Barcelona are used to having the highest-rated players in world football, as evidenced by the fact that no club has had more Ballon d’Or winners in history than the Blaugrana.
From Lionel Messi and Neymar to Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Barcelona have long had the most coveted players in the world and, likewise, the players who were the mostly highly-rated in FIFA video game franchises.
But this year, it feels like Barca’s best and brightest are being undervalued by FC25, and their very best player ended up being arguably the most underrated of those players by the upcoming game release.
Lamine Yamal had a sensational first LaLiga season for the Blaugrana and was even better at the European Championships, shining for eventual winners Spain with a historically great showing throughout the tournament, including an unforgettable goal from distance against Adrien Rabiot and France.
Yet on FC25, Yamal will only be rated 81 with a rating of 75 for shooting, a rating of 76 for passing, and 82 ratings for both pace and dribbling when the latest iteration of EA’s footballing franchise is released.
Those are unfair ratings for Yamal, who had 10 goal contributions for Barcelona last season with 3.3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game in an extremely difficult and hard-nosed defensive LaLiga.
At the Euros, the 17-year-old Yamal was the standout player on the side that won the trophy, registering a goal and four assists in seven appearances (six starts). He also averaged a stunning 2.7 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game.
Yes, Yamal is only 17 and was playing in his first season in the top flight, but he still played better than many of those around the world rated more than 81, including aging players who are carrying high ratings on reputation.
EA is too slow to give young stars their due or demote fading veterans, and Yamal is the latest victim of a flawed ratings approach. Even his defensive rating of 23 is laughable, as he averaged more than two combined tackles and interceptions per game in LaLiga last season – elite defensive numbers for a winger.
Yamal has few weaknesses and is already an elite dribbler and creator. He is world-class, and, as a world-class player, he should be rated 85 as a minimum, which has traditionally been the cuto-off value EA uses to separate the very best from the rest.
