It’s that time of the year once again. Every 12 months, the world’s most popular sports video game grips excited gamers worldwide as EA Sports release their latest installment of the FIFA series.
Last month, we predicted the ratings for this year’s edition and this week, the official ratings were confirmed for the game which will be followed by the full UK release on Friday.
Last year, on FIFA 16, Saints’ top rated players were Jose Fonte (81), Dusan Tadic (79) and Sadio Mane (78). Who will be number one this time?
Whether you play the game religiously, hop on it from time to time in your free evenings or even just have a remote interest in how Southampton players have been rated this year, this is the slideshow for you.
YouTube: FIFA 17 – Make Your Mark – Official TV Commercial
These ratings are official as of the game’s release and have been sourced from the EA Ultimate Team Database. In case you aren’t familiar with FIFA, the game has a rating system that ranks each player out of 99 based on a range of attributes regarding their ability throughout the previous season. Their performance in-game is then reflected through their attributes, shown through their stats.
Are the ratings fair? Let us know your thoughts on the Saints ratings this year!
32. Marcus Barnes (58)
Last year – 57
31. Will Wood (59)
Last year – 58
30. Josh Sims (61)
Last year – 60
29. Jake Flannigan (62)
Last year – 61
28. Sam McQueen (63)
Last year – 59
27. Ryan Seager (63)
Last year – 62
26. Jake Hesketh (63)
Last year – 62
25. Jack Stephens (65)
Last year – 64
24. Lloyd Isgrove (67)
Last year – 66
23. Matt Targett (67)
Last year – 66
Our predicted rating – 70
22. Harrison Reed (68)
Last year – 67
21. Cuco Martina (70)
Last year – 69
Our predicted rating – 70
20. Maya Yoshida (73)
Last year – 73
Our predicted rating – 73
19. Florin Gardos (74)
Last year – 74
Our predicted rating – 71
18. Oriol Romeu (74)
Last year – 73
Our predicted rating – 75
17. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (74)
Last year – 73
Our predicted rating – 74
16. Jeremy Pied (75)
Last year – 72
Our predicted rating – 74
15. Nathan Redmond (75)
Last year – 74
Our predicted rating – 75
14. Alex McCarthy (76)
Last year – 75
Our predicted rating – 74
13. James Ward-Prowse (76)
Last year – 74
Our predicted rating – 75
12. Jay Rodriguez (77)
Last year – 77
Our predicted rating – 75
11. Steven Davis (77)
Last year – 76
Our predicted rating – 79
10. Shane Long (77)
Last year – 75
Our predicted rating – 79
His record campaign was rewarded with a +3 rating change and put him in Saints top ten players this year.
9. Jordy Clasie (78)
Last year – 78
Our predicted rating – 76
Surprisingly, the Dutchman has been given a rating four higher than both Hojbjerg and Romeu. I would suggest he should be around 76 with the other two slightly higher.
8. Cedric Soares (78)
Last year – 78
Our predicted rating – 78
No upgrade for Cedric this time round despite playing very well at the Euro’s in the Summer.
7. Charlie Austin (78)
Last year – 77
Our predicted rating – 77
A slight improvement from last year. Austin is looking in great form this month and hopefully can keep it up all season.
6. Fraser Forster (78)
Last year – 76
Our predicted rating – 80
Once again Forster has been underrated. He has a rating two lower than Ben Foster (80) at West Brom.
5. Ryan Bertrand (79)
Last year – 78
Our predicted rating – 81
Not much to say here, standard rating and although not quite 81, it is still respectful.
4. Virgil van DIjk (79)
Last year – 77
Our predicted rating – 82
Significantly lower than expected, van Dijk is given a rating four lower than Fonte. Not sure about this one…
3. Dusan Tadic (79)
Last year – 79
Our predicted rating – 81
No upgrade for Tadic despite a strong end to the season last term.
2. Sofiane Boufal (80)
Last year – 78
Our predicted rating – 82
Southampton’s record transfer joins the club as their second highest rated player in FIFA 17 with an impressive five star skills on the game.
1. Jose Fonte (83)
Last year – 81
Our predicted rating – 82
He’s done it again. Saints captain and Euro 2016 winner Fonte tops the squad with a surprisingly high 83 rating.