FIFA 17: What the Premier League player ratings reveal
Manchester United veteran is the top player in England, but the player of the year is not even in the top 20
The player ratings for the forthcoming FIFA 17 game have been released with Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic anointed the most valuable player in the Premier League.
He has been given a rating of 90 for the latest instalment of the EA gaming franchise, the same score as his team-mate, goalkeeper David de Gea.
United's world record signing – Paul Pogba – is also one of the top Premier League players, but despite his £89m price-tag he has a rating of 88.
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The top 20 includes five players from Chelsea and Arsenal, four from Manchester City and three from United. Liverpool, Spurs and West Ham each contribute one player. There are none from Premier League champions Leicester City.
England's dire performance at Euro 2016 appears to have affected the ratings says the Daily Mail. "No Englishman features anywhere in the game's overall top 50," it notes.
"What is somewhat surprising is that just one man, Hugo Lloris, is included from the two teams who dominated the title race for the majority of last season, eventual champions Leicester and Tottenham," adds the Mail.
"FIFA 17 ratings matter," says the Daily Mirror. "They shouldn't, really. The number attached to a player only indicates how likely that particular character might be to play a pass/score a goal/make a tackle.
"But such is the excitement about FIFA 17, the ratings attributed to football's biggest names have become really, REALLY important."
But what do the ratings tell us?
- Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (88 points) is better than Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez (87 points)
- PFA player's player of the year Riyad Mahrez (85 points) is not one of the Premier League's 20 best players
- Only two players from last year's PFA shortlist (Mesut Ozil and Dimitri Payet) make the top 20
- Three of the division's top six players are goalkeepers (De Gea – second, Thibaut Courtois – fourth, Petr Cech – sixth)
- Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil (89 points) is more valuable than world record signing Paul Pogba (88 points)
- Man City skipper Vincent Kompany (86 points) is the best defender in the league
- Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla (86 points) is better than Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool (85 points)
- There is nothing between Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba (all 88 points)
- Laurent Koscielny (85 points) is the equal of Diego Costa, who got him sent off last season
- Eden Hazard is still one of the Premier League's top ten even after his terrible 2015-16 season
Away from the Premier League there is change at the very top of the pyramid, reports Sky Sports.
"For the first time in seven years, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi (93) is no longer the best player on the game. Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo (94) has leapfrogged his La Liga rival, with Messi's team-mate Neymar (92) in third place."
Barcelona (Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez) and Bayern Munich (Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Robert Lewandowski) both have three players in the top ten.
Ibrahimovic and De Gea are the only two Premier League stars to make the top ten.
FIFA 17 Premier League top 20
20. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) – 85
19. Willian (Chelsea) – 85
18. Diego Costa (Chelsea) – 85
17. Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) – 85
16. Dimitri Payet (West Ham United) – 86
15. Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) – 86
14. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) – 86
13. Santi Cazorla (Arsenal) – 86
12. David Silva (Manchester City) – 87
11. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) – 87
10. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) – 88
9. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – 88
8. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 88
7. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – 88
6. Petr Cech (Arsenal) – 88
5. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – 89
4. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) – 89
3. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – 89
2. David de Gea (Manchester United) – 90
1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) – 90
FIFA 17 overall top ten
10. David de Gea (Manchester United) – 90
9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - 90
8. Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) - 90
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) – 90
6. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - 90
5. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) - 92
4. Luis Suarez (Barcelona) - 92
3. Neymar (Barcelona) - 92
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 93
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - 94
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