Ah, it’s that time of the year again. The ratings for the top 100 FIFA 22 players have just been announced, with the game’s arrival peering just around the corner. This is a time where people immediately complain about what ratings their favourite players have been given, with a sick part of me thinking that EA do this on purpose just to have people talking about the game passionately just before release. And I am going to do exactly that as well. With an unforgettable season and post season in the books, let us go through some of the players whose ratings might have been slightly misjudged by the EA Gods and see what corrections I would personally make to reflect the year of football that has just transpired and their rankings amongst the best of the best. (PS. Yes, I am a Manchester United fan and yes, I am using my rage at the ratings towards my team in making this list so bare that in mind. Let me have this.)
(Photo - EA + Playstation)
10. Erling Haaland
One of the brightest and most talented (and effortlessly funny) strikers in world football right now, Erling Haaland enjoyed another incredible season with Borussia Dortmund, with an astonishing 53 goal contributions in 41 games and continuing to baffle spectators with his eye for goal and almost robotic composure in the way he can find the net in even the most unthinkable positions. This makes me wonder why he was only upgraded to an 88 this year (still a +4 from his rating the previous year), but for one of Europe’s deadliest finishers, a rating of around 90 would be more fitting in my mind. With the debate constantly in supporters mind between Kylian Mbappe and Haaland, a difference of 3 in ratings seems rather harsh towards the Norwegian international, with them being much closer and their ratings should show that.
9. Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah enjoyed another fine season in a Liverpool shirt, contributing 27 goal contributions in the league last season and coming 2nd to Tottenham and England ace Harry Kane by just one goal in the race for the golden boot. Despite the lack of trophies coming to Anfield, it is peculiar to see that Salah has received a downgrade for this year’s game, going from a 90 to an 89 overall. For one of the world’s most elite wingers, maintaining the same rating at the absolute minimum should have been the result, with an argument for an upgrade being understandable as well. Now, the EA access 10-hour trial for FIFA 22 has been out for a couple days, and Salah has already received his first special card of the year, a 90 rated inform for his scintillating start to the season, with 7 goal contributions in 6 games. Based on previous years it is fair to assume that this won’t be the Egyptian’s last special card this year as well.
8. Bruno Fernandes
The man who singlehandedly has reignited Manchester United and was a big reason for their surge into the champions league at the tail end of the 2020/21 season, Bruno Fernandes went on to enjoy a marvellous first full campaign at Old Trafford, with 30 goal contributions in 37 league games, whilst also kicking off the 2021/22 season in fine form with an incredible hattrick at home against Leeds on the opening day of the season. So far, he has 4 goals in 5 games and looks to be a driving force for United’s title hopes this season alongside Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo’s fine start to the season. It shocked me then to discover that Fernandes had only received a +1 overall from last year’s game, going from an 87 to an 88. Fernandes deserves at least a 90 rated card, with the much compared to Kevin De Bruyne receiving a 91 rated card for this year. The two maestros are a lot closer than their ratings suggest currently, with a 90 for Fernandes and a 90/91 for De Bruyne seeming fair.
7. Yann Sommer
A downgrade I was not expecting to see this year. After a very impressive outing at the European Championship, including an inspiring penalty shootout win against bookies’ favourites France, the Swiss international seemingly had his stock risen over the course of the tournament before a second penalty shootout proved too many as they suffered defeat at the hands of Spain in a very respectable quarter final finish for Switzerland. Despite this however, in the ratings database for FIFA 22, the Borussia Monchengladbach stopper was dead last in the goalkeeper ratings in the top 100 players (coming 93rdincluding all positions) and having a downgrade from 86 to 85. This seems incredibly harsh, and I feel his rating should have either been kept the same or maybe raised by 1 to an 87. Perhaps it was Monchengladbach’s 8th place finish in the Bundesliga last season that cemented Sommer’s fate before the European Championships even had the chance to kick off.
6. Luke Shaw
His goal had us all dreaming in the European Championship Final… But alas, Luke Shaw enjoyed a marvellous season in 2020/21, with him showing the sort of form and ability that made him one of the most expensive English transfers at the time upon his move to Manchester United. After multiple setbacks through injuries and a persistent Jose Mourinho taking any chance to criticise the full back, Shaw was comfortably the best left back in the Premier League last season. However, in the dismissive eyes of EA, the England left back received a minimal upgrade from an 81 in FIFA 21 to an 84 in this year’s cycle. However, despite the +3 upgrade, he somehow has a very similar card with minor stat upgrades, with no upgrade in pace, and minimal boosts in defending, physical and dribbling. He is 3 RATINGS LESS than Andrew Robertson who had an arguably poor campaign for his standards, especially after how well he performed the year before. Making Shaw the highest rated left back in the league would have been the minimum I would have accepted, even if that meant sharing the accolade with Robertson. But no. He is an 84 rated which is the same as Lucas Digne, a fine left back, but cannot hold a candle to Shaw over the past year.
5. Kasper Schmeichel
One of Europe’s most consistent and trustworthy stoppers, the son of legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel is carving his own legacy in the game, with an unforgettable Premier League win under his name and a very solid Premier League campaign and European Championship outing for the Danish keeper. Denmark were truly the heart and soul of the competition, with Schmeichel’s heroics between the sticks fuelling their performances especially after the terrifying incident with Christian Eriksen and getting them to the semi-finals where they eventually lost to Gareth Southgate’s three lions. It has always baffled me that Schmeichel is not up there with the highest rated goalkeepers in the Premier League, sitting comfortably behind Alisson, Ederson and Lloris in this year’s rankings who are rated 89, 89 and 87 respectively, whereas Schmeichel sits unmoved from the previous year’s rating at 85. The least they could do is bump him up to an 86/87 for this year but alas, the Danish international appears to be overlooked by EA again in their rankings of the top keepers in world football.
4. Mason Greenwood
I know this list may seem biased with a fair few Manchester United inclusions because I am a Manchester United fan, but I struggle to wrap my head around how Mason Greenwood is only 78 rated. This lad is one of the most promising youngsters in world football, being in the listings for the golden boy award for the past 2 seasons running and is one of a rare breed of attacker that can finish with lethal precision with either foot. Following an incredible end to the 2020/21 campaign for the young lad, he has carried on his form into the current season, netting 3 times in 5 games already and adding a maturity to his game where he is now able to beat players cleanly and get his shot off or square it to one of his teammates. The sky is the limit for Greenwood and his rating should reflect that, with at least an 81 rated card being more suitable for this game cycle, with a chance for many special cards throughout the year.
3. Thiago
What an underwhelming season for the highly decorated Spanish playmaker. With hopes high of him driving Liverpool to even greater heights during the 2020/21 season, injuries prevented him from making a real impact like they would have expected, with injuries seeming to be a running theme for Liverpool during the campaign. He registered only 1 goal and 0 assists in 24 Premier League games and rarely seemed to be the spark to ignite Jurgen Klopp’s side as many thought a player with the accolades and pedigree like Thiago would have. This was followed by a bit part role in Spain’s European Championship side for the rescheduled 2021 tournament, with him managing just 65 minutes of football throughout the entire tournament. In the eyes of EA however, this earned him an UPGRADE from last year’s rating of 85 to an 86, putting him higher rated than Ilkay Gundogan and Jorginho (don’t worry, we’ll get to him shortly), who comparatively had much more impressive seasons than the Spaniard. Now I know, it is hard to ignore Thiago’s credentials and trophy cabinet, but the previous season saw absolutely no reason why Thiago’s rating should have been increased, and an 85-rating repeated would have been more than generous for this year’s rating, with absolutely an argument for a downgrade also.
2. Jorginho
What a season this man had. Champions League winner with Chelsea and European Championship winner with Italy (yes that game still plays on my mind every night). An upgrade was guaranteed but going from an 83 to an 85 seems very harsh in my opinion. An 86 or 87 would be more representative of the incredible season the Italian maestro had over the 2020/21 season and the accolades he added to his rather impressive resumé. His importance to the Italian team and for Chelsea should never be underestimated, whilst he isn’t the flashiest footballer and won’t be scoring screamers every week, he works effortlessly in his role in organising the midfield and playing the ball through for his attackers to latch onto, whilst performing his defensive duties admirably as well in two of the most organised teams when it comes to their impressive midfielders. Did Parejo have a better season? No. Did Thiago? No. Did Pogba? No. I am not suggesting that Jorginho is a better player than those 3, but for him to be behind all those players in the ratings listing seems unfair based purely from the last year of his football, which is what EA tends to take the most into consideration when deciding their ratings for each year’s iteration of the game.
1. Robert Lewandowski
Poor Robert Lewandowski. He seems to have had no luck when it comes to personal accolades over the last two years when it comes to recognising his goalscoring ability. After being robbed of a surely guaranteed Ballon D’or in 2020 due to the competition not happening because of Covid, the Polish striker has continued to break records and dazzle supporters with his football, leaving him as the 2nd best ranked player on FIFA 22 behind Lionel Messi. Now I know. Messi is undoubtably one of the greatest players to ever lace a pair of boots. But over the 2020/21 season, Lewandowski’s efforts should have secured him top spot, now whether he shares that accolade with Messi I would have been fine with, but he should have been the highest rated card this year at minimum. Lewandowski has amassed 57 goal contributions in 40 games last season, with a whopping 41 goals ALONE in just the Bundesliga and he has already carried this form into the current campaign with 11 goals in his first 7 games. One of the most underrated strikers in modern history with how much of an impact he has had on German and European football, Lewandowski’s stock continues to grow even at the age of 33, an age where most would expect their top years to be behind them. Not for Robert LewanGOALski. I know, I know, that was awful but that is Thomas Muller’s fault, he started it.
Did I miss anyone? I absolutely did with only 10 entries so feel free to let me know in the comments under the post if you agree or disagree with any of the entries here and if there are any other burning emotions based on your favourite player’s rating in FIFA 22. I very much look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Comments