FIFA 21 Top 100 players revealed

Put on your debating shoes, it's ratings time!

While there’s already been plenty of talking points around FIFA 21, one of the biggest that repeats itself before the launch of every FIFA game is the accuracy – or in some cases, inaccuracy – of that year’s player ratings.

Well, EA Sports has just dropped the Top 100 for FIFA 21 and, as you can expect, it’s already a hot topic. In the annual “which one of Messi or Ronaldo will be highest rated” debate, it’s the Argentine that comes out on top. Both Lionel Messi (93) and Cristiano Ronaldo (92) have been dropped down one rating from FIFA 20, meaning for the second year in succession the Barcelona star gets the crown.

Four players are tied for third with 91 overall ratings in Robert Lewandowski, Jan Oblak, Neymar, and Kevin De Bruyne. This year’s cover star, Kylian Mbappe, is bumped up from an 89 to a 90 rating, while a quartet of Liverpool players – Sadio Mane, Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Alisson – are also awarded that magical 90 rating.

Trawling through the list of this year’s top players and there are a few surprising ratings and some big changes from FIFA 20.

There’s a big drop for Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, who has plummeted from an 89 to an 86. Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard also has his overall rating slashed, going from a 91 to an 88.

Leicester City duo Jamie Vardy (86) and Ricardo Periera (85) make the list after receiving upgrades.

There is also plenty of debate over some extremely harsh ratings. Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, despite a high-scoring season, has been dropped from an 88 to an 87, while Bayern Munich Serge Gnabry, arguably one of the world’s top wingers throughout 2020, is only an 85.

While debates are raging over some of this year’s top players, expect there to be even more, erm, ‘civil discussions’, over player ratings when the full player database is released. What do you mean Plymouth Argyle’s left-back is only 61 rated?!