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EA have revealed their top 23 Ligue 1 player ratings for FIFA 23, and PSG dominate the list with their star attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Neymar leading the pack — with the Brazilian rated at 89.
The Parisians got back to their winning days last season, comfortably winning the league with a couple of fresh signings. Clearly above the rest, PSG secured a whopping 12 spots on the top 23 list.
Despite winning the league, the Brazilian had a lukewarm season in the French capital. Plagued by an ankle injury for much of the season, Neymar finished as the second-highest-scorer on his team and, much to his fan's dismay, received a couple of major nerfs in his ratings.
Although the stats were technically leaked last month, EA keeps releasing official ratings for all major leagues and teams as the release date gets closer. Without further ado, here is a breakdown of Neymar's FIFA 23 stats and how they compare with players of his calibre.
Neymar is shaping up to be a good card in FIFA 23 despite nerfs
With a pace-apocalypse at our hands, the Brazilian forward has also fallen victim to a nerf to his speed and acceleration. EA seems to have slashed the ratings of a lot of top players with Messi and Ronaldo getting major nerfs to some of their ratings.
PSG might have sat comfortably at the top of Ligue 1 last season, but they did not succeed in making a dent on other fronts.
One of their issues includes their disappointing exit from the round of 16 at Coupe de France. Additionally, the subsequent failure to win the Trophée des Champions, coupled with Real Madrid knocking them out of the Champions League in the round of 16, means that they only managed to secure one trophy in the season.
With his 89 rating, Neymar becomes the second-highest-rated player in the French league and his team. The two-point reduction to his overall comes in addition to a substantial loss in rating to his pace. The all-important rating for strikers and wingers in the game has been reduced by four points to 87.
A closer look at this reveals that his acceleration and sprint speed have both taken a hit. The former being reduced by five and that latter by three points. Acceleration stands at a reduced 88 from 93, and Sprint Speed is at 86, down form 89. His stamina has also taken a hit of two points, downgrading it to 79.
The 30-year-old left winger had 13 goals and six assists in the 22 league appearances he had for PSG. This is far behind the top scorer Mbappe, who had a staggering 28 goals and 19 assists over the course of the season.
As such, his shooting stats remain a constant 83, with his shot power degrading by one point to 79. Finishing is still at 83 and long shots and volleys remain the same at 81 and 86. His penalty stats have been reduced by two, but are still quite high at 91; he also retains his 87 free kick accuracy.
His passing rating has decreased by one to 85. Crossing and Short Passing have taken one-point hits each, and currently stand at 84 and 85. While Long Passing remains at 81.
FUT meta has always favored lean and agile players who can easily dribble past the defenders with their superior balance, acceleration and sprint speed. While Neymar may have gotten a nerf in those areas, he remains quite agile.
He has a high dribbling stat of 93 on the player-card and has the agility stat of 93. Balance, and ball control also remain high despite downgrades, at 82 and 94.
Do note that there have been many changes to the game mechanics in FIFA 23 with new features like Hypermotion 2, changed dribbling and power shots. Without a full release, it is difficult to predict what the new meta will be, but Neymar's high pace and shooting stats mean he will remain a good card in FUT.
Here are some stat comparisons with other forwards for your perusal.
Neymar started his 2022/23 season with a bang, scoring a total of 11 goals with seven assists in only 10 appearances for PSG, indicating that he will surely get substantially upgraded cards for FUT in the near future.
Fans, however, only need to wait another two weeks till FIFA 23 releases to get their hands on PSG's star-studded lineup.
