With the much-anticipated worldwide release of EA Sports FC 25 edging closer, our appetites have been whetted further with the reveal of which players will command the highest individual ratings in the game.

We’ve scoured the spreadsheets, perused the lists and crunched the numbers to present an easily digestible breakdown of the most noteworthy aspects — who the best players will be, who they play for and what, precisely, makes them so coveted.

Here are the key takeaways we have gleaned from EA Sports’ first raft of ratings, which sees just a few clubs and a scattering of star names therein utterly dominate the upper echelons.

Mbappé retains crown, but Rodri ascends

As you might not be overly surprised to learn, a seismic transfer to Real Madrid hasn’t done much to upset Kylian Mbappé’s position as the highest-rated player.

The nimble France forward tops the overall player ratings once again, having successfully retained his individual scores from last year including ridiculously strong numbers for pace (97), shooting (90) and dribbling (92).

However, there is a new challenger to Mbappé’s throne in the shape of Manchester City midfielder Rodri, whose importance to manager Pep Guardiola’s tactical approach is reflected in a massive stat boost that sees the Spain international join Mbappé at an overall rating of 91.

Rodri is one of only four players afforded a 91 overall, along with City teammate Erling Haaland and reigning women’s Ballon d’Or holder Aitana Bonmatí also level-pegging at the top.

Real Madrid, Man City, Barcelona dominate

When it comes to the combined overall player ratings, three colossal clubs dominate the upper reaches with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona players occupying the first nine places in the top 10 (Sam Kerr of Chelsea is 10th).

That triumvirate of clubs boasts a combined 13 players in the top 25, with Barça’s men’s and women’s sides offering up five entrants between them while Real and Man City provide four players apiece.

Messi slides out of top five

Across both the men’s and women’s leagues, only 11 players have been granted overall ratings of 90 or above — but Lionel Messi isn’t one of them. Despite leading Argentina to a third-consecutive major tournament success at the Copa América last summer and still holding the men’s Ballon d’Or, the 37-year-old’s powers are finally on the wane as far as EA Sports is concerned.

Those who are in the 90 club this year hail from just five different clubs.

For the men, the list comprises Rodri (91), Haaland (91) and Kevin De Bruyne (90) of Manchester City; Mbappé (91), Jude Bellingham (90) and Vinícius Júnior (90) of Real Madrid and Harry Kane (90) of Bayern Munich.

For the women, the Barcelona trio of Bonmatí (91), Alexia Putellas (90) and Caroline Graham Hansen (90) is joined by Chelsea striker Kerr (90) with ratings in the upper 10th percentile.

Sophia Smith breaks the top 25

Congratulations are due to Sophia Smith, whose part in the United States women’s national team winning Olympic gold has seen her stock rise to an unprecedented level, making her the highest-rated player in the National Women’s Soccer League.

The Portland Thorns striker has seen her overall rating rocket to 89 with a stat boost across the board, which means she has cracked not just the top 25 but also the top 15, edging out the likes of the Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

Are MLS ratings at an all-time high?

Boosted by the star power currently there, Major League Soccer boasts some impressively strong player ratings in EAFC 25.

Inter Miami contributes the three highest rated players in MLS. Veteran superstar Messi has unsurprisingly emerged as the best the league has to offer, with an 88 rating.

He is joined on the podium by recent LAFC recruit Olivier Giroud (83) and Miami teammate Luis Suárez (82)

Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t the highest-rated player in the Saudi Pro League

With age perhaps finally starting to catch up with him, Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo continues to see his EA FC rating slip with each passing year.

Indeed, the one-time game-conquering goliath is not even the highest-rated player in the Saudi Pro League.

Instead, that honour goes to Neymar (87) of Al Hilal, who is ranked narrowly above the Portuguese veteran (86) as well as Al Ittihad’s Karim Benzema and João Cancelo (both 86) as the league’s top-rated stars.

Fastest, strongest, most skillful, etc.

Aside from the overall ratings, EAFC 25 has also produced a breakdown of which players command the highest individual stats when it comes to the metrics governing the integral fundamentals.

Mbappé is the fastest player in the game with a pace stat of 97, which puts him ahead of Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior (95), Portland’s Smith (93), Lyon Féminin’s Kadidiatou Diani (90), and — most curiously — Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (90) in the top five.

The three best shooters in the game are fairly easy to predict with Kane (93) coming out on top ahead of fellow goal machines Haaland (92) and Mbappé (90).

The best passer in EAFC 25 is De Bruyne. His sublime range sees him possess a 94 rating for passing — the highest stat mark afforded to any player in the game for a particular skill.

Bonmatí, Messi and Mbappé are all narrowly beaten to the best dribbling stat by Manchester City maestro Bernardo Silva, who sits at the top of the order with a 92 rating.

Donnarumma, the top shot-stopper

The best goalkeeper in the game is PSG’s Donnarumma who has earned an overall rating of 89 and narrowly pips Alisson Becker, Thibaut Courtois and Marc-André ter Stegen (all also 89).

This is thanks to the Italy international boasting a slight edge in terms of his individual stats, which puts him 13th in the overall player ratings.

Man City No. 1 Ederson has to make do with being the fifth-highest-rated goalkeeper in EA FC 25, but the Brazilian can take solace in the fact that he has the second-highest passing stat of any player, outfield or otherwise.

Ederson’s passing stat of 91 is bettered by only one player, City teammate De Bruyne, who commands a 94.

The highest-rated goalkeeper in the women’s game is Lyon stalwart Christiane Endler, who sits seventh in the rundown of stoppers, nestled just behind Atlético Madrid’s Jan Oblak with an 88.

EAFC’s 25 highest-rated players

– Kylian Mbappé, forward, Real Madrid, France: 91
– Rodri, midfielder, Manchester City, Spain: 91
– Aitana Bonmatí, midfielder, Barcelona, Spain: 91
– Erling Haaland, forward, Manchester City, Norway: 91
– Jude Bellingham, midfielder, Real Madrid, England: 90
– Alexia Putellas, midfielder, Barcelona, Spain: 90
– Vinícius Júnior, forward, Real Madrid, Brazil: 90
– Caroline Graham Hansen, forward, Barcelona, Norway: 90
– Kevin de Bruyne, midfielder, Manchester City, 90
– Sam Kerr, forward, Chelsea, Australia: 90
– Harry Kane, forward, Bayern Munich, England: 90
– Martin Ødegaard, midfielder, Arsenal, Norway: 89
– Gianluigi Donnarumma, goalkeeper, Paris Saint-Germain, Italy: 89
– Sophia Smith, forward, Portland Thorns, United States: 89
– Alisson Becker, goalkeeper, Liverpool, Brazil: 89
– Thibaut Courtois, goalkeeper, Real Madrid, Belgium: 89
– Ada Hegerberg, forward, Lyon, Norway: 89
– Lautaro Martínez, forward, Internazionale, Argentina: 89
– Mapi León, defender, Barcelona, Spain: 89
– Virgil van Dijk, defender, Liverpool, Netherlands: 89
– Marc-André ter Stegen, goalkeeper, Barcelona, Germany: 89
– Mohamed Salah, forward, Liverpool, Egypt: 89
– Phil Foden, forward, Manchester City, England: 88
– Marie-Antoinette Katoto, forward, Paris Saint-Germain, France: 88
– Lionel Messi, forward, Inter Miami, Argentina: 88