Getting a ball past several defenders and scoring a goal on the other hand can be done in a near infinite number of ways, meaning there is much more room for variation, improvement and evolution.
The closest equivalent I can think of in football is a penalty kick, and I don't think there is any evidence that players are getting significantly better at scoring off penalties.
I agree, with the caveat that football is becoming more and more like baseball and other similar (mostly US) sports which are very heavy on numbers and on stats. The recent Norwegian sensation, Haaland, seems exactly to fit that trend, as he's not particularly super-good at anything but his numbers have just been phenomenal in the last 3-4 years (when he's been fit to play, that is).
We'll see if the future will bring more Kevin De Bruyne-type of players (i.e. a very creative guy) or more Haalands.
Mostly by cracking down on violent play and letting forwards use their skills without being injured.
However, watching any random league game from the big five (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France), the standard is very high. Most players are amazingly fit and skillful, control ball extremely well. Teams play with cohesive plans. A lot of nice team movements. It shows that the standard at the professional level has risen considerably in the last few decades.
The downside of course is that it makes games more mechanical and less emotional, and it's harder to tell one team from another.
> Messi having a decent chance of being named the best football player of all times.
There is no such thing. Being considered by many, yes.