Whichever side of the GOAT debate you fall on, you simply can't deny that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers to have ever lived.

In truth, were it not for the presence of his eternal rival, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo's status as the greatest ever would be firmly cast in gold by now with no room for doubt.

His staggering tally of 5 Ballons d'Or makes for a truly magnificent collection to go with his raft of other individual trophies that now adorn what must be a pretty substantial trophy room.

Ronaldo has broken just about every individual record he could possibly break and continues to raise the ceiling to stratospheric heights.

Time and time again, the Portuguese superstar has been responsible for single-handedly dragging his teams out of the mire or inspiring them to previously unheard of heights.

However, while his individual ability is truly astonishing, Ronaldo also has a handful of very handy side-kicks to thank for his ridiculous metrics.

Wayne Rooney immediately springs to mind from his original Premier League spell at Manchester United while the terrifying triumvirate he formed with Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema at Real Madrid will be tricky to top.

Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Real Madrid in the Champions League history
MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid celebrates as he scores their third goal and completes his hat trick during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match between Real Madrid CF and Club Atletico de Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 2, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid celebrates as he scores their third goal and completes his hat trick during the UEFA Champions League semi final first leg match between Real Madrid CF and Club Atletico de Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 2, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Ronaldo has always been able to form deep understandings with his teammates but never has that been more on show than when he and Mesut Özil tore La Liga and Europe to shreds together.

The German assist wizard found the perfect foil for his magic in Ronaldo while providing the Portuguese legend with a foundation to bag goal after goal.

Their understanding was nigh on telepathic. If you need reminding of just how good it was, check out the clip below courtesy of some handy work from YouTube channel ‘Nero7Official’:

Unbelievable. Mere mortals would never even dream of attempting some of those passes so the ease with which Ronaldo and Özil were able to pull them off is truly astonishing.

You would be hard-pressed to find a pair that dove-tailed more naturally than Ronaldo and Özil.

A lot has changed since those heady Real days though.

Özil has slowly drifted into obscurity following a tumultuous spell at Arsenal while Ronaldo spent the last season propping Manchester United up in a truly awful season for the club.