Agreed. Ronaldo "carrying" thing is overblown at this point. He is very consistent and dependable, but carrying he is not.
For years, Madrid used to be a collection of star players. But in recent 4-5 years, they became very good as a team. They are a highly functional team. And conversely, Barca went backwards on that front. Barca used to be the ultimate team under Pep, but after Pep's departure, we became more and more individualistic. Some praised as "vertical" football at the time, and it ended up landing a CL to Barca with trio doing much of the work. However, in the past 2 seasons, it is becoming increasingly clear that Barca have now become completely reliant on individuals, particularly Messi.
In conclusion, if we are comparing who is carrying who, at this point, it is more evident that Messi is carrying Barca rather than Ronaldo carrying Madrid. Messi have not carried Barca to CL or league title this season, but he still DOES carry us. There is very little team game at Barca, it's like, Messi's game is Barca's team game. Neymar is also getting there in terms of playmaking. I feel like Madrid can exchange parts in their team and still perform well. They have become a very good team.
This is fair - I like Barca more than Madrid, but it's clear to me that Madrid are the better side. I think Madrid's defense is miles better than Barca. Ramos and Varane can be very aggressive (even though Ramos is a puto), and Carvajal and Marcelo are amazing both defensively and offensively. The fact that Ramos and Varane are so fast and aggressive allows the fullbacks to bomb forward safe in the knowledge that the centerbacks will not be beaten for pace. At Barca, that's not the case with Pique and Mascherano (though I must say Umtiti has been a great addition), a fast forward will always create problems for Pique/Mascherano. So Madrid can play 10-15 yards further up just because of that and shorten the field, press higher.
In midfield, they're also better. Modric, Kroos and Isco can dominate the middle of the park against most teams, but it's Casemiro who brings a lot of balance and bite to the team. He's not a galactico but he's absolutely essential to Madrid's balance. Zidane's genius was recognizing that early days (as opposed to Rafa who was trying to shoehorn James Rodrigues into the team), and allowing the other 3 to dominate CM. Add in here the fullbacks bombing forward, and Madrid are really a monster.
And then I also think that Benzema is underrated. He may not have the goals and the assists of a galactico, but watch him play and he is very good at keeping it flowing, swapping with Marcelo and creating space for Ronaldo to exploit.
Madrid play with speed, pace, incisiveness, aggressiveness that I think Barca have lacked for a few seasons. Barca have relied on individual genius, namely Messi and Neymar and to a lesser extent Suarez, but overall their team game has suffered. A team that gets beaten 4-0 by PSG (despite the heroic comeback) or 3-0 from Juventus or 4-1 from Man City is flawed. IMHO.
