It has been one week since Electronic Arts' (EA) flagship football game, FIFA 17, released worldwide. With the new Frostbite engine powering the FIFA dynamics, this version has been dubbed as the best football game right now.
The gargantuan FIFA franchise has been often found guilty of rating average players highly. Overall ratings of fast, flashy players are often upped whereas sometimes old decaying players are also given high ratings.
While EA has given many players a boost in their overall ratings, we are outraged at how some of the players are criminally over-rated in the game. EA has strictly maintained that the ratings are based on the last season's performance but for a few players, there is no parity in their ratings and their performances. It is, however, extremely difficult to replicate a sportsman's abilities on the field in a video game, and the developers have done commendably well.
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Here, we look at five such players who we feel have been grossly overrated in FIFA 17:
#5 Jack Wilshere (FIFA 17 rating: 82)
Jack Wilshere made his senior debut for Arsenal at the age of 16 becoming Arsenal's youngest debutant in 2008. He showcased his potential and was also selected in the PFA team of the year and was Arsenal's best player of the year in his first full-fledged season in 2010-11.
Unfortunately, it has been an only downhill journey for the English midfielder since then. He missed an entire season after being sidelined with an ankle injury and never seemed to replicate his initial form.
In the 2015-16 season, the 24-year-old broke his fibula in the preseason and missed a major part of the season. Wilshere returned after a gap of 10 months as he made an appearance for the Arsenal U-21 side against Newcastle. Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger loaned him to Bournemouth this season after he failed to make any significance impact in the matches he featured in last season.
As is the case, Wilshere has been rated as highly as 82 in FIFA 17, which if not demoralising, is certainly shocking. In my opinion, Wilshere should have been rated in the mid-70s with a 76 or 77 doing justice to his playing ability
#4 Nicolas Otamendi (FIFA 17 rating: 85)
Nicolas Otamendi joined Manchester City from Valencia before the start of the previous season for a fee of £28.5 million. He failed to live up to his transfer fee last season as City finished fourth in the Premier League and Otamendi also struggled in a number of games.
Otamendi made 30 Premier League appearances and managed to keep 11 clean sheets but he also made two major defensive errors and won only 52% of the aerial duels. City conceded 35 goals in the matches that Otamendi featured in.
The 28-year-old had a tackle success rate of 67% in the Premier League last year and conceded nine yellow cards. Manchester City's 2-0 defeat at Stoke last season was arguably his poorest performance.
In the absence of Vincent Kompany, he does look sloppy in defence. Also, the stats show that a rating of 85 is outrageous for the Argentine centre-back, whereas a rating of 81 would have been more appropriate.
#3 Memphis Depay (FIFA 17 rating: 80)
Memphis Depay had a spectacular season at PSV Eindhoven before joining Manchester United in 2015 for a fee of £25 million after attracting interest from several top clubs. However, he failed to impress anyone as United slumped to a fifth in the league and failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Depay scored only two goals in 24 Premier League appearances last season as he could not get acclimatised in England. The Dutch youngster came to Old Trafford with a reputation of scoring incredible long-range goals and free-kicks alike, However, with a shot accuracy of only 44%, he seemed a bit (politely speaking) out of the shade.
He created just 12 chances, a paltry stat for an attacking winger, and could not even do justice to his reputation for being a speedster. While many still believe that the 22-year-old will develop and realize his full potential soon, in my opinion, he is a talent gone down the drain.
A rating as high as 80 is criminal for Depay, and he does not deserve more than a 75-76.
#2 Jerome Boateng (FIFA 17 rating: 90)
Jerome Boateng is one of the most versatile defenders right now and arrived at Bayern Munich from Premier League side Manchester City in 2011. The defender has won many accolades at Bayern Munich but is he really one the best centre-backs in the world?
The injury-plagued defender had not featured in most of the games last season. He made just 19 appearances in the Bundesliga and received a red card against 1899 Hoffenheim. Although the German stopper has maintained a lot of clean sheets, it is mainly due to the fact that Bayern plays in the Bundesliga and Manuel Neuer is their 'keeper. While making incredible goal-line saves and crucial last minute tackles are his forte, his injury problems seem to bug him down.
Personally, I think that Diego Godin is currently the best centre-back in the world. Although he has been impressive for the Bundesliga side, Boateng's rating should be around 86-87 and not 90.
#1 Thibaut Courtois (FIFA 17 rating: 89)
The Chelsea shot-stopper had an incredible debut season on his return to Stamford Bridge in 2014 as he helped the club lift the Premier League and the League cup. Thibaut Courtois first came into the spotlight as he conceded the least number of goals in a substantial amount of matches when he was loaned to Atletico Madrid in the 2012-14 season.
He replaced Petr Cech in between the sticks at Chelsea and justified the decision with stellar performances. However, in the 2015-16 season, Chelsea failed to play as a team and this resulted in the Blues finishing 10th in the league. Courtois managed to keep just five clean sheets in a disappointing season
The Belgian goalkeeper was shown a straight red card for conceding a penalty with a foul on Bafétimbi Gomis in the 2-2 draw against Swansea City. In September, he suffered a leg injury and was sidelined for three months. Later in the season, he was awarded another red card when he conceded a penalty against Manchester City fouling Fernandinho. In the process, he became only the sixth 'keeper in Premier League history to be shown the red card twice in a season.
An 89 rating for the player is surprising for the 24-year-old and a rating of 83-84 should have been more justified.
