5 reasons why Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still dominating the footballing world

It's been time immemorial since the footballing world has seen someone other than two freaks of nature, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, lifting the Ballon d'Or. The duo has shared an unprecedented 10 Ballon d'Or titles in between themselves, something that is easy to appreciate, yet hard to understand. The unparalleled success of the two footballing legends has left the fans spellbound. It is enigmatic, to say the least, to figure out what separates them apart from the rest of the footballing fraternity.

That said, here are the 5 reasons why Messi and Ronaldo are still dominating the footballing world.

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5.Consistency.

FC Barcelona v Real Madrid CF - La Liga

Since the turn of the decade, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have taken their rivalry to a different level altogether. Both of them are the only players in the modern era to hit the 50 goals landmark a record 5 times. Moreover, Ronaldo scored 50+ goals in 6 consecutive seasons starting from 2010-11 which ended in the 2015-16 season.

These are insane figures considering the fact that with technical advancements, teams are getting more strong tactically. While it might be argued that Ronaldo and Messi also have been benefitted from such things, this should not be an excuse weigh down their achievements.

There has been plenty of cases of players, who are exceptionally talented but haven't really been able to replicate their performances season after season. Take, for instance, Eden Hazard. After winning the PFA award and the Premier League title with Chelsea in the 2014-15 season, he wasn't able to replicate his form and scored a paltry 4 goals in the 2015-16 season, as compared last season's tally of 16 goals.

Even Neymar, who is considered as the closest rival to the hegemony of the two superstars, had to endure a tough last season at Barcelona where he scored a meagre 13 goals as compared to previous season's goal tally of 24. Ronaldo and Messi have always made sure not to have any major dips in their form and that is one of the main reasons for their dominance of the world football.

4. Fitness.

Consistent injuries have hampered Bale's progress as a player.

A small fact-check first: The transfer of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid happened prior to 2013-24 season. Since then, Gareth Bale has missed a whopping 63 games for Real Madrid. This is almost twice the number of games Ronaldo has missed since joining Real Madrid during 2009-10 season. Since his much-publicised, Ronaldo has missed a paltry 34 games, even though he is 5 years older to Bale.

Even Messi, who is not quite like Cristiano and Bale when it comes to physicality, has missed only 31 games since the 2012-13 season, which is astonishing, to say the least. It is much harder to bounce back after a long injury layoff (ask Marco Reus) and even if the player does make comeback, it is even much harder to remain at the peak of one's physical powers.

Neymar is another such instance, who has been guilty of being injured when his team needed him the most, most notably prior to the FIFA world cup 2014 semifinal against Germany, and also before this year's round of 16 2nd leg fixture against Real Madrid. Ronaldo and Messi have always made sure to stay fit during the crucial junctures of the season, and it has helped them to perform at the peak of their powers during the business end of the seasons.

3. Adaptability.

Messi excelled under Luis Enrique's tenure as well

Since both Messi and Ronaldo have been there at their respective clubs for more than 8 years, they had to play under managers with varying playing styles. But even that hasn't hindered their progress as a player and these two continued to grow in stature as the time went by.

After playing under arguably one of the greatest managers of all time, Sir Alex Fergusen, Ronaldo played under managers such as Jose Mourinho, who is kind of a defensive minded manager, to under Carlo Ancelotti, who gives more tactical freedom to his players. Ronaldo managed to breach the 50 goal barrier with both managers at the helm of affairs.

Messi, on the other hand, excelled under various managers as well, with the treble winning Campaigns under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique being the highlight of his career. While Pep is renowned for his possession-based playing approach, Enrique followed a counterattacking system of football.

While, on the other hand, we have players like Paul Pogba, who, although possessing great potential, is failing to make a mark in Jose Mourinho's Manchester United. Although the manager is at fault too for not managing the player well, great players should be able to adapt to situations and function as per the team's demands.

2.Experience.

Ronaldo has been a prolific goalscorer since joining Real Madrid.

When Cristiano Ronaldo first burst onto the scene, he was a flashy, out and out winger, who liked to cut inside, beat defenders at will and score spectacular goals. That was the qualities that caught Sir Alex's attention and he brought Ronaldo to Manchester United to provide a solid platform to showcase to his talent to the world. Same was the case with Messi, who too liked to take mazy dribbling runs and score spectacular goals.

But as time went by, and they get more matured and experienced, they both opted for a slightly subdued, yet effective approach. Ronaldo, in particular, knows his weaknesses as a player, that he can't dribble the way he used to. So, instead of attempting fancy dribbles and stepovers, he turned himself into a prolific marksman, one who uses his off the ball intelligence and his finishing abilities to great effect. He started to pass a lot more than his Manchester days and his link-up play with his teammates has improved a lot too.

Messi too, on the other hand, understood his role in the team as a chance creator since the departure of Xavi left Barcelona's midfield short of creative ideas. So often we see Messi dropping deep to pick up the ball and create chances for himself as well as his teammates, something which was seen to a lesser extent during his time with Xavi since there was no need for it back then.

As both of them got more experienced, they understood their importance to the team and thus, molded themselves as per the needs of the team, which has reaped handsome rewards for themselves as well their respective teams.

1. World class teams.

Barcelona's treble-winning team of 2014-15.

Football has always been a team sport. No player is bigger than the team and even though an argument can be made in favor of these two superstars since their performances have led their respective clubs to unprecedented heights, the phrase will always hold true whosoever the player is.

As a famous quote says:

" It not the team with the best players that win. it's the players with the best team that wins. "

Messi and Ronaldo have always been blessed with an opportunity to play with some of the best footballers of their generation. From Xavi, Iniesta, Carles Puyol to Paul Scholes, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, they were never short of quality around themselves, at least at the club level.

Although their stats are exceptional with their respective national team as well, with both being top scorers for their national sides, they have minimal success internationally. Although Messi has led Argentina to 4 international finals he hasn't been able to lift any silverware with his national side. And it was a fluke for Ronaldo and company to win Euro 2016, given the team was heavily reliant on Ronaldo to deliver the goods.

It's kind of like a symbiotic relationship between a footballer and his team, where both sides work together to achieve success. So even if Ronaldo and Messi have achieved so much personally as well as with their teams, it has all been due to the sheer brilliance of their team, not only their own performances, which has enabled them to make a mark for themselves in the footballing world.