It's definitely a time for goodbyes.

For fantasy fans, life may never be quite the same after the end of Game of Thrones.

And if you're a Manchester City supporter, there is a Vincent Kompany-shaped hole in your affections as he leaves the club after 11 years to become Anderlecht player-manager.

It's hard to imagine the Belgian centre-back in any kit other than City's sky blue, but all good things must come to an end.

With that in mind, here are the other sportspeople we definitely won't be ready to say goodbye to when the time comes.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

You're either 'House' Messi or 'House' Ronaldo, but let's cast aside the 'who's better?' debate for a minute and just imagine football without these two.

Messi, 31, has scored 602 goals in his 684 games for Barcelona, while Ronaldo, 34, has hit 600 goals in 804 games across his time at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

That represents 0.75 goals per game for Ronaldo, and 0.88 for Messi - stats that leave the pair in a world of their own.

But what do we do after they retire?

Just sit watching reruns of Messi dropping Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng on his backside during a Champions League semi-final? How about Ronaldo, then at Manchester United, smashing a 'knuckleball' free-kick past a despairing David James?

They may not be ready to bow out any time soon, but football won't be the same without them.

Serena Williams

With 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name and having beaten 12 players who were ranked number one in the world - including her sister Venus, there is no doubt Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

She won the Australian Open while pregnant, then - after giving birth to daughter Alexis in September 2017 - returned to reach the Wimbledon final in 2018.

A pioneer for not only female athletes but black athletes as well, she has changed the landscape of tennis entirely.

In an article for Fortune.com she said: "Growing up, I was told I couldn't accomplish my dreams because I was a woman and, more so, because of the colour of my skin. In every stage of my life, I've had to learn to stand up for myself and speak out."

LeBron James

After scoring more than 32,500 points across 16 years, LA Lakers forward LeBron James is definitely a contender for the NBA iron throne.

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were all worthy protectors of the basketball realm, but James has a very strong argument as to why he may be the greatest ruler of all time - the GROAT?

With 8,662 assists, 7,140 free-throws made and 4,163 turnovers in 1,198 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat and the Lakers, he has proved himself one of the most dominant athletes of his generation.

And it's not just his on-court heroics that have established him as a great. His I Promise School houses 240 at-risk third and fourth-grade students in James' hometown Akron, Ohio.

He may not have got the Lakers to the play-offs this season, but his legacy will live on well past his final game.

Marta

Brazilian striker Marta Vieira da Silva is a six-time winner of Best Fifa Women's Player.

The 33-year-old has scored 110 goals in 133 games for Brazil, and 166 goals in 257 games in her time playing at Los Angeles Sol, Santos, FC Gold Pride, Western New York Flash, Tyreso FF, Rosengard and Orlando Pride.

In an interview with BBC Newsbeat, former England manager Hope Powell said: "Her longevity in the sport and what she's done for it needs to be admired and respected.

"There are now opportunities for women to become professional footballers and earn a decent living from the game. There are lots of players that have made that pathway possible, and Marta is one of them."

The striker will play in her fifth World Cup this summer in France.

Roger Federer

The Swiss maestro has won 101 career singles titles - just the second man (after Jimmy Connors) to reach a century and the first for 36 years.

Federer's titles have come across 19 years, on all the sport's surfaces, in 30 cities and 19 countries.

And, at 37, he's still not letting up.

He pulled out of the recent Italian Open, but just six weeks earlier had told ESPN: "We're not thinking about retirement because I feel like the more I think about it, then the more they'll talk about it, the closer I am to it."

There will come a time when all six of these sporting greats will no longer be playing, and hopefully it doesn't leave a big Game of Thrones-size hole in our lives. But at least we can say we saw them at their best. After all, 'what is dead may never die'.

Great Britain's Jay Clarke and James Ward suffered defeats in the first qualifying round of the French Open.

GB number four Clarke served for the match before 19-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, ranked 26 places higher at 133, won 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.

Fifth-ranked Briton Ward, 169th in the world, lost 6-1 6-2 to German Oscar Otte, who is rated 24 places higher.

It leaves Kyle Edmund, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans as the British men in the main competition.

Englishman Clarke, 20, made a fine start as he broke his opponent's serve in both of his first two service games to dominate the opening set.

After fighting back from 4-1 down in the second, Clarke was serving for the match with a 6-5 second-set lead, but the Spaniard broke back and then won the tie-break to take it to a deciding set.

Davidovich Fokina, a winner of the Wimbledon juniors event in 2017, broke immediately in the third set and two further breaks saw him move into the next phase, needing to win two more matches to qualify for the tournament.

Meanwhile, Jamaican-German Dustin Brown, who famously beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2015, progressed into the second qualifying round with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 victory over Denis Istomin, the second seed in the qualifying tournament.

The 34-year-old will now face Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez.

Former world number five Tommy Robredo, at 37 the second oldest player in the event and a five-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist, lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to German 18-year-old Rudolf Molleker.

A total of 128 qualifiers began on Monday battling for 16 places in the main draw.

Newcastle Falcons forward Santiago Socino is to leave Kingston Park to return to his native Argentina.

The 27-year-old hooker, who has been made 34 first-team appearances in his four seasons with the Falcons, is to join Super Rugby side Jaguares.

"Santi has ambitions to play international rugby for Argentina," said director of rugby Dean Richards.

"We've agreed to release him so he can take up this opportunity in his home land. We wish him the best of luck."

Socino is yet to play for his country, while his elder brother, fly-half Juan Pablo, his team-mate at Newcastle for three seasons, has won four caps.

Juan Pablo Socino left Newcastle last summer to join Pro 14 side Edinburgh on a two-year deal.

Newcastle will play in the Championship next season after finishing bottom of the Premiership.

The inaugural 'Rugby X' tournament will feature a host of Olympic medallists after England, Ireland, USA and France all signed up for the international five-a-side event at London's 02 Arena.

The four countries will all enter men and women's teams on 29 October, with Argentina entering just a men's side.

Tournament organisers are talking to the Barbarians about taking the sixth spot in the men's competition.

There will be four teams in the women's event.

All athletes across the men's and women's competition will be paid the same fee for taking part.

Tom Mitchell, Dan Norton, Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Phil Burgess are among the Team GB Sevens silver medallists from the 2016 Olympics who are set to feature for the England men's side, with Amy Wilson-Hardy and Holly Aitchison among the women players likely to be involved.

It's understood the Barbarians - if confirmed - will include a number of Fiji's Rio 2016 gold medal winners, while some big 15-a-side names could also be included if not still playing at the World Cup.

The event will be split into two sessions, an afternoon slot aimed at families, and an evening one targeting 18-34 year-old event-goers.

It is hoped the inclusion of established Sevens players will help give the fledging concept credibility, as Rugby X tries to revolutionise the sport at both elite and grassroots levels.

How will it work?

SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.

So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!

10 Years (May 20, 2009): Tony Stewart earned his first victory in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and his first victory as a car owner at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Driving the No. 14 he co-owned with Carl Haas, Stewart survived a chaotic final 10 laps that saw him take the lead from Matt Kenseth on lap 99 coming out of turn two. He motored away to a nearly one-second victory.

Other Happenings: John Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay were the unlikely heroes of Bump Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as both men bumped their way into the field for the 93rd Indy 500; Del Worsham delivered his second-straight victory in Funny Car competition for Al-Anabi Racing at Bristol Dragway while Tony Schumacher and Mike Edwards also collected victories; Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Series East-West combo race at Iowa Speedway.

25 Years (May 18, 1994): Al Unser Jr. put his Penske Mercedes on the pole for the 1994 Indianapolis 500 with a 228.001 mph average lap time. He secured the fastest lap during the first day of qualifications, but had to wait until Sunday to see if his teammate Emerson Fittipaldi could bump him down the order. Fittipaldi could only muster the third-best time, leaving Unser to claim his first Indianapolis 500 pole.

Other Happenings: Ernie Irvan was the class of the field en route to winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series event at Sears Point Raceway in California; NASCAR announced the creation of the SuperTruck Series, with exhibition events planned for July of 1995; two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rodger Ward suffered a heart attack shortly after announcing plans to build a race new track in Adelanto, Calif., known as Southern California Motor Speedway.

50 Years Ago (May 21, 1969): Bobby Isaac and David Pearson split a pair of NASCAR Grand National Series events held over two days at Maryland’s Beltsville Speedway and Virginia’s Langley Field Speedway. Isaac dominated at Beltsville, leading every lap of the 300-lap affair from the pole. Isaac led the most laps at Langley, but ran out of gas late in the race and that allowed Pearson to pick up the win.

Other Happenings: Ramo Stott ran out of gas, but still managed to win the second running of the Tennessee 500 stock car race at Bristol Int’l Speedway by 10 laps when rain stopped the race early on lap 412; With 84 cars in attendance attempting to qualify, rain washed out the first weekend of Indianapolis 500 time trials for the first time in history; Al Unser’s dream of competing in the Indianapolis 500 were dashed when he was injured in a motorcycle accident that resulted in a compound fracture of his left leg.

SALISBURY, N.C. – Just over a week ago, Lucas Sipka didn’t even have an Open division outlaw kart of his own, but now the teenager has a shot to race in the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport for the first time.

Sipka will make his maiden attempt at Millbridge Speedway’s biggest race, as well as just his third Wednesday Open division appearance at the sixth-mile dirt oval, during the May 20-22 spectacle.

His opportunity to compete in the Speed51 Open came after his older brother Adam, who works for a start-up technology company, purchased one of Tyler Reddick’s former outlaw karts for Sipka to drive at his home race track.

That opened the door, and from there, the former Box Stock regular knew he had to seize the chance.

“My brother played a big part in getting this thing and I’m so grateful to him for getting involved and helping me out going into the biggest race week of the year,” Sipka said. “The only thing that he asked was that he could drive it if he wanted to come down and turn some laps, and I figured I could make that deal. He is family, after all, and we have each other’s backs.

“I’m just so excited to be a part of this. I’ve watched the QRC Open for a few years now, and it’s one of the craziest nights there is at this race track every year,” he added. “To think that I’m going to be a part of it this week is a little insane, but I can’t wait to get started.”

Sipka is particularly excited to be wheeling a family-owned No. 54 entry, with backing from Clouatre Motorsports, during this week’s event.

He made his Open division debut driving for Kyle Beattie earlier in the spring, but feels like he can drive harder in his own kart than driving for another team owner.

“It’s a cool feeling (to drive for family). A lot of drivers may not talk about this, but at least for me, when I drive someone else’s equipment, I’m out of my comfort zone. When I drive my own stuff, it allows me to drive a little more like a bat out of hell,” Sipka joked. “You can just be a little bit more aggressive, I feel like, when you’re not worrying as much because you don’t want to tear someone else’s kart up.

“When I drove (Kyle) Beattie’s kart in my debut, other than the No. 21 … I maybe took it a touch easier, just because I knew it wasn’t my machine and I don’t like tearing up other people’s stuff,” he noted. “I’m more comfortable and fitted to my kart, and in my mind it lets me take a few more chances than I might normally take otherwise. Now, we just have to go forward into the week and see what happens.”

Though he only has two prior starts in Open division equipment, Sipka is aiming high for Wednesday night’s $5,151-to-win program, hopeful of racing his way through the alphabet soup and into the big show.

A confidence-building 11th-place finish in Sunday’s Clash at the Creek, held at nearby Mountain Creek Speedway, has buoyed Sipka’s hopes even more.

“I’m shooting for a shot to contend in the B-main at the Open. In a perfect world, that’s my goal,” said Sipka. “I know the competition is going to be tough, but I’d like to get that far if I can. The main mission is just to keep the kart clean, though. We want to not tear anything up and roll it back in the trailer in one piece.

“After we had a shot at a top 10 at Mountain Creek (Speedway), I’m feeling a lot more confident now.”

Sipka’s rapid ascent from Box Stocks to the premier class over the past six months has surprised even himself, but he’s focused forward and not looking back when it comes to the biggest race of his career.

“It hasn’t really set in yet that I get to do this. I don’t think it’ll set in until I get out on track Tuesday for the first session of hot laps,” Sipka noted. “Monday’s practice … that’s cool and all, but it’s still just an open practice with a few more karts than normal, really. That first race day is when it starts counting.

“My mind is honestly blown that last year I was in a Box Stock, and now I’ve got triple the power and so much more competition because I’m running with the Opens. It’s crazy,” Sipka added. “Who would have thought, right?”

Practice for the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport at Millbridge Speedway begins on Monday, May 20.

Feature racing takes place on both Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22.

The Indianapolis 500 isn’t called The Greatest Spectacle in Racing for no reason. Every year 33 of the greatest racers in the world converge on Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete for the honor to be called Indianapolis 500 champion.

Everyone remembers the winners – Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and more – but we don’t always remember the drivers who competed in the Indianapolis 500.

Today and every day until the 103rd Indianapolis 500 we take a look at 10 drivers you may have forgotten competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Indianapolis 500.