Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been rivals for several decades with them dominating almost everything in Europe.
The duo have also gotten lucrative paychecks while being rated high on EA sports game FIFA as well as in the world generally.
Recall we reported that EA have moved on with a new title ‘EA FC 24’ and these two icons are not among the game’s highest-rated players.
Well, for the first time in a long while, both players have seen downgrade from their usual ratings and especially that of last year.
Lionel Messi is now playing in the MLS with Inter Miami while Cristiano Ronaldo is currently in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr.
Futballnews brings you Messi’s and Cristiano Ronaldo’s FIFA rating throughout their careers and who edges who in comparison.
FIFA O4 – Ronaldo
The 2004 edition of EA’s FIFA was the first version to actually have either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in the game.
Ronaldo edged Messi in this one as he was playing at Manchester United and was rated 80 while Messi was still in his final year of Barcelona’s B team.
FIFA 05 – Ronaldo
Again, this was another year Ronaldo dominated the ratings as well as he was rated 88 in the game while Lionel Messi just enjoyed an awesome debut with Barca senior team.
FIFA 06 – Ronaldo
The Portuguese international also edges for this year despite Messi finally being in the game – Ronaldo won the round with a 91 rating but the Argentine got a 78 rating.
FIFA 07 – Ronaldo
Messi and Ronaldo were well on their way to becoming football’s biggest superstars at this point and the rivalry was already brewing.
Ronaldo had a decline in rating in this year with a rating of 87 while Lionel Messi almost caught up with an 84 rating.
FIFA 08 – Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo really staked his claim as the best player in the world in 2008 and also got a better rating than the previous year.
Lionel Messi on the other hand had 16 goals in all competitions in Spain that year and only saw his rating go up by two points – up to 86.
FIFA 09 – Ronaldo
This is the year that the rivalry between this two icons became massive as the battle for top spot really begins to heat up.
Ronaldo earned himself a 91 FIFA rating with his exploits in 2009 and while Messi on the other hand earned himself a 90 rating.
FIFA 10 – Messi
In the year 2010, Messi overtook Ronaldo on the FIFA rating and the rivalry at that point birthed a Messi v Ronaldo battle.
Lionel Messi earned himself a 90 rating after an impressive season in Spain, while Ronaldo only got an 89 overall rating.
FIFA 11 – Messi
Once again, the Inter Miami man surpasses Ronaldo in 2011 with an overall 90 rating on EA game while Ronaldo maintained the previous 89 rating.
FIFA 12 – Messi
Messi again edged the Portuguese in this year’s edition as he was given a huge 94 rating while Ronaldo was handed a generous rating boost up to 92.
FIFA 13 – Messi
Again, Messi had the highest-rating of 94 while Ronaldo on the other hand got a 92 rating.
FIFA 14 – Messi
In 2014, Lionel Messi kept his table-topping 94 rating and Ronaldo stayed at 92, despite scoring 55 goals in 55 matches in that year.
FIFA 15 – Messi
Despite Ronaldo winning back-to-back Ballon d’Ors (three in total), Messi maintained the best overall rating that year.
Ronaldo walked away with the same 92 rating he had held for the previous two years, while Lionel Messi maintained a 93 rating.
FIFA 16 – Messi
The Argentine got back to his previous 94 rating which saw him retain his spot at the top of the ratings list once again.
His rival Ronaldo on the other hand, got handed one boast which got him close to the Argentine counterpart.
FIFA 17 – Ronaldo
Ronaldo got back his crown in 2017 as the game’s highest rated player – as he boasted a 94 overall rating.
Messi, on the other hand, was demoted to a 93 rating despite scoring 54 goals in all competitions the season prior.
FIFA 18 – Ronaldo
Ronaldo clinched back-to-back titles as the game’s best player as he maintained an impressive 94 rating and was the star for the FIFA franchise.
The now Al-Nassr player got a 94 rating while his Argentine counterpart got a 93 rating in that years edition.
FIFA 19 – A Tie
In 2019, the two football stars were tied on the same rating but Ronaldo was FIFA 19 cover star, after an amazing season at Juventus.
FIFA 20 – Messi
In FIFA 19, one year later and Messi had reclaimed his title as the game’s best player and got a 94 rating while Ronaldo got a 93 rating.
FIFA 21 – Messi
Ronaldo’s rating dwindled following his departure from Real Madrid and Messi was handed a 93 overall rating which was lower than the previous season.
Messi also dropped one rating, down to 93, but did little to impact his claim as the game’s best player.
FIFA 22 – Messi
In FIFA 22, Messi was given a 93 overall rating, Ronaldo, on the other hand, received a 91 rating upon his stunning return to Manchester United.
FIFA 23 – Messi
This is the most recent edition of the game with Lionel Messi receiving a 91 rating – his lowest since 2011 – while Ronaldo picked up a 90 overall rating.
EA FC 24 – Messi
EA revealed that they would be breaking away from the ‘FIFA’ franchise in a bid to build their new brand ‘FC’.
And with Lionel Messi playing in the Major League Soccer now, he will have a 90 rating in-game while Ronaldo has dropped to an 86-rated player.
Lionel Messi or Ronaldo: Who Wins The Tie?
Fans from both camps have refused to agree that one of these players is greater than the other over the past few decade, however, EA will.
Ronaldo started the lead early as he enjoyed an early career, but Messi came from behind to overtake the Portuguese.
Messi now holds a 12-8 advantage over Ronaldo, with the pair also being rated equally back in 2019.
