It is that time of the year again, and EA’s final FIFA video game entry will soon be released for football fans around the world to … enjoy? One of the most anticipated aspects of the annual game is undoubtedly the Ultimate Team game mode. However, another aspect of the release that excites fans around the globe is assessing the ratings that have been assigned to every player in the game. As is seemingly the tradition, the player ratings for the top clubs around Europe have once again been prematurely leaked. Therefore, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a peak at—and simultaneously discuss—the numbers assigned to our favorite Chelsea players.
Let’s take a deep dive into the leaked ratings for each and every one of the Blues’ players and proceed to get all hung up about them because nothing sours the mood more than a bunch of arbitrary numbers dished out by a gaming company, am I right? Well, that is, nothing other than a devastating 2-1 defeat to Southampton to make it two losses in five Premier League matches for Thomas Tuchel’s team. We’re not upset right now, nope, not at all.
Before we get into the thick of it, here are a few notes about the upcoming ratings. It’s important to keep in mind that this list is the rumored ratings for FIFA 23. Nothing is official as of this moment. Furthermore, the numbers in the parenthesis are indicative of the changes in ratings as compared to the game’s current edition, FIFA 22.
- N’Golo Kante: 89 (-1)
- Kalidou Koulibaly: 87 (+1)
- Thiago Silva: 86 (+1)
- Raheem Sterling: 86 (-1)
- Edouard Mendy: 86 (+3)
- Jorginho: 85 (-)*
- Reece James: 84 (+3)
- Mason Mount: 84 (+1)
- Mateo Kovacic: 84 (+1)
- Kai Havertz: 84 (-)
- Hakim Ziyech: 83 (-1)
- Christian Pulisic: 82 (-)
- Cesar Azpilicueta: 82 (-1)
- Marc Cucurella: 81 (+1)
- Kepa Arrizabalaga: 80 (+1)
- Marcos Alonso: 79 (-)
- Conor Gallagher: 79 (+5)
- Trevoh Chalobah: 76 (+3)
- Kenedy: 76 (-1)
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 76 (+1)
- Armando Broja: 75 (+5)
- Ethan Ampadu: 73 (+5)
- Billy Gilmour: 72 (-)
- Marcus Bettinelli: 70 (-1)
*– A “-” means no change in the player’s rating from FIFA 22
The good
Generally speaking, EA has done a decent job with the ratings when compared to previous editions of the game. Looking at the list from highest to lowest in terms of individual ratings, I would say that the ratings are a fair enough reflection of the player standings within the squad. Obviously there are inevitably going to be a few small gripes here and there—especially as it relates to fans’ own clubs—but EA hit the nail on the head with the Blues’ numbers for the most part.
Chelsea’s best player remains the incredible N’Golo Kante, which is fair. While the Frenchman has had his fair share of injury issues over the past few years, he’s one of the best midfielders on the planet when healthy. It’s sometimes easy to forget that amidst all of the health concerns that come along with the former Leicester City man.
Likewise, new signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling come into the team as players well into their prime years and their respective ratings are an accurate representation of that reality. Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy have also received small upgrades as vital cogs of Chelsea’s solid defence last season. These five individuals make up the Blues’ highest rated players, all of whom have enjoyed years of success at football’s highest level now.
At the other end of the spectrum, Chelsea’s highest performing youth prospects last season have received a nice gift from EA. Players like Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher—all of whom are amongst the club’s highest rated youngsters—have received sizable upgrades ahead of FIFA 23’s launch. In particular, Broja and Gallagher received +5 upgrades. These boosts are vindictive of their impressive performances last season in the English top flight, as well as an acknowledgement of the potential that both players clearly possess.
The bad
Remember on the last slide when I said that I had some little gripes? This is where I get to voice my displeasure with EA for some of the poor ratings that it dished out to some of the Blues’ best.
Reece James receiving a rating of 84 as a right back is one of the few mistakes on EA’s part in my opinion. The English fullback had a stellar 2021/22 season when he was fit. He contributed an astonishing six goals and 11 assists in all competitions (39 games) for Chelsea last year. That’s absurd. To put those numbers into context, a defender/wingback is averaging one goal contribution per every 168 minutes. This is a better return than a lot of attackers in the Premier League, much less his fullback peers.
However, despite being touted by many to become England’s starting right back come 2022 World Cup time, James is somehow still rated below his Three Lions counterparts. He comes in one point below Manchester City right back Kyle Walker and a whopping three points behind Liverpool wonder kid Trent Alexander-Arnold. A rating in the 85 to 86 range would surely be more befitting for a player of James’ stature, especially given the consistency he’s shown since making his first team debut a few seasons ago in SW6 under Frank Lampard.
Similarly, despite Mason Mount’s slow start to the 2022/23 season thus far, the Englishman should arguably have a rating that is higher than his current one, which is 84. Contributing an impressive 13 goals and 16 assists in all competitions last season, Mount’s 29 goal contributions were the highest in the squad. Chelsea’s two-time reigning Player of the Season certainly deserves more respect. A rating similar to Man City’s Phil Foden (85 overall) would be a more accurate representation of the 23-year-old’s most impressive season to date.
The ugly
A penny for Marcus Bettinelli and Kenedy’s thoughts on the ratings. Both players have received a one-point downgrade, despite not featuring anywhere near enough last season to provide EA with the necessary materials to produce an accurate assessment. This is quite simply outrageous in all honesty, and this writer is expecting no less than a full-out protest outside EA’s headquarters in response to this travesty. Buy your “#JusticeforBettinelli” and “#JusticeforKenedy” merchandise now, on sale at The Pride of London dot com.
On a serious note, poor Billy Gilmour’s disastrous loan move to Norwich City has clearly curtailed his development in real life. Unfortunately, this was accurately represented via his unchanged FIFA 23 rating. Having been 71-rated in FIFA 21, Gilmour has only had a positive improvement of one-point in the two seasons since he broke through at Chelsea.
While EA’s numbers can be laughably arbitrary at times (see Bettinelli and Kenedy), Gilmour’s stagnating ratings are rightly indicative of a player who has largely failed to kick on due to a variety of factors since his introduction into the first team under Frank Lampard. With a permanent move seemingly on the cards as the summer transfer window draws to a close, perhaps a transfer could provide the catalyst needed for the promising Scottish player to reignite his career.
All in all, it has to be said that these individual player ratings are largely an accurate representation of Chelsea’s 2021/22 season. For every 7-0 and 6-0 win against Norwich and Southampton, there were equally disappointing 1-1 draws to the likes of Everton and 4-1 defeats to the likes of Brentford. Last season will also, of course, be defined by the heart-wrenching defeats to Liverpool in two separate cup finals, as much as it will be remembered as the campaign that Chelsea finally “won it all” under Roman Abramovich. In truth it was a mixed campaign for the club and EA’s ratings can be seen as a manifestation of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows that the Blues went through during the course of the season.
What do you make of the Blues’ official FIFA 23 player ratings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!