FIFA 18, Down Memory Lane: Best English players in each edition since 2005

Gone are those days when FIFA used to have English players on its cover page. Only Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford look anywhere near to that in future. But, leaving aside the global dominance, for years Wayne Rooney had been the flag bearer of English Football in FIFA.

The number of times Wayne Rooney has been at the top among English players is more disappointing than joyful to see. Very few English players were able to challenge Wayne Rooney at the top.

So, let's see the best English player in each edition of FIFA since 2005-

---

#FIFA 18 - Harry Kane (86)

Harry Kane

Harry Kane has been so good for Tottenham in recent years that Guardiola even called Tottenham 'The Harry Kane team'. With the form he is in, He looks set to rule all the English players in FIFA 18 for some more years. Only Dele Alli (86) looks like he would be able to keep the pressure on him.

#FIFA 17 - Harry Kane & Wayne Rooney (84)

Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney

This was probably the last time when Wayne Rooney was one of the top players in English Football. Even though Harry Kane was at the joint top but their 84 rating was too poor when compared against the best of 94. It showed the dismal performance of English footballers when compared to Spanish or German counterparts.

#FIFA 16 - Wayne Rooney (86)

Wayne Rooney

Even though Rooney was not scoring too many goals under Louis van Gaal, he was still able to retain the 'Best English player in FIFA' title. He was the 39th best player in FIFA. His shooting was still one of the best in the game and he was used more as a CAM by FIFA fans.

#FIFA 15 - Wayne Rooney (86)

Wayne Rooney

This is the edition where English representation among top players in FIFA took a hit. Wayne Rooney was mostly among the top ten players in the game, but in this edition, he was the 30th best player in the game. This edition even started the downfall of Wayne Rooney's rating.

#FIFA 14 - Wayne Rooney (87)

Wayne Rooney

Anyone who has played FIFA 14 would remember Martin Tyler and Alan Smith talking about Wayne Rooney being industrious like a child, who loves running on the field. His 4 stars weak foot was too good to be true and he had a potential rating of 92 which was amazing for career mode players.

#FIFA 13 - Wayne Rooney (89)

Wayne Rooney

In FIFA 13, he had a degrade of 1 rating point from the previous edition. He was still one of the best strikers to have on your team sheet. He was the 17th highest ranked player in that edition. Only Terry and Gerrard came anywhere near to him. The stat which took the biggest hit was his pace, his pace had come in 70's for the first time.

#FIFA 12- Wayne Rooney (90)

Wayne Rooney

This was the time when Rooney's global appeal was equal to that of Ronaldo's and Messi's. Rooney was the 5th best player in the game with his shooting being third only to that of Messi and Ronaldo. Like in many other editions, in FIFA 12 too Wayne Rooney was on the cover page.

#FIFA 11- Wayne Rooney (88)

Wayne Rooney

He had regained back the top spot after losing it to Gerrard in the previous season. He was the 5th best in the game with a very high pace stat, which kept on decreasing afterwards. His defending was also very high as a striker due to which he turned out to be an all-around package in that game.

#FIFA 10- Steven Gerrard (88)

Steven Gerrard

FIFA 10 was the last time Steven Gerrard held the title of 'The Best English player in FIFA'. He was ranked ahead of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney who all had a rating of 87. FIFA 10 players would remember the magical long-range shooting ability of Steven Gerrard.

#FIFA 09- Steven Gerrard and John Terry (88)

Steven Gerrard and John Terry

The two giants of English Football were on par with the likes of Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta. That was the time when English clubs used to be a regular feature in the Champions League finals or semi finals. Manchester United lost the Champions League final that year, which have had an effect on Rooney's rating.

#FIFA 08- Wayne Rooney and John Terry (90)

Wayne Rooney and John Terry

This was the golden time for English football and as far as FIFA is concerned these two stars i.e John Terry and Wayne Rooney were one of the best in the game and they both were only behind Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon and Kaka. In 2008, Manchester United won the double i.e Premier League and Champions League.

#FIFA 07- Wayne Rooney (92)

Wayne Rooney

The young and dynamic Wayne Rooney was given a mouth-watering rating of 92. He was the best player in the FIFA 07 edition. He was ahead of the like of Ronaldinho and Buffon. Wayne Rooney has not only been phenomenal for Manchester United but rather his career has brought great pride to his country.

#FIFA 06- Wayne Rooney (93)

Wayne Rooney

This was the best rating Wayne Rooney ever got in this game. Even after that, he was only the 7th best player in that edition of the game. This was the first time Rooney was featured among the best players in the game and as we have that this wasn't the last time.

#FIFA 05- Steven Gerrard

(93)

Steven Gerrard

This edition came after the Historic Champions League victory by Liverpool, where Steven Gerrard played a pivotal role in getting that trophy. Gerrard's performances even impressed the rival manager Jose Mourinho who tried to sign him to Chelsea. The Former Liverpool man was in his prime at that time.