That talent (on all 4 of them) had them earmarked as potential all-time greats by the time Ronaldo’s knees blew out. Ronaldo himself was already being literally placed in best of all-time class by the time he was 21.
I don’t think many come out the traps anywhere near that class from those absurdly young ages, and ironically enough, Messi’s prominence came in staccato manner as he was hailed as Maradona’s successor (like a gazillion prodigious Argentine youth) after the youth World Cup, then had his breakout seasons - that were good but nothing close to any of the other 3 on the respective age timelines - before exploding as a productivity monster, at which point he was locked into that ‘of all-time’ bracket.
So I think, even from the outset, someone has to have the talent that immediately catapults them into that stratosphere, and that’s a level of talent I’ve only seen in two players in the past 26 years. The what could have been of that talent, as long as it got to showcase itself on world settings, simply prevents said player from challenging the other 3 (Pele, Maradona and Messi) at the very top of the totem, but will still have the, acknowledged as something out of this world once all is said and done.