Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have always been among the absolute elite players in FIFA for the past ten years. The two always fought for 1st and 2nd place in the list of top-rated players. The early launch on Xbox confirms what we've long predicted:: a downgrade is coming for both GOATs.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were not only at the top in the FIFA top 100 player ratings, but also always reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League with their respective team. After Paris Saint-Germain was kicked out by Real Madrid last season and Manchester United was beaten by Atlético Madrid, these stats are history.
Since Xbox players were already able to play FIFA 23 on August 30, the downgrades are confirmed for both. Especially with the important stat Pace, the two have to accept a heavy devaluation.
The Portuguese turned 37 in February, the Argentine 35 in June. So, it's quite clear that the two are no pace gods. Nevertheless, they're still expected to be among players who are considered meta in FIFA. The Pace stat has always been extremely essential for that in recent years.
Messi And Ronaldo Ratings In FIFA 23
It's been an ongoing discussion for most of the time since the knockouts: How good will Messi and Ronaldo be in the next game? Or in other words: Will the Messi and Ronaldo era end in FIFA 23?
From FIFA 11 to FIFA 21, the 1st and 2nd best players in FIFA were always the two superstars. In FIFA 22, Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski moved up to 2nd place with 92 OVR, and ahead of CR7 (91 OVR).
Downgrades: Messi Gets 91 OVR – Ronaldo 90 OVR & Both Only 81 Pace
We predicted downgrades for both of them in FIFA 23 months ago. CR7 has dropped from 93 to 91 in the last three years, while Messi has only dropped from 94 to 93.
Now we know, that Lionel Messi will get 91 OVR and Cristiano Ronaldo will get 90 OVR. Thath means -2 OVR for Messi and -1 OVR for Ronaldo. You read that here first. Both of them drop down to 81 Pace... that hurts.
Ronaldo and Messi BOTH have only 81 pace in #FIFA23
— FIFA 23 News (@FUT23News) August 30, 2022
All Lionel Messi stats in FIFA 23:
| Stats | FIFA 22 | FIFA 23 |
| Pace | 85 | 81 |
| Shooting | 92 | 89 |
Passing | 91 | 90 |
| Dribbling | 95 | 94 |
| Defending | 34 | 34 |
| Physical | 65 | 64 |
All Cristiano Ronaldo stats in FIFA 23:
| Stats | FIFA 22 | FIFA 23 |
| Pace | 87 | 81 |
| Shooting | 93 | 92 |
Passing | 82 | 78 |
| Dribbling | 88 | 85 |
| Defending | 34 | 34 |
| Physical | 75 | 75 |
There were a lot of transfer rumors concerning Ronaldo over the past weeks and months. However, since Manchester United continues to upgrade their squad with Ones to Watch cards (Casemiro), the superstar could perhaps stay happy this season in the Old Trafford.
In any case, we hope that the two will stay on the real life pitch for a few more years. They will never disappear in FUT anyway. After their careers end, they will both (hopefully ASAP) find a place in our squads as Icons (as if you could ever afford Messi or CR7 Icons – or pack them).
We think a 91 for Messi and a 90 for Ronaldo are reasonable. Still, it's a shame they only get 81 Pace. But maybe Pace won't be THAT important after all...(lol)
What do you think?