5 relatively unknown players who were rated higher than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Modified Mar 11, 2017 11:22 GMT

Lionel Messi finished second best to Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in FIFA 17

#1 Matteo Brighi (FIFA 03 RATING- 97)

16 Dec 2001: Matteo Brighi of Bologna in action during the Serie A match between Bologna and Perugia, played at the Renato Dall''Ara Stadium, Bologna . DIGITAL IMAGE Mandatory Credit: Grazia Neri/ALLSPORT — Matteo Brighi was a very highly rated youngster during his youth days at Bologna

Thirty-three year old Matteo Brighi currently plays for Italian Seria B team Perugia as a midfielder and is rated a lowly 71 in the latest update of the FIFA series, FIFA 17. So highly rated was he as a young prospect for Bologna in the 2002 season, that EA decided to bestow on him an out of this world rating of 97 in FIFA 03, making him one of the best players ever in the FIFA series.

The central midfielder was rated better than the 2003 Ballon d’Or winner Pavel Nedved and legendary midfielders like Zinedine Zidane, while also being better than cover stars Ryan Giggs, Roberto Carlos and Thierry Henry.

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The ongoing duopoly of world football have dominated the best player rankings in the real and virtual football worlds but neither has managed to get to the rating of 97 as the Seria A Young Footballer of the Year 2002 managed back in FIFA 03.

Also Read: Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo in Fifa and PES: Who is the best in virtual world?