It's that time of the year: Summer is winding down, a new football season is getting settled in, and of course that means there is a new FIFA game on the way. This year's incarnation, FIFA 17, promises plenty of innovations and new features that we'll all be enjoying soon enough -- the game releases in the U.S. on Sept. 27, in the rest of the world on Sept. 29 -- but the one thing we all care about is player ratings!
Heck, it might be the only thing that the players care about...
EA released the top 50 players today, and after his brilliant year, in which he won the Champions League with Real Madrid and claimed the Euro 2016 title with Portugal, global megastar Cristiano Ronaldo is the top-rated player in the game.
Your move, Mr. Messi.
.@Cristiano is the top rated player in #FIFA17! See the Top 50 players in FIFA 17: https://t.co/fSiUACzgEY pic.twitter.com/epBKoabDx5
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) September 2, 2016
The top-50 list contains a few surprises -- anyone else intrigued by James Rodriguez making the cut despite being rooted to Real Madrid's bench? -- but all in all, it's a formidable collection of talent that you'll be using to battle your friends all season long.
Lionel Messi is, of course, No. 2 behind his La Liga rival, while Messi's Barca pals -- Neymar and Luis Suarez, plus Bayern goalkeeper/sweeper extraordinaire Manuel Neuer -- round out the top five.
The full list is at the bottom, but here are some things that caught our attention:
-- Real Madrid have eight players in the top 50, while Barcelona have six.
-- Bayern Munich manage a whopping nine in this elite pack to lead all clubs. Will that help them romp to yet another Bundesliga title?
-- The Manchester rivalry is alive and well. Manchester City notch three players (David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero) in the esteemed collective, while Manchester United's summer spending on Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives them three of the top 50 as well. No place for Wayne Rooney, though. Weird.
-- Unsurprisingly, attacking football wins the day as four of the top five, seven of the top 10 and 14 of the top 50 are likely to be found scoring goals. Stopping them in the top 50, though, are 18 defenders, including eight goalkeepers.
-- The sensational season of West Ham's Dimitri Payet is rewarded with a spot in the top 50, but nary a Leicester player in sight. Odd, that.
-- The top-rated goalkeeper is Neuer, as expected. The top-rated defender is Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng (No. 8) and the top-rated midfielder is the Premier League's assist king, Mesut Ozil (No. 12).
The full top 50 players, as rated by FIFA 17
50. Blaise Matuidi, CDM, Paris Saint-Germain: 86
49. Marcelo, LB, Real Madrid: 86
48. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, ST, Borussia Dortmund: 86
47. Dimitri Payet, LM, West Ham: 86
46. Arjen Robben, RM, Bayern Munich: 87
45. James Rodriguez, CAM, Real Madrid: 87
44. David Silva, CAM, Manchester City: 87
43. Karim Benzema, ST, Real Madrid: 87
42. Arturo Vidal, CM, Bayern Munich: 87
41. Sergio Busquets, CDM, Barcelona: 87
40. Samir Handanovic, GK, Inter Milan: 87
39. Mats Hummels, CB, Bayern Munich: 87
38. Thomas Muller, CF, Bayern Munich: 87
37. Angel Di Maria, RW, Paris Saint-Germain: 87
36. Alexis Sanchez, LW, Arsenal: 87
35. Ivan Rakitic, CM, Barcelona: 87
34. Jan Oblak, GK, Atletico Madrid: 87
33. Leonardo Bonucci, CB, Juventus: 87
32. David Alaba, LB, Bayern Munich: 87
31. Hugo Lloris, GK, Tottenham: 88
30. Eden Hazard, LM, Chelsea: 88
29. Giorgio Chiellini, CB, Juventus: 88
28. Petr Cech, GK, Arsenal: 88
27. Toni Kroos, CM, Real Madrid: 88
26. Gianluigi Buffon, GK, Juventus: 88
25. Marco Reus, LM, Borussia Dortmund: 88
24. Andres Iniesta, CM, Barcelona: 88
23. Diego Godin, CB, Atletico Madrid: 88
22. Philipp Lahm, RB, Bayern Munich: 88
21. Kevin De Bruyne, CAM, Manchester City: 88
20. Pepe, CB, Real Madrid: 88
19. Gonzalo Higuain, ST, Juventus: 88
18. Paul Pogba, CM, Manchester United: 88
17. Antoine Griezmann, ST, Atletico Madrid: 88
16. Thiago Silva, CB, Paris Saint-Germain: 89
15. Luka Modric, CM, Real Madrid: 89
14. Sergio Ramos, CB, Real Madrid: 89
13. Thibaut Courtois, GK, Chelsea, 89
12. Mesut Ozil, CAM, Arsenal: 89
11. Sergio Aguero, ST, Manchester City: 89
10. David De Gea, GK, Manchester United: 90
9. Robert Lewandowski, ST, Bayern Munich: 90
8. Jerome Boateng, CB, Bayern Munich: 90
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, ST, Manchester United: 90
6. Gareth Bale, RW, Real Madrid: 90
5. Manuel Neuer, GK, Bayern Munich: 92
4. Luis Suarez, ST, Barcelona: 92
3. Neymar, LW, Barcelona: 92
2. Lionel Messi, RW, Barcelona: 93
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, LW, Real Madrid: 94