Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have completely dominated world football for the past decade and a half, but neither of them make the top XI of players featured in EA Sports’ FIFA franchise.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have peaked with a rating of 94, which in our opinion doesn’t cut the mustard to get into ours ultimate Ultimatives Team.
In a 4-4-f*cking-2, we took a look at the best XI to grace the game in all of its previous installments.
TW: Gianluigi Buffon, 97 – FIFA 05
He always would be, right? The only question was in which era Buffon made the cut.
Curiously, Buffon came from a 2003/04 season in which Juventus finished third in Serie A and six teams fewer than the old lady’s 42 goals conceded.
The goalkeeper also suffered disappointment at Euro 2004 when Italy were eliminated in the group stage despite being unbeaten.
However, Buffon was named UEFA Team of the Year and also won the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper Award, although he missed out on the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year honor for Dida.
RV: Lilian Thuram, 92 – FIFA 05
Another Juventus player to endure a disappointing season, Thuram was a defensive don in a variety of football games in the mid-2000s.
In the summer of 2004, Fabio Capello was appointed Juve coach and Thuram was mainly used as a centre-back, but in the 2005 edition of FIFA he was named as a right-back.
IV: Alessandro Nesta, 94 – FIFA 05
Staying with Serie A and again in the 2005 edition of the game, Nesta was considered to be at his best after helping Milan win Serie A, conceding a miserable 24 goals in 34 games.
But it was his teammate Andriy Shevchenko who graced the cover alongside Patrick Vieira and Raul.
READ: A tribute to five wonderful Serie A defenders: Milan, Parma, Inter, Juve…
IV: Fernando Hierro, 94 – FIFA 02
The only former Bolton player on this list, Hierro was nearing the end of his Real Madrid career when he received such a high rating from EA Sports despite having just won his fourth La Liga title and the 2001-02 season a third Champions League.
We still can’t understand why he scored 26 goals in all competitions in 1991/92.
LB: Roberto Carlos, 94 – FIFA 05
Roberto Carlos, a god of FIFA games thanks to his left foot, appeared on the cover of the 2003 edition but was thought to be at his best two years later.
RM: Luis Figo, 97 – FIFA 02
Fiercely striking on the right side of midfield on this side, Figo was at the height of his pig’s head of fame and shame, having just won his first title with Real Madrid following his controversial move from Barcelona.
We can’t help but think that not having him on the cover was a mistake, although that could have seriously impacted sales in Catalonia.
CM: Matteo Brighi, 97 – FIFA 03
Brighi is a true curveball and was the highest rated player at FIFA 2003, beating cover stars Thierry Henry, Roberto Carlos and Ryan Giggs.
Loaned to Bologna in the 2001/02 season, he was named Serie A Young Player of the Year at the age of 21. Sure he was good, but no one can really explain why he was rated so highly in-game.
After a nomadic 21-year career in Italy, Brighi retired in 2019.
READ: The curious case of Matteo Brighi, once considered the best FIFA player in the world
ZM: Zinedine Zidane, 96 – FIFA 05
Zidane, another member of the Galacticos who would obviously be in the team somewhere, had just been called up to the Euro 2004 team of the tournament but it’s strange to think that by that point he had already won the final trophies of his career .
LM: Ronaldinho, 95 – FIFA 06
Technically a CAM in the game, Ronaldinho gets the nod on the left as he has often acted there for Barcelona, and his 95 rating surpasses both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s top 94 ratings.
The Brazilian may have been the best player in the world for a relatively short time, but during that time he was untouchable.
ST: Ronaldo, 98 – FIFA 04
Proof once and for all that the OG Ronaldo is trumping the new pretender Cristiano.
Honestly, he was so damn good.
ST: Thierry Henry, 97 – FIFA 05
Henry was the only player in that squad to be active in the Premier League at the time of his FIFA peak. He was in the midst of five straight seasons scoring 30+ goals in all competitions and was at the extreme Va Va Voom.
More from Planet Football
Where are you now? 17 child prodigies from FIFA 09: Wilshere, Pato, Kroos
–
–
