September 13 – Saudi Arabia’s clubs hit the headlines when they embarked on a raid of Europe for some of football’s biggest names.
The players brough the league profile and global interest, but what did the league bring the players – apart from eye-watering wealth.
The latest EA Sports player ratings would suggest not much.
Apart from in a few cases, where player ratings have remained unchanged and just four receiving an upgrade, all the top 25 players have experienced a downgrade in their ratings.
Al Hilal’s Neymar remains the top-ranked Saudi League player in FC 25 with a rating of 87- an identical score to Arsenal star Bukayo Saka – despite playing just 386 minutes last season.
That being said, the 32-year-old Brazilian did suffer a two-point downgrade from last year’s 89-rating, hindered by a year on the sidelines following a nasty injury early in the season.
At the age of 39, Portugal and Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo ranks second by retaining his 86 rating from last year’s edition of the game, as the veteran continues to fend off an inevitable downgrade by continuing to score.
On the flip side, flagship signing Karim Benzema dropped from 90 to 86 after struggling in his debut season in Saudi Arabia, as the Frenchman never quite found form at Al-Ittihad.
Overall, a total of four players received an upgrade whilst 15 of the top 25 saw their rating fall – a damning sign for the career implications of opting to play in the Saudi League.
New €60 million signing Moussa Diaby enters as the 13th-ranked player in the division after suffering a knock to his rating since leaving the Premier League.
Saudi’s shining success story, Al Hilal’s Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, was one of three top 25 players to get his hands on an upgrade, and a significant one at that. He is joined by Al Nassr’s Anderson Talisca and Al Hilal’s Malcom, who share a rating of 82.
New signing Pierre Emerick Aubameyang also got his hands on a decent upgrade, but this came thanks to a startling season in Ligue1 and the Europa League last term for Marseille where he grabbed 30 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. It remains to be seen how his rating will be affected during his time in the Middle East.
The Saudi League has been backed by the EA FC franchise though, who continue to add Saudi Arabian icons to the roster amongst some of world football’s biggest legends. This year, the game will add Eden Hazard, Jamie Carragher and a host of other names as part of the new ‘hero’ roster, which will also include former Saudi League player Mohammed Noor, who will share an identical rating to new inclusion Jaap Stam.
The top 25 list:
- LW: Neymar Jr (Al Hilal) – 87 OVR (-2 downgrade)
- ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) – 86 OVR (same)
- ST: Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) – 86 OVR (-4 downgrade)
- LB: Joao Cancelo (Al Hilal) – 86 OVR (same)
- CM: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Al Hilal) – 85 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- CDM: N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad) – 85 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- RW: Riyad Mahrez (Al Alhi) – 85 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- LM: Sadio Mane (Al Nassr) – 84 OVR (-2 downgrade)
- CDM: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal) – 84 OVR (same)
- CB: Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal) – 84 OVR (same)
- GK: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal) – 84 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- CB: Aymeric Laporte (Al Nassr) – 83 OVR (-2 downgrade)
- RM: Moussa Diaby (Al Ittihad) – 83 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- LW: Yannick Carrasco (Al-Shabab) – 83 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- ST: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal) – 82 OVR (+3 upgrade)
- RM: Anderson Talisca (Al Nassr) – 82 OVR (+1 upgrade)
- CAM: Malcolm (Al Hilal) – 82 OVR (+1 upgrade)
- CB: Nacho Fernandez (Al-Qadsiah) – 82 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Al-Qadsiah) – 82 OVR (+2 upgrade)
- CAM: Otavio (Al Nassr) – 82 OVR (same)
- CDM: Franck Kessie (Al Alhi) – 82 OVR (same)
- CDM: Marcel Brozovic (Al Nassr) – 82 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- CDM: Fabinho (Al Ittihad) – 83 OVR (-1 downgrade)
- GK: Koen Casteels (Al-Qadsiah) – 82 OVR (-2 downgrade)
- CB: Chris Smalling (Al-Fayha) – 82 OVR (-2 downgrade)
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1726629793labto1726629793ofdlr1726629793owedi1726629793sni@g1726629793niwe.1726629793yrrah1726629793