Ahead of FIFA 22’s October 1st release date, EA Sports gave fans a look at the top 100 rated players in the game, and there’s no surprise that the top three featured both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two stars, who both made summer moves during the latest transfer window, have achieved a 90+ rating for the 11th straight year, with at least one of them once again reigning supreme as the highest-rated player in the game.

There seems to be a never ending real-life debate on who is the greatest player of this generation, and that discussion has also escalated to EA Sports’ ever-popular video game.

This year, it's Messi who takes the cake as FIFA 22’s highest-rated player (93). Ronaldo sits two behind his counterpart with a rating of 91.

With that, we’ve taken an in-depth look at which player has the highest aggregate rating since FIFA 06.

So, let’s dive into who has accumulated the highest rating over the last 17 editions of the video game.

FIFA 06: Messi – 78 Ronaldo – 91

FIFA 07: Messi – 84 Ronaldo – 87

FIFA 08: Messi – 86 Ronaldo – 91

FIFA 09: Messi – 90 Ronaldo – 91

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FIFA 10: Messi – 90 Ronaldo – 89

FIFA 11: Messi – 90 Ronaldo – 89

FIFA 12: Messi – 94 Ronaldo – 92

FIFA 13: Messi – 94 Ronaldo – 92

FIFA 14: Messi – 94 Ronaldo – 92

FIFA 15: Messi – 93 Ronaldo – 93

FIFA 16: Messi – 94 Ronaldo – 94

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FIFA 17: Messi – 93 Ronaldo – 94

FIFA 18: Messi – 93 Ronaldo – 94

FIFA 19: Messi – 94 Ronaldo – 94

FIFA 20: Messi – 93 Ronaldo – 93

FIFA 21: Messi – 93 Ronaldo – 92

FIFA 22: Messi – 93 Ronaldo – 91

FINAL SCORE: Messi 1546 - 1570 Ronaldo

Read more: FIFA 22 Ratings: Official Ratings So Far, Release Date, Ultimate Team, Player Ratings, Top 100 And Everything You Need To Know

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ENTER GIVEAWAY

And there you have it, Ronaldo has a higher total rating than his greatest rival. Yet, the Portuguese sensation has had a few more years at the highest level, which is seen by Messi’s below-90 ratings in all three of FIFA 06, 07 and 08.

It is also worth noting that since FIFA 09, Ronaldo has only been rated higher than Messi three times (FIFA 16, 17 & 18).

Thus, Ronaldo’s dominance between 06 and 09 has seemingly given him the edge over Messi with regards to who has been the FIFA GOAT over the last 17 editions of the game.

Yet, a question that will surely be on everyone’s mind following FIFA 22 is whether a new player will take the crown as FIFA 23’s highest-rated player.

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With Messi and Ronaldo only getting older and Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe only getting better, FIFA players across the globe have already begun anticipating when this shift will indeed come to fruition.