Messi vs Ronaldo! Who has the higher rating in the FIFA over the last 20 years?

For well over a decade, the question that would divide football debates was: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

The two global superstars have dominated the sport since the early 2000s and, in turn, have been rewarded in accolades, lucrative pay checks and high ratings on EA Sports' game FIFA.

Now, as EA prepare to enter a new era under their new title 'EA FC 24', Messi's and Ronaldo's chokehold over world football has weakened - with neither player being ranked as the game's highest-rated player.

In fact, both players have been handed a downgrade to their ratings from last year and one of them in particular will be unhappy with their player rating.

So, here, Mail Sport takes a look at Lionel Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's FIFA rating throughout their careers. Who comes out on top?

The 2004 edition of EA's FIFA was the first version to feature either Messi or Ronaldo in the game - but only one of the superstars was available.

It was Ronaldo - who had enjoyed his debut season at Manchester United - who was handed a modest rating of 80 by the video game makers.

His Argentinian counterpart, meanwhile, had completed his final year with Barcelona's B team - where he contributed six goals from 17 appearances.

Once again, there was only room for one superstar in EA's flagship football game.

Ronaldo, after an impressive second season with the Red Devils was handed an impressive 88 rating in the game.

Messi, meanwhile, had just enjoyed his debut campaign for Barcelona, where he mustered just one goal from seven appearances and was yet to be implemented into the game.

Finally, Messi is in the game. The Argentinian was handed a 78 rating for his debut in the FIFA franchise after playing a supporting role in Barcelona's 2005-06 campaign.

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