And that's the thing.
Messi and Ronaldo have convinced us that you judge the game on pure, raw, statistical data. 10 years ago the top goalscorers wouldn't be considered the best players in the world simply by virtue of scoring so many goals. What Messi and Ronaldo have done by scoring 50+ season after season is they've passed some arbitrary line people have set in their own heads that pushes them up this whole new level. No one scored 50 goals 10 seasons ago. I remember Van Nistelrooy hitting 40 one year, and Henry getting 30+, but fifty season after season? Unreal.
I don't think you can have issue if people want to say that they're the best ever based on those stats because it's utterly ridiculous. But somewhere along the line there's been a line has been crossed and it basically means that you can't be considered at that level if you're not doing the same.
In the summer everyone on here seemed to be in broad consensus that Spain were, quite probably, the best international team of all time. Iniesta stands out head and shoulders as the best player in that side. He's done the same in more than a handful of reaaaaally big games for Barcelona as well.
I hinted at this argument in a thread on here previously - if Iniesta scored 20 goals a season would he be considered the best player in the world. Because in my head there's the same arbitrary figure of a certain amount of goals he should be seen to score. What if he scored 30, or just 15?
Or is the best player in the world now just a simple shoot out over who scores the most goals a season, and unless you're scoring fifty, or sixty, or eighty-six (or whatever the fuck it was) you can't even enter the debate?
None of this is a go at Messi or Ronaldo before anyone dares spin it that way. I know they're not one-dimensional tap-in merchants (duh). My point is simply that we now don't seem to be able to suggest anyone else is up there, purely because of the frankly ridiculous statistical output these two players have. If anyone else wants to enter the debate they have to be seen to also be passing that line in the sand we seem to have collectively drawn that says "ok, this is a stupid amount of goals, no one else is close".
I don't know. Maybe it's the natural reaction to be bored of something after it's carried on so long, but it kinda bugs me that Iniesta won't ever win a Balon D'or because he doesn't score 50 goals a season. I do think it's a valid point though, because right now it seems you can only enter the debate to be considered the best player in the world if you score these stupid amount of goals. That to me is a shoot-out. We've got a Golden Boot for that.