FIFA 18 ratings: Messi or Ronaldo - who gets the crown as top 10 players revealed

EA Sports has ended the suspense. After weeks over weeks of wait, the publishers of the world's biggest football console gaming franchise have finally revealed the top-rated player in FIFA 18 and it is CRISTIANO RONALDO. Yet again!

All the while, it was expected that the Real Madrid megastar would be FIFA 18's best player owing to his appearance on the label's cover this year, but EA have done well to build the hype and create a narrative around that, hinting at Ronaldo time and again.

The Portuguese captain featured the game's first teaser and was then unveiled as the cover star. Ronaldo, fresh from a Champions League and La Liga double, was always the attention. Furthermore, his appearance alongside the fictional Alex Hunter, whose life the story mode "The Journey" concerns, all but confirmed that Ronaldo was going to be the man of FIFA 18.

All of that and more have been made public by EA Sports as they completed the top 100 players' ratings reveal. Ronaldo is followed by Messi and Neymar in second and third, while the last third of the erstwhile MSN - Luis Suarez - comes fourth. Bayern Munich's pair of Manuel Neuer and Robert Lewandowski follows; Sergio Ramos is the only top 10 defender, coming in at seventh and replacing Jerome Boateng from FIFA 17.

Chelsea's Eden Hazard is rewarded for a fine comeback season, while current and former Real Madrid players Toni Kroos and Gonzalo Higuain complete the top 10. Higuain, of the old mould, is now a serial Serie A goalscorer for Napoli and now Juventus.

Here are the top 10 FIFA 18 players:

#10 Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain's FIFA 18 card

#9 Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos' FIFA 18 card

#8 Eden Hazard

Hazard's FIFA 18 card

#7 Sergio Ramos

Ramos' FIFA 18 card

#6 Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski's FIFA 18 card

#5 Manuel Neuer

Manuel Neuer's FIFA 18 card

#4 Luis Suarez

Suarez's FIFA 18 card

#3 Neymar

Neymar's FIFA 18 card

#2 Lionel Messi

Messi's FIFA 18 card

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo's FIFA 18 card

Being FIFA's top-rated player is no smaller than winning a Ballon d'Or these days. The level of prestige is similar and so is the predictability of the winners. You might just want to bet on Ronaldo winning the Ballon d'Or in December this year.