Revealed: Lionel Messi gets his LOWEST rating in 16 years for EA Sports FC 25, with Virgil van Dijk, Martin Odegaard and Harry Kane all ranked above the best of all time

Lionel Messi has received his lowest rating in 16 years for the latest edition of the FIFA series (now EA Sports FC), with 15 players in the game ranked above him.

The new installment of the successful franchise will be released later this month, marking the second year since the drastic change in appearance. EA Sports is no longer affiliated with FIFA and the umbrella organization’s name is no longer included in the title.

Gamers can still buy and sell virtual cards of the world’s best footballers, and Messi will undoubtedly remain one of the most anticipated attractions.

But for the second year in a row, the developer has officially announced that the superstar, who now plays for Inter Miami in the MLS, has been demoted again.

Messi’s rating now indeed stands at 88, marking the first time since FIFA 08 that he has dropped below the 90 mark. Instead, players like Virgil van Dijk, Martin Odegaard and Harry Kane have all been ranked above him in a major surprise.

Lionel Messi has been given his lowest rating in 16 years on EA Sports FC 25 – an 88 card

Virgil van Dijk is one of the players who stands above the all-time greats this year

Liverpool defender Van Dijk and Arsenal captain Odegaard both have a rating of 89, one more than Messi, while Bayern Munich’s Kane has a rating of 90.

The highest rated player in the game is a trio of Kylian Mbappe, Rodri and Erling Haaland – all three of whom have an impressive rating of 91.

Several others narrowly missed out on this award. EA Sports FC 25 cover star Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Kevin De Bruyne all received a 90.

Above Messi this year are also Alisson, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Thibaut Courtois, Lautaro Martinez, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Mohamed Salah.

The 37-year-old Messi is on par with the likes of Phil Foden, Antoine Griezmann, Ruben Dias and Robert Lewandowski, showing that he is declining very gradually.

He was first added to FIFA in 2005 after making his huge breakthrough at Barcelona and has since had an arsenal of the best cards in the history of the game.

Jude Bellingham is the cover star for the latest installment of the popular video game series

Harry Kane has been given a 90 rating after a brilliant season with Bayern Munich and England

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been given an 89 rating, putting him in the top 20 players

His debut in FIFA 06 was with a modest rating of 78, but for the next instalment in the franchise he quickly rose to a rating of 84.

In FIFA 09 he was rated at 90 and reached a remarkable peak of 94 before dropping back, resulting in the card that will soon be available to gamers in the new edition.

Incidentally, Cristiano Ronaldo, who normally rivals Messi as the highest-rated player in FIFA matches, has now dropped to an 86 card.

The rollout of the highly anticipated game is now in full swing and as is customary every year, the release precedes the announcement of the viewing figures.

The game will officially release on September 27th for PC and consoles.