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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Across the FIFA 06–FIFA 22 editions, Cristiano Ronaldo had the higher base overall rating in FIFA 06 through FIFA 09; Lionel Messi led in most later editions. They tied at 94 in FIFA 18 and FIFA 19. In FIFA 22’s launch-era ratings, Messi was 93 and Ronaldo 91. These are EA game ratings, not an objective ranking of either player’s real-world ability.
FIFA ratings by edition
The table compares the players’ base overall ratings (OVR), not special Ultimate Team cards. The year-by-year series is reported by Sports Illustrated Fútbol; EA’s official FIFA 22 player pages corroborate that edition’s launch-era ratings.
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| Edition | Messi OVR | Ronaldo OVR | Higher rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIFA 06 | 78 | 91 | Ronaldo by 13 |
| FIFA 07 | 84 | 87 | Ronaldo by 3 |
| FIFA 08 | 86 | 91 | Ronaldo by 5 |
| FIFA 09 | 90 | 91 | Ronaldo by 1 |
| FIFA 10 | 90 | 89 | Messi by 1 |
| FIFA 11 | 90 | 89 | Messi by 1 |
| FIFA 12 | 94 | 92 | Messi by 2 |
| FIFA 13 | 94 | 92 | Messi by 2 |
| FIFA 14 | 94 | 92 | Messi by 2 |
| FIFA 15 | 93 | 92 | Messi by 1 |
| FIFA 16 | 94 | 93 | Messi by 1 |
| FIFA 17 | 93 | 94 | Ronaldo by 1 |
| FIFA 18 | 94 | 94 | Tie |
| FIFA 19 | 94 | 94 | Tie |
| FIFA 20 | 94 | 93 | Messi by 1 |
| FIFA 21 | 93 | 92 | Messi by 1 |
| FIFA 22 | 93 | 91 | Messi by 2 |
How the lead changed over time
Ronaldo led the earliest editions in this comparison
Ronaldo’s rating was higher in each edition from FIFA 06 through FIFA 09. Messi’s FIFA 06 rating was 78, while Ronaldo’s was 91. Messi first appears in this series in FIFA 06; the source notes that Ronaldo’s FIFA debut was earlier, in FIFA 04.
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Messi took the lead from FIFA 10
Messi moved one point ahead in FIFA 10 and stayed ahead through FIFA 16, reaching 94 in FIFA 12 and keeping that rating in FIFA 13 and FIFA 14. Ronaldo briefly moved ahead in FIFA 17, rated 94 to Messi’s 93.
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They tied before Messi led the final editions
Both players were rated 94 in FIFA 18 and FIFA 19. Messi then led in FIFA 20, FIFA 21, and FIFA 22.
What the FIFA 22 figures mean
EA’s official FIFA 22 ratings pages list Messi at 93 and Ronaldo at 91 for the launch-era edition. The pages identify Messi with Paris Saint-Germain and Ronaldo with Manchester United in that edition. EA’s FIFA 22 player-rating pages are the appropriate reference for those launch-era figures.
Rank #2
Ratings can differ between sources because a historical base rating is not the same thing as a later database entry or a special Ultimate Team card. For example, a FIFA Index FIFA 22 database page displays Messi at 92, rather than the 93 shown on EA’s launch-era ratings page and in the historical series. The available sources do not establish which database snapshot or revision explains that difference, so the figures should not be blended: this comparison uses the launch-era EA value for FIFA 22.
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Why an overall rating is not a complete player comparison
OVR condenses several attributes into one number. A 2019 paper on player-rating histories describes the overall as a weighted average of skill ratings, while noting that the precise weighting scheme is unknown. It also discusses manual adjustments, collective corrections, and more frequent updates in newer games. As a result, an OVR is useful for comparing the game’s headline ratings within an edition, but it is not a fixed measurement that can be interpreted identically across every release. The 2019 paper on player-rating histories discusses these limits.
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