FIFA 18: Messi most likely to be ahead of Ronaldo in overall player ratings

What’s the story?

The predictions for FIFA 18 player ratings are out finally and fans are in for an enormous shock. According to the predictions on Futhead.com, which gets its data from Whoscored.com, Messi is most likely to overtake Ronaldo in the upcoming rankings.

They would be both at a rating of 94 with Messi jumping up one point from his 93, last year. Although he would be ending up with the same score as the Real Madrid star, stepping up one point implies improvement and would technically put him ahead in the charts.

The context

There have been predictions made on many websites and Futhead.com’s forecasts come up quite contrary to popular belief. However, given that the website has a good reputation of an accurate streak of estimates in the past, it is definitely worth counting upon.

The fact that it was only earlier this year that Ronaldo replaced Messi as the cover face for FIFA 18 only adds significantly to the irony.

The heart of matter

Despite his prestigious Champions League win and his victorious stunt at the Euro 2016, especially against Messi’s Argentina, Ronaldo seems to fall a bit short when compared to Messi’s performance in the games. Ronaldo may have more number of wins in the last few years, but the Barcelona star has proved his mettle in every game he has played. Despite lesser numbers, his consistency in his games sends him on a higher rating than the Los Blancos poster boy.

The back-and-forth between the two of the most celebrated players in the world is a long-standing one and for every person that would approve of this prediction, there would be one that would not see how it is possible. Ronaldo has been nearly unbeatable in the last few years and it simply comes as a huge shock to fans that he may not be the only one holding on to the number one position in FIFA 18.

Besides, though it sounds highly unrealistic, there are little odds against Messi. Consistently outperforming himself in domestic competition, the Argentinian also holds the highest rating of any player in the Spanish League with a rating of 8.47. Going by that, his improvement in the FIFA 18 player ratings is not a surprise at all. Besides, this isn’t the first time that the Player of the Year is not the same as the cover player for FIFA.

What’s next?

With the game releasing next month, the debate only gets more intense, as to which one of them is most likely to top the charts.

Author’s take

These are two legends that really cannot be compared but have been at the end of a comparison for a really long time. Who gets to the top of the list, only time will tell.