Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2005.
But the story of the last week does not end there for the two footballing superstars.
From seeming certain to leave Barcelona in the summer, the Argentine has been at the centre of a change of mood amid new optimism that he will decide to stay in Catalonia next season.
And by contrast, the Portuguese has been singled out for another Juventus failure in Europe amid speculation he could be offloaded this summer with a year to go on his big-money contract.
Messi tried to leave Camp Nou last year after the humiliating Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
And the 33-year-old has still to start talks about renewing a contract which runs out on June 30 amid interest from Manchester City and Paris-Saint Germain.
But last week saw the Argentine celebrate wildly with his team-mates as Barcelona fought back to beat Sevilla and reach the Copa del Rey final. Then Messi and his son went to vote in the presidential election which saw Joan Laporta return to the top of the club.
The six-time Ballon D'Or winner scored a sensational equaliser at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night before missing his first Champions League penalty since 2015. If that had gone in, another remarkable comeback would have been very possible.
Yet after the 4-1 thrashing to the French champions, this was a different Barcelona as Ronald Koeman also won the tactical battle of the two former Southampton managers by rejigging his team to nullify Kylian Mbappe.
“We are leaving the competition in a different way this time,” insisted the Dutchman.
“We have good feelings. We're going in a different way. It's sad that him and Cristiano didn't make it into the quarter-finals. But Messi must decide his own future.
"Nobody can help him with this. He's seen for a long time now that the team is going in the right direction.”
Key to that decision will be investment in new players for a club over €1bn in debt.
Spanish sports daily AS Diario claims today that new president Joan Laporta has identified Dortmund's Erling Haaland as his blockbuster summer target to give Messi a new centre-forward. He is also interested in the less costly signings of David Alaba, Eric Garcia, Memphis Dephay and Sergio Aguero in the rebuild.
There has been no upbeat spin in the Italian press on Juventus' defeat to Porto over two legs. Like Celtic in Scotland, the Bianconeri have found 10-in-a-row a step too far this season as they trail Antonio Conte's Inter Milan by 10 points in Serie A.
But the Turin club spent €100m on Ronaldo to win their first Champions League since 1996 – and they are getting further away.
For the first time in 15 seasons the Champions League's record all-time scorer failed to find the net in the knockout stages. And Sky Italia analyst Fabio Capello unleashed his inner Roy Keane by branding Ronaldo turning his back on Sergio Oliveira's free kick equaliser as “an unforgivable error”.
Ronaldo is still the top scorer in Serie A with 20 goals in 22 games but opinion on the value of his net €31m-a-year contract is changing.
On Thursday, Rome-based Corriere dello Sport splashed with the headline: “Ronaldo is a burden now. Three years and three Champions League failures at a now unsustainable cost. Juve ask questions about the future of Cristiano. And Chiesa is getting better.”
Federico Chiesa is one the young stars along with Matthijs de Ligt and Dejan Kulusevski who Juventus plan to build around. Ronaldo's current contract expires in June 2022 – the same as fellow playmaker Paulo Dybala who is a decade younger.
Turin-based Tuttosport claimed on Wednesday that rookie coach Andrea Pirlo, who is only 41, has been given the support of the club to stay next season but discussions will be held with Ronaldo.
It suggests Manchester United, Paris-Saint Germain or Sporting Lisbon are possible destinations for the 36-year-old.
PSG have long courted Messi. Ronaldo would be some consolation prize. But a lot more can change before the end of another unpredictable season.
