Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi Lead FIFA 19 Player Ratings; Top 10 Revealed
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi may not be going head-to-head for FIFA's top player honors this year, but they both share another distinction: The highest-rated players in EA Sports' FIFA 19 video game.
The superstars both come in with an overall rating of 94, leading the list of top 10 players revealed on Wednesday. Ronaldo and Messi are followed, respectively, by Neymar (92), Kevin De Bruyne (91), David De Gea (91), Luka Modric (91), Eden Hazard (91), Luis Suarez (91), Sergio Ramos (91) and Toni Kroos (90).
Ronaldo's overall mark is boosted by 90 ratings in pace and dribbling and a 93 for shooting–which doesn't quite reflect the goalless start he's had since moving to Juventus but captures the essence of the marksman who averaged more than a goal per game during his nine years at Real Madrid. He stars on the cover of this year's game, along with Neymar.
Lionel Messi's FIFA 'Best' Finalist Snub Doesn't Reflect the Year He Had
Messi was recently omitted from the top three in the voting for FIFA's best male player of the year honors, with Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah chosen as finalists, ending a 12-year run where Messi was at least on the podium. No matter, the Barcelona superstar is at his top form in this year's game, with a dribbling rating of 96, shooting rating of 91 and passing rating of 88.
Users may be surprised that the likes of Salah, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe are not among the top stars after the past year. Lewandowski is the highest-rated of the bunch, at No. 11 with a 90 overall rating, while Kane and Griezmann are 17th and 18th, respectively, both with 89 overall ratings. Salah is 27th overall with an 88, while Mbappe is a surprising 42nd with an overall 87, though his 96 pace rating is an indicator of his incredible ability to burn down a field.
The full ratings for the top 100 players can be seen here.
Gamers don't have to wait long to get a taste of this year's edition. The FIFA 19 demo goes live on Thursday, ahead of the full release date on Sept. 28.
