Can Sterling break Messi and Ronaldo's duopoly at the top of football?

Raheem Sterling bagged another hat-trick on Tuesday night as he continued his brilliant season.

The Manchester City forward has now scored 11 goals in 12 games for his club this campaign and has hugely impressed for England too.

He is a serious contender for the Ballon d'Or at the end of the season and will be hoping to win it ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

There is now a question as to whether Sterling can be the next player on the world stage to hit the same heights as that duo, who have dominated football for the last decade.

That would be a tough ask, given how much both have achieved, yet there is a suggestion Sterling could crack it.

Sportsmail's reporters have argued the case for and against Sterling reaching the same level as the pair.

THE CASE FOR - CRAIG HOPE

Raheem Sterling says he needs to score at least 50 goals per year to be considered in the same bracket as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Well, Tuesday night’s hat-trick against Atalanta took his tally to 35 in 2019 for club and country, and there are still 14 matches left to play.

But Sterling is right. Since moving to Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo has scored at a rate of a goal per game. Messi’s numbers in the same period are similar.

It is why Gareth Bale, with a scoring ratio of less than one in two, has not elevated himself to the same plain.

But Sterling can. As good a player as he is, he will not win a Ballon d’Or in the manner of Zinedine Zidane or Luka Modric, a reward for skill, class and creativity.

Rather, Sterling knows that the currency needed to buy a seat at the top table is goals - that is what Messi and Ronaldo trade in.

Sterling’s goals - look at his three this week - are largely scored from the same domain, arriving at the far post from the left-hand channel. He has found a way to score and there is nothing opposition teams can do about it.

His finishing is unerringly accurate and unflinchingly composed. Indeed, he makes it look simple. And, if you’re going to score 50 goals per season, that is how it has to be - you can’t arrive at a half century by complicating matters every time you’re in front of the posts.

Consider his age, too - still just 24 and with his best years ahead of him. It is this scope for improvement that can see him join the world’s best in the next 18 months.

He is in the running for the Ballon d’Or of 2019 but, come this time next year, Sterling should be looking to make himself favourite, not just a contender.

To do that he will need games, goals and glory - and given he represents Manchester City and an exciting England, there is every chance 2020 could bring multiple trophies.

Off the pitch he has emerged as a role model, not just for young players but his peers, too. He is leading by example in what he says and what he does.

Ultimately, though, his performances on the pitch will determine if can ever be considered the world’s best footballer.

Of all those attempting to break the Messi and Ronaldo duopoly, it is Sterling who looks best placed to do so.

THE CASE AGAINST - PETE JENSON

His manager has already said it as clearly as possible: ‘Nobody can compare with Cristiano and Messi’. It was Pep Guardiola’s response to being asked in September if Raheem Sterling was getting close.

Having watched Messi and Ronaldo since 2003 and 2008 respectively, what is hard to imagine Sterling, or any player, achieving is their relentless repetition of brilliance.

Ronaldo with his 700-plus goals and Messi, having just won his sixth Golden Shoe, have a machine-like consistency that never fails regardless of opponent or occasion.

Their impact on a team is greater than that of any player since Diego Maradona’s influence on Napoli and Argentina.

People in Madrid ask why Zinedine Zidane can’t be like the ‘old Zidane who won three Champions Leagues’. Anyone spot the reason why he might not be able to make the team unstoppable in Europe as he did in 2016, 2017 and 2018?

Ronaldo was sold and nothing has been the same since. Messi has the same effect on Barcelona.

They started this season looking ordinary. Now they are top of La Liga and look the team to beat once more. There is no great mystery behind that beyond the fact that Messi missed the first month of the season.

Sterling’s influence doesn’t compare. Which is not to say that he can’t dominate the post-Messi and Ronaldo world. The leaps forward he has made since 2016 have been huge and the importance of constant improvement in great players is often overlooked. In his early days at United, Ronaldo was not the finisher he then became.

Messi's critics said he couldn’t head it, couldn’t go a season without getting injured, and had no leadership qualities. He buried all those criticisms because even with genius as his starting point he was still able to improve.

Guardiola said of Sterling after last night’s hat-trick: ‘He has that desire to get better.’

In among all their other attributes that quality continues to be one of Messi and Ronaldo’s most important. It will see them dominate until they retire.