The wait is over, FIFA 22 has finally arrived and unsurprisingly Lionel Messi has retained his place as the best player in the game.
EA has been slowly revealing the ratings of all the top players in the build-up to launch, and once again Messi sits at the top of the tree.
There were plenty of changes in the top ten though, so what rating does Messi have in FIFA 22?
G.O.A.T
With the most Balon D'or wins of any player ever, Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer to have ever played the game.
In an increasingly fast and physical sport, Messi has maintained his excellence and his goal record speaks for itself.
Messi has kept his 93 OVR from FIFA 21, making him once again the highest-rated player in the game, edging out an improved Robert Lewandowski (OVR 92).
We would have loved for Messi to have a central position from the outset of FUT 22, but it looks like we will have to wait for that.
Subtle change
While Messi kept his 93 OVR, we expected some tinkering to his attributes as he gets older.
This is not the case though as only one of Messi's attributes has changed from FIFA 21, and it is one that we doubt you will even notice!
After another year of playing, somehow Messi's Defensive Awareness has got worse, dropping -12 from 32 to 20.
This has taken his overall Defence rating down -4 to 34, although this will make little difference as he is not in the team to defend!