Football in July: End of the road for Messi and Ronaldo?

July in football: World Cup farewells for Messi and Ronaldo, Infantino row, and mega transfers from Anderson to Barcola.

Have we seen the end of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? The two superstars featured at the World Cup for the sixth time each and may have bowed out in style. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

As we bid farewell to July, we must reflect on significant moments that will be remembered in football history throughout the month.

It goes without saying that it was the World Cup final month, with the final between Spain and Argentina for the title. The Albiceleste rode the back of their talismanic number 10, Lionel Messi, while La Roja built a team ready to conquer the world.

Spain triumphed, while Argentina's game plan fell short of expectations. The victory of Luis De La Fuente's side showed class, grit, and teamwork. The World Cup leaves us wondering what would become of the Argentine team without Messi.

Speaking of potential exits, we don't expect to see Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portuguese shirt ever again. He has played his part, and football will never forget him. He's not the only one we must have said goodbye to; Neymar is done with Brazil, and Luka Modric has done his bit for Croatia. Thank you, lads; goodbye.

Away from the World Cup but sticking with the organizers, what is Gianni Infantino smoking? We understand the forceful infusion of American elements into football, but selling the World Cup stake? Does he think this is the NBA?

Wherever Sepp Blatter is, he'd wonder if this level of corruption under Infantino could ever have been imagined when the Swiss man was president of FIFA. The entire European body has rejected Infantino's idea; let's see how this plays out.

To transfers. We can all agree to brand this summer window the Elliot Anderson window. Everyone uses the Nottingham Forest midfielder's mammoth move to Manchester City as their benchmark for their players. If you're not talking 100m, no one is listening.

In the same month, Morgan Rogers went to Chelsea from Aston Villa for a whopping £117m. It's also important to note that the deal was cooking for Arsenal before Chelsea rushed to serve the dish. This opened doors for some toddler transfers to balance books. Call that the Chelsea doings.

By the way, a financial sanction of £10 million and a suspended two-window registration ban have been imposed on Chelsea FC for breaches of the Football Association. The FA charged Chelsea FC with 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2 after its current ownership self-reported misconduct upon its purchase of the club. The FA is continuing to investigate individual misconduct arising out of this case.

In July, Arsenal saw cracks in the Vinicius Jr. contract with Real Madrid and would love to bring the Brazilian to the Emirates. The Premier League champions have contacted the player's camp, but everything depends on what happens with contract renewal talks.

Liverpool wants Bradley Barcola and will go in with a bid that many believe to be worth £90m. What we're sure of is that if the bid were delivered physically, whoever goes to submit it might be arrested. PSG has a valuation of over £150m for the Frenchman and will not be insulted by any poverty bid. Is Liverpool playing?