Yes they could have! Ronaldo lost to a team like Real Sociedad, and choked at the WC several times, and just recently couldn't do much against Atletico. Messi choked multiple times with Argentina and even with Barca against smaller teams. That aside, they are the last 2 players to win the golden ball, we don't have either of them, we can't buy either of them. So how about we just appreciate our special and promising talent while we can?