Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are achieving incredible things in their thirties.

While neither player has reached an age where you'd expect the wheels to completely fall off, the infinitely-decorated pair have hung on to their extraordinary talents for longer than most.

Sure, Ronaldo deserves slightly more praise for reinventing his game at the age of 34, but make no mistake that Messi is showing remarkable agelessness at two years his junior. 

However, there will come a sad day when both Messi and Ronaldo no longer play the beautiful game, whether that's in a few season's time or not for another half-decade.

But call it wishful thinking or pure fantasy, YouTuber BCHDGaming has decided to find out what would happen if Messi and Ronaldo simply never retired. Stick with us on this.

What if Messi and Ronaldo never retired?

They used the medium of FIFA 20 career mode to simulate the next 15 seasons of their careers and tracked the results if neither player wanted to succumb to retirement.

You can check out the full video down below, but keep scrolling to see our full breakdown of the hilarity that ensues when Messi and Ronaldo are still slugging it out in their forties. 

Season one

Lionel Messi: 93 (-1)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 92 (-1)

It's a promising start for Messi as he claims the Ballon d'Or, but he does end the campaign with a slight downgrade that Ronaldo, who also slips down a rating, can't take advantage of.

Season two

Lionel Messi: 90 (-3)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 90 (-2)

A massive blow for Ronaldo as his eternal rival wins ANOTHER Ballon d'Or, giving the slightly more youthful Argentine a surely unassailable lead of 7-5. 

Nevertheless, Juventus romped their way to the Serie A title with 110 points - with Ronaldo scoring an insane 44 goals - and bagged the Coppa Italia for good measure.

But Messi was able to exorcise the demons of 2019 by winning the Champions League final on penalties against Liverpool.

Season three

Lionel Messi: 88 (-2)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 88 (-2)

Brace yourself for this. Ronaldo staggeringly wins the Ballon d'Or at the age of 36 and that's despite the fact Raheem Sterling usurped him as Juventus' leading scorer this season.

Both players won their respective league titles, although neither could get their hands on the Champions League, and both took another ratings plunge.

Season four

Lionel Messi: 86 (-2)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 86 (-2)

It's World Cup year, but there's more disappointment for both Messi and Ronaldo as they crash out in the quarter-final stages to England and Germany respectively.

Messi also suffered heartbreak against Manchester City in the Champions League final, while it seems as though neither player scooped the Ballon d'Or.

Season five

Lionel Messi: 83 (-3)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 84 (-2)

Now this is where things get tasty. Despite being two years older, Ronaldo is holding on to his ability for far longer and actually overtakes Messi at the age of 39.

Note: Neither players have left Barcelona or Juventus.

Season six

Lionel Messi: 81 (-2)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 82 (-2)

More steady decline for both players. Messi's physical statistics have gone through the floor and Ronaldo was only given eight appearances by Juventus, scoring three goals in the process.

The Portuguese had seen his value tumble as he progressed through his thirties and he finally became available on a free transfer on the turn of his 40th birthday.

Season seven

Lionel Messi: 78 (-3)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 82 (-)

Astonishingly, Ronaldo has actually managed to consolidate his 82 rating here, but Messi - despite not reaching his forties yet - has continued to plummet in EA's estimations.

However, the Barcelona man still maintained a £12.5 million transfer value and bagged himself yet another La Liga winner's medal. 

Season eight

Lionel Messi: 76 (-2)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 82 (-)

The now 40-year-old Messi has some dire physical attributes like 41 acceleration, 37 strength and 44 jumping. The Argentine also suffered defeat in another Champions League final.

As for Ronaldo? It's at this point where you suspect FIFA simply can't handle players over 40, because the Juventus man has maintained his 82 rating AGAIN. 

Season nine

Lionel Messi: 76 (-)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 82 (-)

Ermm... so, yeh, FIFA career mode seems to break a little bit when Ronaldo and Messi get this old. 

Season 15

Lionel Messi: 76 (-)

Cristiano Ronaldo: 82 (-)

The YouTuber decided to fast forward another six seasons and can we all just appreciate that Ronaldo, regardless of glitches, has an 82 rating at the age of 47. Insane.

And because both players were bizarrely still at Barcelona and Juventus, they mixed things up by transferring the legendary duo to Frosinone. 

It says everything that both players could be purchased for £1.