Even though they are well into their thirties now, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to compete at the highest levels of the game.

Both players have found new clubs — Ronaldo returning to Manchester United, Messi joining Paris Saint-Germain — and fans will be able to pit them head-to-head in FIFA 22 beginning October 2021.

Here a closer look at how their ratings compare in the game.

FIFA 22 ratings: Messi vs. Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has an overall rating in FIFA 22 of 91. The Manchester United forward has gone down one point from FIFA 21, when he had a rating of 92. It is the third successive decline for Ronaldo in the EA Sports series, with the Portugal captain having previously boasted a rating of 93 in FIFA 20 and 94 in FIFA 19.

Why the decline? The 36-year-old Ronaldo’s pace has gone down two points but continues to be high at 87, while his physical attribute has also reduced slightly to 75 from 77 in FIFA 21.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo remains the best Premier League player in FIFA 22 — sharing that title with Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne — and among the top stars in the game overall. 

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Lionel Messi’s FIFA 22 rating is 93 and that makes him the best player in the game. His overall rating has remained unchanged from FIFA 21.

The new Paris Saint-Germain signing’s FIFA ratings have actually been 90-plus since FIFA 09, and since being given a 94 in FIFA 12, he has not dropped below 93 in any of the 10 subsequent titles.

Interestingly, Messi’s pace, shooting, passing, dribbling and physical attributes all remain unchanged from FIFA 21, but his defense attribute has gone down from 38 to 34 in FIFA 22.

Messi’s overall rating in FIFA 22 is two higher (93) than that of Ronaldo (91), but here’s how they compare when the attributes are broken down:

As the table illustrates, Messi is considered better than Ronaldo in a number of areas, with his passing and dribbling abilities deemed much better than the Manchester United forward. Messi’s passing is rated at 91 to Ronaldo’s 82 — a reflection the Argentina international’s greater assists contribution — and his dribbling is at 95 compared to Ronaldo’s 88.

Ronaldo edges Messi when it comes to pace, shooting and physical attributes, but only slightly. Ronaldo’s shooting skill is rated 93, one higher than Messi’s 92, and his pace is 87, just two higher than his Argentine counterpart.

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The only area where Ronaldo is undoubtedly far superior to Messi is the physical attributes, with a rating of 75 — 10 better than the PSG star.

Nonetheless, the two stars are among the top three players in the FIFA 22 game, with Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski the only player standing between them. Technically, Ronaldo is the joint-third best player in FIFA 22, sharing the space with four other players.

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