Lionel Messi has been in peak form of late, leading Barcelona to a vital El Clasico win over Real Madrid last weekend with a brace and then scoring another double in the Blaugrana’s 7–1 defeat of Osasuna yesterday. The Argentinean ace is arguably the best player in the world, and that is reflected in his FIFA 17 ratings.
Although La Pulga is rated slightly lower than his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi is as good a player you’ll ever play as in FIFA 17. His rating of 93 is just short of Ronaldo’s 94, but having Messi in your FIFA 17 team comes with all kinds of perks, as his big 90 plus attributes help you overwhelm your opponents with some ease.
However, we all know that Messi is not perfect. Despite the almighty powers that he possesses, Messi still comes up short in certain areas of football, as evidenced by his lower ratings in some attributes in FIFA 17. Here are the five players you would never believe trump Messi in a few attacking attributes.
#1 Bebe — Shot Power
Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, or Bebe as he is popularly known, has a better shot power rating than Messi. The Portuguese, who is remembered more for his ill-fated time at Manchester United as an expensive flop, now plays at La Liga club Eibar. He might have a modest overall rating of 77 compared to Messi’s 93, but he certainly beats the Argentine genius in the power he packs in his shots with a shot power of 88 compared to Messi’s 85. Eibar will meet Barca in the season’s final match and will hope Bebe gets one over Messi as he has done in FIFA 17.
#2 Joey Barton — Crossing
Barton has been in the centre of a betting controversy that has seen him get an 18-month suspension from football. However, there is some solace for the English midfielder in FIFA 17. Barton is rated higher than Messi in crossing, although it is criminal to expect Messi to hone his crossing skills by beating defenders and running to the byline before delivering. Barton, though, has the last laugh in this category as his crossing rating of 78 is just higher than Messi’s 77.
#3 Aaron Lennon — Agility
Lennon was supposed to be the next best thing for England during the mid-noughties, but his career has petered out as he now finds himself on Everton’s fringes. The 30-year-old has at least something to rejoice as he comfortably beats Messi in the agility stakes in FIFA 17. Messi is known to be one of the most agile and intelligent players around, but Lennon can be proud to have his agility rating better than the Barcelona star in FIFA 17. Lennon rates 93 for agility, while Messi lags behind with 90.
#4 Anthony Modeste — Volleys
Messi has given us unadulterated moments of joy through his goals over the past decade, and there is no equalling the number of different goals he has scored. However, one former Blackburn Rovers striker can claim to hit better volleys in FIFA 17 than Messi. Anthony Modeste has lit up the Bundesliga this season with his goals, but rating higher than Messi for volleys in FIFA 17 must be one of his proudest achievements yet. Modeste’s volleys rating is 87, two ahead of Messi’s 85.
#5 Roque Mesa — Short Passing
Being part of the Barcelona fabric, Messi is certainly among the players one would keep an eye out for while picking pass masters in FIFA 17. That said, Messi is not the best short passer in FIFA 17, as Las Palmas’s Roque Mesa ranks higher than the little Argentine. Mesa’s 89 attribute rating for short passing is higher than Messi’s 88, something the Spaniard can cling on to in the event of a face-off with Messi despite having an overall rating of 82.
