At long last, Football Manager 2023 has arrived with plenty of brand-new features now available to get stuck into.
Along with the new features, FM fanatics have been studying the highest-rated players in the game, with one player, in particular, standing out above the rest... but for all the wrong reasons.
All-time footballing great Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the FM rankings for over a decade, alongside his biggest rival and fellow footballing legend, Lionel Messi.
However, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward has had his rating slashed this year and falls behind some pretty average players in FM23.
CR100
It's official - Cristiano Ronaldo is rated as the 100th-best player in FM23.
After impressively finishing as Man United's top goalscorer last season with 24 in all competitions, the 37-year-old has struggled to make Erik ten Hag's starting XI this campaign and has just one league goal to his name.
Ronaldo's biggest competitor for the GOAT title, Lionel Messi, sits well above the Portuguese striker as the 10th-best player in FM23.
However, there are some other shocking names rated above the Red Devil in Football Manager 2023, including the following:
- Memphis Depay
- Pepe
- Jorginho
- Kai Havertz
- Andrew Robertson
- Declan Rice
- Yves Bissouma
Yep, you heard that correctly - Yves Bissouma is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, according to FM23's ratings.
To put that into context, Ronaldo has almost four times as many senior career goals as Bissouma has senior professional appearances, and is somehow rated lower than the Spurs midfielder.
Cristiano SLOWnaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo's Football Manager 2023 player profile has been revealed and it doesn't make for good reading if you are a CR7 fan, to say the least.
The Portugal international's ratings have been hit hard in certain areas, but none more so than his speed, which is made up of pace and acceleration in FM.
The famous number seven's pace has been slashed by three points from 16 to 13, whilst his acceleration has been downgraded by the same number, from 15 to 12.
Ronaldo's pace was always going to be adjusted to match his tiring legs, but a downgrade this drastic will no doubt come as a shock to the FM community.
Of course, in FM23, the faster the player is, the more effective he is in-game.
This downgrade, therefore, could have a significant negative impact on Ronaldo's effectiveness as an FM23 forward.