FIFA 18: Barcelona forward Neymar expected to receive major downgrade

An integral member of Barcelona’s attack and part of the famous MSN trio, Neymar certainly did not have the best of seasons in the 2016-17 campaign. Because of this, it is widely expected that the 25-year-old will receive a major downgrade in his ratings on FIFA 18.

The Brazilian sensation was rated 92 on FIFA 17, same as Suarez and just one behind Messi who was rated 93. While Messi and Suarez had brilliant campaigns last season, Neymar fell off the charts compared to his exploits in the previous seasons.

In the 2014-15 season, the forward from Brazil scored a total of 39 goals across all competitions with 22 coming in the league alone. In the following season, Neymar again accounted for over 30 goals with an astounding 24 goals in the league.

This season, however, was a bit of a disappointment for the Barcelona forward, coming up with just 13 goals in 30 league matches with a paltry average of a goal every 204 minutes. While his illustrious strike partners were the top two scorers in the league with Messi scoring 37 goals and Suarez scoring 29 goals, Neymar was down on the ninth position.

The Brazilian was behind the likes of Alvaro Morata, who is the backup striker of Real Madrid and scored 15 goals, playing half as many minutes as the Brazilian. Tellingly, he is even behind Sandro Ramírez who was sold by Barcelona at the start of the season but had a brilliant season for Malaga, scoring 14 goals.

Neymar was the third highest rated footballer on FIFA 17 which makes sense considering his exploits in the previous seasons. Still only 25, he had a potential rating of 94 which was fairly apt as he has time on his hands.

However, now, it is expected that his ratings would fall down to around the same level as they were back on FIFA 16, 88. His travails in front of goal might lead to a reduction in his shooting ratings as well, which were rated 84 on FIFA 17.

Therefore, it would not come as much of a surprise if Neymar is indeed rated below 90 on FIFA 18. With Barcelona losing out to Real Madrid in the league and exiting the Champions League in the quarterfinal stage, many of his teammates might also suffer the same fate.