FIFA 18: 5 players who didn’t deserve an upgrade in the Premier League ratings refresh

The FIFA 18 ratings refresh is finally upon us and the first round of rating updates comes from the most popular league in the world. As was expected, there are some eye-catching, and some eyebrow-raising inclusions in this list as is always the case with anything a franchise as big as FIFA tends to do.

This year's Premier League ratings refresh is especially important, because, this time there will be no downgrades for players in the English League and this bodes well for FUT players too, who may already have their squads set in stone.

The regular single point upgrades have been superseded by several multi-point upgrades this year, making this truly a ratings refresh meant for the players. But with football and gaming going hand in hand, we just had to find some flaws up front with the rating updates put forth by EA Sports.

Admirable as they may be, there are clearly some glaring errors in what the popular franchise have presented to their fans today. So here are 5 players who didn’t deserve an upgrade in the latest ratings refresh:

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#5 Riyad Mahrez

Riyad Mahrez has been trying to force a move out of the King Power Stadium

There is no doubt that Riyad Mahrez has been Leicester City's best player in the Premier League this season with 8 goals and 7 assists but it pales in comparison to what the Algerian achieved just a few short seasons ago in the Premier League with the club, lifting the trophy and opening the eyes of fans around the world.

Add to this the fact that Mahrez has been crying out for a move away from the King Power Stadium practically all season. It seems highly likely that he has lost all will to play for Leicester and you have a disaster waiting to happen. That being said, it is just a one-point upgrade but 83 perhaps suited slightly more to an obviously gifted winger.

#4 Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus has been very injury prone this season

Gabriel Jesus has been a revelation since arriving at Manchester City and he showed his class to the Sky Blues earlier this season with a blistering beginning to the campaign. He has, however, managed to find himself injured yet again and has fallen behind fellow striker Sergio Aguero in the pecking order up front.

A two-point upgrade in the recent rating refresh seems awfully generous to the Brazilian who is meant for great things with the caveat of whether he can keep fit or not.

#3 Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford has been left on the bench too much this season

There is no arguing the talent that young Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford possesses but one can argue that perhaps the striker was shoved into the limelight a little too soon.

With a couple of seasons under his belt, one would have expected Rashford to cement his place in the United team but with the arrivals of Ibrahimovic and Lukaku at the club, the pacy forward has been shifted out wide and often been left on the bench.

This makes his two-point jump seem unnecessary especially when you consider that Anthony Martial has only been provided a single point upgrade. Nonetheless, the future is bright for one of England's rising stars.

#2 Alvaro Morata

Morata has failed to find his form this season

When Chelsea signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid in the summer, it seemed like the best buy of the transfer window but that thought has since drastically changed due to inconsistent performances from the Spanish forward.

After a strong start to the campaign, the grueling Premier League schedule seems to have got to the Spaniard who has been far from his best for the Blues, forcing manager Antonio Conte to bring in a replacement in the form of Olivier Giroud from Arsenal.

His up and down form in his very first season makes it pretty baffling to see a one-point upgrade for the man and even the most optimistic Chelsea fan would have to admit, this isn't what the club is paying big bucks for.

#1 Paul Pogba

A one-point upgrade seems like a lot for Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba has controversial as his middle name and adding him to this list is as controversial as it gets, but Manchester United fans would agree that the Frenchman is capable of performing at a much higher level than he currently is.

9 assists in the Premier League seem like an awful lot but when you consider the fact that the team depends a lot on him for their attacking play, one could argue that his assist to goal ratio isn't good enough.

Be it a rift with manager Jose Mourinho or just a general lack in confidence, being rated 87 and then jumping a point to 88 is a massive leap in ratings for a player who is still finding his feet at the club where it all started for him.