Lionel Messi may have lost the crown of FIFA’s best player ahead of the latest game but there’s no denying that he’s still an incredible player.
Lionel Messi is rated 93 overall, falling short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 94 rating.
But, in truth, it doesn’t make too much difference.
Messi’s sprint speed is rated as 89, while his dribbling ability stands at 96. Basically, defending against him is an absolute nightmare.
But the Argentinian hasn’t always been one of the best players on the game.
We’ve taken a look at his stats - and appearance - since his introduction in FIFA 06 and it shows his incredible transformation.
FIFA 06 | Overall rating 78
Messi may have had a decent rating of 78, but his 51 for strength let him down massively.
But, with 82 for pace and 87 for acceleration, he could still run rings around some defenders - especially with his high ball control and dribbling skill.
FIFA 07 | Overall rating 84
Messi’s rating jumped up a massive six points from 06 to 07.
His sprint speed of 94 and acceleration of 92 made him a rather impressive player, while his dribbling was up to 95.
FIFA 08 | Overall rating 86
Another steady increase in FIFA 08 saw Messi emerge as one of the best players in the game.
His strength went up to 64 which meant you could really ultilise his dribbling, sprint speed and acceleration - which were all rated at 95.
FIFA 09 | Overall rating 90
Messi finally entered the 90’s in FIFA 09.
His sprint speed remained at 95, while his acceleration rose to 96.
But his best attribute was now his dribbling, which stood at 97.
FIFA 10 | Overall rating 90
Messi’s rating remained at 90 for FIFA 10, with his acceleration (96) and dribbling (97) staying the same.
Bizarrely, his sprint speed dropped down to 93.
FIFA 11 | Overall rating 90
Messi was, once again, rated as a 90 in FIFA 11 with him acceleration dropping down to 94 and his strength standing standing at 56.
But Messi was now pretty lethal in front of goal with his finishing standing at 91.
FIFA 12 | Overall rating 94
Messi finally improved on his 90 rating, being bumped up to 94.
The superstar become almost impossible to tackle with his acceleration at 95, sprint speed at 92, balance at 95, agility at 94 and ball control at 97.
However, EA Sports obviously tried to level things out and rated his strength at just 48.
FIFA 13 | Overall rating 94
It’s 94 once again for the forward in FIFA 13 but he became a much more efficient player.
Why? Because his strength got a huge boost to 67 while his finishing now stands at 95.
FIFA 14 | Overall rating 94
A third consecutive season being rated a 94 for Messi with his acceleration, ball control and dribbling all standing at 96, and finishing at 97.
His strength dropped down to 60, though.
FIFA 15 | Overall rating 93
Messi dropped one point for the FIFA 15 edition but he’s sill an incredible player.
Sprint speed (90), acceleration (96), ball control (96) and dribbling (96) means he’s difficult to get the ball off despite his strength staying at 60.
FIFA 16 | Overall rating 94
Back up to 94 - and his stats have improved as well.
A sprint speed of 92, while ball control and dribbling remain at 96 - although his acceleration dropped to 95.
FIFA 17 | Overall rating 93
Messi dropped back down to 93 with his sprint speed dropping to 89. FIFA gamers have noted his 86 for passing - something which is questionable to say the least.
However, his shooting is up to 90 and he’s still an amazing player.