5 famous footballers and their worst FIFA ratings

The best players in the world have all had humble beginnings. Becoming an elite footballer involves years of hard work, dedication and perseverance to develop over a period of time. Footballers celebrated the world over for their performances on the pitch have put in years and years of hard hours on the training ground to reach elite levels.

Simply put, no footballer is born great, they all have to work for their ability.

In the FIFA gaming world, the best players in world football are judged by the overall rating given to them in-game. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the best players in FIFA 17 with ratings of 94 and 93 respectively while the rest follow with ratings of 92 and below.

Before famous footballers such as Lionel Messi reached their dizzying heights, they too were young talents and were given lowly ratings on earlier editions of the FIFA series. In this listicle, we trace the lowly origins of FIFA rankings of five famous footballers and trace their journey since.

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#1 Lionel Messi

Messi has developed into arguably the world’s best footballer

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the best player in FIFA for six straight years before being upstaged by Cristiano Ronaldo after his otherworldly season for club and country, which also saw him being pronounced the best player in the world apart from being made the best player in FIFA 17.

The diminutive Argentine forms one-half of the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly that currently rules the world of football and consequently, the FIFA series.

Messi and his Portuguese rival have shared the top spot in FIFA rankings for the past seven editions of the game and it is easy to forget that there was a time when Messi himself was a young teenager struggling to make a mark at Barcelona.

Back in 2005, when EA Sports released FIFA 06, Messi was given a rating of only 78 with dribbling being his best attribute, a surprisingly low rating for a man of his talent. The Argentine’s stock has only risen since; he made his foray into the 90 ratings with FIFA 09 and has stayed above that mark since.

#2 Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is part of the potent BBC triumvirate at Real Madrid

Gareth Bale was the owner of the “World’s most expensive player” tag until Manchester United smashed the record with their reacquisition of Paul Pogba from Juventus. Starting out as an attacking full back at Southampton, the Welshman earned himself a transfer to Spurs where he transformed into a devastating winger before Real Madrid made a move for him.

These days Gareth Bale is a constant in the conversation for the being one of best players in the game, not only on FIFA, but also in reality. The right winger currently enjoys a rating of 90, making him part of the FIFA 17 footballing elite.

Back in the days at Southampton however, Gareth Bale was just another promising youngster with a rating of 66 in FIFA 07. In spite of his humble origins, his talent was recognised by EA and was given a potential to develop to a rating of 86.

#3 Anthony Martial

Anthony Martial had a breakthrough first season at Manchester United

The 20-year-old French winger’s transfer to Manchester United has the potential to cost the club financial damage of up to £50 million. Moving to the club from Monaco on the deadline day of the 2015 summer transfer window, he was one of the few shining lights of the dreary Louis van Gaal era at Manchester United.

Martial, rated 82 on FIFA 17 has great potential and is one of the smoothest players to dribble with on the game. He also possesses a venomous shot to beat opposing goalkeepers. Before his move to Manchester United, Martial was a largely unknown youngster at Monaco, rated a lowly 63 on FIFA 14 with a potential to grow to 87.

While it was evident that Martial did posses extraordinary talent, attributes like dribbling and ball control which make Martial the dangerous player he is, were not fully developed and still in the mid -sixties.

Long shots and curlers, which are something of a Martial signature now were also not fully developed then, with the attributes being rated 61 and 43 respectively.

#4 Manuel Neuer

Neuer is widely acknowledged to be the world’s best goalkeeper

Before Manuel Neuer revolutionised the art of goalkeeping with his version of the sweeper-keeper, he was one of the promising-breed of high-quality goalkeepers coming out of Germany.

Plying his trade at Schalke 04 as a reserve goalkeeper back in 2007, Neuer featured on FIFA 07 with a rating of 64 with a potential to develop into a decent but not extraordinary pair of hands at 76.

The German’s stock in the FIFA series has only risen after his dominating performances in goal which have allowed Bayern to win four consecutive Bundesliga honours and a Champions League title since his move to Bavaria in 2011. Currently rated at 92 Manuel Neuer is the best goalkeeper in FIFA 17.

#5 Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski has established himself as one the world’s best strikers at Bayern Munich

Armed with a lethal combination of pace, power and precision, Bayern Munich’s Polish marksman Robert Lewandowski is probably the best out and out striker in world football. His virtual avatar, on EA Sports FIFA 17 also lives up to this billing with the striker having an overall rating of 90 in the game.

In 2008, Lewandowski played for Polish club Lech Poznan where his talent was spotted by Borussia Dortmund, where he really came into his own. During his days for Lech Poznan, he was nowhere near as destructive as he is now. Rated at only 67, Lewandowski was not even a huge prospect with FIFA 09 only giving him a potential of 78.

The Pole has gloriously proved FIFA 09 wrong with his transformation since, reaching a rating of 90 in FIFA 17.