組賽時早早被法國隊預定。
The three-floor-high portrait featuring a winking Ronaldo was painted on a building near the Ramada Hotel by local artists last year, to welcome the Portugal team who were based there for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Awkwardly, Kazan city officials had no idea that because the only other alternative hotel was secured by the French national team, Argentina had no choice but to stay at exactly the same hotel that Ronaldo did a year ago.
然而，尷尬的可不僅僅是阿根廷人，還有莫名躺槍的喀山官員——他們自然也沒有料到怎麼偏偏阿根廷隊就湊巧要住在這麼一家被刻上了巨型C羅“Logo”的酒店。為了避免在“誰是世界上最好的前鋒”這個永恆話題中選邊站，喀山市委託藝術家們連夜在C羅壁畫的旁邊，趕出了一幅梅西側臉壁畫，盡最快速度緩解了這一尷尬局面。
那麼，這幅C羅壁畫又是從何而來呢？
去年夏天，葡萄牙國家隊赴俄羅斯參加2017年聯合會杯足球賽時，入住的正是這家Ramada酒店。當地藝術家們突發奇想，創作了三層樓高的C羅壁畫，以此歡迎他們的到來。只是當地人並沒有料想到，世界盃之年看到這幅鉅作的並非C羅，而是梅西。
Lionel Messi, the Argentina football star, had certainly no idea either that he would have to spend the days before the game in a hotel looking at a massive mural of his biggest competitor – Cristiano Ronaldo.
In order to save the host city from embarrassment and stay out of the trouble of picking sides over the two forwards, local artists were called upon to work overnight, creating another mural of Argentina’s Lionel Messi to match the Ronaldo one on a building opposite.
值得注意的是，就在最近，一位C羅支持者在其壁畫的上方留下了一句話，給原本的尷尬局面又增添了一絲火藥味——“我進了4個球了。你能超過我嗎，里奧？”
However, an anonymous Ronaldo fan challenged Messi not long after by adding a phrase to the mural, which reads: “I scored 4 goals, can you beat that, Leo?” adding fuel to the already existing controversy.
“
壁畫笑談引熱議——
強（牆）強（牆）對話（畫）
”
這場“壁畫大戲”持續發酵，引發網友熱議。
Jokes quickly spread through social media on how Argentina had to deal with the unexpected view from their hotel windows.
中國網友在微博上玩起了文字遊戲：
就連BBC體育記者也忍不住在Twitter上調侃兩句。
BBC Sports News Correspondent @RichardConway tweeted:
“所以現在梅西是無處可逃了嗎？這就是他和阿根廷隊在酒店房間外看到的風景。還有來自C羅的刺激：“我進了4個球了。你能超過我嗎，里奧？”
早在阿根廷隊抵達喀山之前，粉絲們就已經聚集在酒店門口，等著一睹巨星風采了。然而，
當大家暢想若阿根廷和葡萄牙同時晉級，則有幸看到兩位足球傳奇一較高下時，比賽結果卻將人們狠狠地拉回現實。Fans were already gathering outside the hotel before the arrival of Messi and his compatriots. The excitement was taken to the next level with the knowledge that they would have a chance to see two of the greatest footballers competing against each other if both of the teams win their respective last-16 matches on Saturday.
But that will probably never happen now.
“
如今壁畫依舊，主人卻不見
”
在昨天結束的1/8決賽的兩場比賽中，阿根廷3-4不敵法國，葡萄牙1-2敗給烏拉圭。兩隊先後被淘汰出局。
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both sent packing from the 2018 FIFA World Cup as France edged a 4-3 thriller over Argentina and Uruguay beat Portugal 2-1.
值得一提的是，頂著1.8億天價身價、4分鐘連入兩球的法國19歲天才少年基利安·姆巴佩（Kylian Mbappé）曾是C羅的忠實粉絲。
Kylian Mbappé – perhaps a lot of people remembered this name after the Argentina vs France game. The 19-year-old French star rose to prominence on the biggest football stage as he became the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score at least twice in a World Cup match. It’s worth mentioning that he was a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and once covered his bedroom walls with tons of pictures of Ronaldo when he was younger. At the age of 14, he even got a chance to take a picture with the Portugal star striker. And within just 5 years, he became the brightest star as he flew the flag for a new generation in Russia.
也許很久以後，人們仍會記得喀山酒店外牆的壁畫。然而，壁畫的兩位主人公——31歲的梅西和33歲的C羅，在黯然神傷過後，是感嘆一聲經歷過最好已然無憾，還是留取丹心涅槃重生，只有時間才能給出答案了。
While the two murals outside the hotel walls in Kazan may still be talked about in the future, the heroes of the stories about 31-year-old Lionel Messi and 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo are left to time to tell if their era has come to an end or if there is a chance that they could come back stronger.
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