It’s that time of year again where EA Sports and Konami go head-to-head in the race to create the best football game. Lionel Messi has dominated the cover for the FIFA series but since his contract with EA came to an end, there has been a race over who will be the cover star for the iconic game.
Barcelona and Messi’s contract came to an end in 2016, which resulted in EA publishing a poll that allowed their customers to vote for their FIFA 17 cover star. Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus won the accolade ahead of Anthony Martial, Eden Hazard and James Rodríguez.
This edition has seen Ballon d’Or and Euro 2016 winner Cristiano Ronaldo named as the cover star.
While Ronaldo is more than deserving of the award, here are five other players who could have been named on the cover of FIFA 18, which is set to release in September.
#1 Dele Alli
Tottenham Hotspur and England international Dele Alli’s 2016/17 campaign was his best season to date. A £5 million signing from MK Dons in 2015, the 21-year-old scored 18 goals in 37 Premier League outings, which helped Spurs finish ahead of their North London rivals, Arsenal.
At the moment, there’s no doubting the abilities of Alli. He’s arguably England’s best player, despite still being eligible to play for the U21 side – who were recently knocked out of the U21 European Championship in Poland by Germany.
In the past, EA had Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the cover of FIFA 13, and Alli far exceeds the potential of the now 23-year-old.
#2 Eden Hazard
Staying in the Premier League, we have Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. Under Jose Mourinho last season, it’s fair to say the Belgian didn’t live up to his expected standards. However, under Antonio Conte during the 2016/17 campaign, the 26-year-old helped bring the Premier League trophy back to Stamford Bridge.
With 16 league goals in 36 appearances, Hazard was dominant on the left-flank. The Belgium international has worked with EA before and just lost out to Marco Reus in the race to be the cover of FIFA 17. If Hazard keeps up his form, then maybe this fan favourite will feature on the cover of FIFA 19.
#3 Antoine Griezmann
Close to joining Manchester United, Antoine Griezmann recently signed a contract extension with Atletico Madrid, declaring his love for the club. Although the 26-year-old has been unlucky in finals, losing against Real Madrid in the Champions League final and Portugal at Euro 2016, it’s only a matter of time before Griezmann gets his hand on a major trophy.
After scoring six goals in six games at Euro 2016, the Atletico Madrid hitman has become the star of the France national team, alongside Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.
With almost half-a-century of caps for France and averaging a goal every other game for Atletico, it’s only going to be a matter of time before Griezmann gets himself on the front cover of a FIFA game.
#4 Luis Suarez
Playing for Antoine Griezmann’s La Liga rivals, Barcelona’s Luis Suarez makes up 1/3rd of the Catalans’ famous attacking trio, alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar – the former of course was the cover star on FIFA for several editions.
Now 30, it doesn’t look like the Uruguayan is slowing down. His 37 goals in 51 games in all competitions this past season for Barcelona make him one of Europe’s most prolific forwards.
Perhaps the only thing that is stopping Suarez from becoming a cover star is the unsavoury reputation he’s picked up at international level, accused of biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini whilst being in the midst of similar incidents at both Ajax and Liverpool.
#5 Paulo Dybala
Last but certainly not least, we have Paulo Dybala of Juventus. Like Antoine Griezmann, the Argentine is tipped to be a future Ballon d’Or winner. Whether that’s with Juventus or another European giant remains to be seen.
Juventus were rocked with the departure of Paul Pogba last season, but the Bianconeri have a new young star now in Dybala. After taking time to settle in at the Serie A giants, the 23-year-old just can’t stop scoring.
A favourite amongst Juventus fans, Dybala has scored 42 goals in 94 games in all competitions for the Italians and could feature on the cover of FIFA in the near future.
