Many football fans are counting down the days until FIFA 19 is released.

EA Sports' latest edition of the game is set to be loaded with new features and a chance for players to have a fresh start on Ultimate Team.

And for the first time in the game's history, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have identical ratings.

Messi has seen his rating boosted from 93 to 94, level with the cover star.

It seems only fair given the Argentine's remarkable season with Barcelona in 2017/18, where he led them to a domestic double and won the European Golden Shoe.

It was his last season in direct competition with Ronaldo as the Portuguese left Real Madrid for Juventus in a €100m deal.

Los Blancos are missing their biggest star, so what would happen if Fifa fans tried to fill the void left by Ronaldo with Messi on career mode?

Well, YouTuber Rich Leigh has already revealed what happens when you try and get the Argentine to cross the El Clasico line.

Does he follow in Luis Figo's footsteps? Yes he does. You can watch the full video below.

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At first, Barca quote a price of around £180m for the 31-year-old superstar, but Leigh is able to barter them down to £158m.

If it were real life, Messi would only be the third most expensive player of all time, behind Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Messi and his agent then agree to a three-year contract at Real Madrid, before demanding a release clause of £274m.

But here comes the bizarre bit.

All Leigh does is match Messi's current wage at Barcelona - £500,000-a-week - and doesn't add a signing-on bonus.

Amazingly, they don't bat an eyelid and accept. So there you have it, club rivalries mean very little in the online world of Fifa 19.

If you've got £158m and £500,000-a-week spare in wages, you can sign the best player on the planet.