That's not creating chances though
Why isn't it? These chances would not even come to exist if it wasn't for these plays. Dominating the midfield is what wins you titles respectively gives you the greatest chance of doing so. Every tactical development in the past ten years had the goal of creating midfield dominance. The two strikers up front, traditional wingers and arguably even the four man backfield defense died out because coaches wanted more players in the center. The greatest teams were those who controlled the midfield. Spain, Germany and Bayern won big international titles without having a super top class goal scorer because they were dominant sides. And they do this through superior passing and - yes - dribbling. You are talking about the impact on the game, how isn't this the biggest impact a player can have?
Since Spain won Euro 2008, literally every international title won was either by a dominant team or a lucky shot (Chelsea, Inter, Portugal). Spain had Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Alonso, Germany Kroos, Schweinsteiger, Khedira and Özil, Barcelona Busquqets, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, Madrid Casemiro, Isco, Modric and Kroos and Bayern Kroos, Schweinsteiger and Martinez. And people always felt that. This is why playmakers are so prestigous positions.
Also, you are talking of positioning, runs, spatial awareness and stuff like that. I don't want to take away the importance of these attributes but this brings me back to my point of you applying different criteria to Ronaldo than to past greats. Because Gerd Müller is probably the player that was the most prolific in these areas after Cristiano. And you will struggle to find a great that can keep up with him in that regard. These are important abilities, without a doubt, but not those that make you the best player.