Five players from previous eras who could have broken the Messi-Ronaldo dominance

1960s Eusebio

Eusebio is SL Benfica's greatest player ever

Just like Maradona to Messi, Eusebio preceded Ronaldo as Portugal's greatest player, and for many years was also their record goalscorer, until his record was broken by Ronaldo in 2014.

Nicknamed 'The Black Panther', Eusebio was famed for his speed, technique and blistering shot, he is one of the greatest strikers of all time, and was the first-ever recipient of the European Golden Boot in 1968, a feat he repeated in 1973, in addition to winning the Bola de Prata (Portuguese league top scorer) a record seven times, and is the second highest pre-Champions League European Cup goalscorer with 48 goals behind Alfredo Di Stefano.

A legendary goalscorer, Eusebio spent 15 years with Benfica, winning numerous titles including 11 Primeira Ligas and one European Cup, and is their record goalscorer with an astonishing 473 goals in just 440 matches (over a goal per game ratio).

He was the Golden Boot winner at the 1966 World Cup, and is widely considered among his peers to be the greatest player in history, with Alfredo Di Stefano (himself considered one of the GOAT) stating on his death in 2014 that: "For me Eusébio will always be the best player of all time".