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Oli Platt

FIFA 18 ratings: Projecting the top players in this year's game

Will Cristiano Ronaldo keep his crown? Goal has compiled a list of the stars we think command an overall rating of 87 or above in the upcoming release

Can Cristiano Ronaldo keep his crown?

The reigning Ballon d'Or winner was the highest-rated player in FIFA 17 and having been chosen to feature on the cover of this year's game, he looks set to retain the accolade when FIFA 18 is released later this year.

FIFA 18: The complete guide

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Exactly how high he will be rated and how the likes of Lionel Messi will compare to him, though, remains to be seen.

In the meantime, Goal has put together a list of projected FIFA 18 ratings that we think would represent a fair portrayal of the top players in world football.

Without further ado, here are the stars we're backing to be rated at 87 overall or higher later this year.

FIFA 18 PLAYER RATING PROJECTIONS

Player	Club	FIFA 17 Rating	FIFA 18 Projection
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	94	95
Lionel Messi	Barcelona	93	94
Neymar	Barcelona	92	92
Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	92	91
Luis Suarez	Barcelona	92	90
David de Gea	Man Utd	90	90
Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	90	90
Thibaut Courtois	Chelsea	89	90
Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	88	90
Gareth Bale	Real Madrid	90	89
Eden Hazard	Chelsea	89	89
Luka Modric	Real Madrid	89	89
Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid	89	89
Antoine Griezmann	Atletico Madrid	88	89
Toni Kroos	Real Madrid	88	89
Paulo Dybala	Juventus	86	89
Harry Kane	Tottenham	85	89
Mesut Ozil	Arsenal	89	88
Sergio Aguero	Man City	89	88
Paul Pogba	Man Utd	88	88
Kevin De Bruyne	Man City	88	88
Alexis Sanchez	Arsenal	88	88
Mats Hummels	Bayern Munich	88	88
Hugo Lloris	Tottenham	88	88
Jan Oblak	Atletico Madrid	87	88
Leonardo Bonucci	AC Milan	87	88
Zlatan Ibrahimovic	Free Agent	90	87
Gonzalo Higuain	Juventus	89	87
Jerome Boateng	Bayern Munich	89	87
Thiago Silva	PSG	89	87
Marco Reus	Borussia Dortmund	88	87
Giorgio Chiellini	Juventus	88	87
Andres Iniesta	Barcelona	88	87
James Rodriguez	Bayern Munich	87	87
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	Borussia Dortmund	87	87
Arturo Vidal	Bayern Munich	87	87
David Silva	Man City	87	87
Gerard Pique	Barcelona	87	87
David Alaba	Bayern Munich	86	87
Thiago	Bayern Munich	86	87
Philippe Coutinho	Liverpool	86	87
Marcelo	Real Madrid	86	87
Isco	Real Madrid	85	87
Romelu Lukaku	Man Utd	85	87
N'Golo Kante	Chelsea	83	87

ON THE RISE

Cristiano Ronaldo

He is already the best player on the game, but after bagging another Champions League title and becoming FIFA's cover star Ronaldo can surely expect a little bump to his rating.

Lionel Messi

As much as it has been Ronaldo's year, Messi also posted his best goals-per-game ratio in all competitions since 2012-13.

Gianluigi Buffon

The Juventus goalkeeper may be getting older, but he was sensational in 2016-17 and deserves to be brought in line with David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois, who also gets a boost after claiming the Premier League's Golden Glove award.

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Antoine Griezmann

You could make an argument for the Atletico Madrid sensation earning a 90+ rating, and he may well get one. We have him just below that threshold, level with Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale.

Paulo Dybala

This was the year that Dybala firmly established himself as one of the world's best attackers. Every club in the world would love to have him in their lineup and we believe he deserves a big boost to 89 as a result.

Harry Kane

One of the biggest increases we've given goes to Kane, who really can no longer be ignored as a world-class player after netting 29 goals in 30 Premier League games last season.

N'Golo Kante

Kante earned a ratings refresh boost from 81 to 83 midway through FIFA 17's lifespan, but it was not enough. The PFA Player of the Year recipient proved himself to be a world-class ball-winner en route to his second Premier League title.

ON THE DECLINE

Luis Suarez

Suarez hasn't done much wrong - he was prolific again in 2016-17 - but having turned 30, bringing him back in line with Robert Lewandowski seems fair.

Gareth Bale

No one would be surprised to see Bale bounce back into the 90s eventually, but it's hard to justify placing him above the likes of Hazard and Dybala after an injury-hit season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The Swedish superstar is 35 and recovering from a serious injury. No one would bet against him making a comeback, but surely even Zlatan will start to feel the effects of physical wear and tear soon.

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Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain had a solid first season at Juventus, but he shaved 12 league goals off his record-breaking final campaign at Napoli and could not quite help the Bianconeri over the line in the Champions League.

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Jerome Boateng

Boateng ended up playing only 13 league games in 2016-17, meaning he loses another point having already been dropped by one in the FIFA 17 ratings refresh.

Arjen Robben

This could be seen as harsh, but Robben does not seem quite as dynamic as the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Isco anymore and drops just below 87 by our reckoning.

JUST MISSED OUT

Mark Metcalfe

There are a number of players who will earn increases to their rating this year and have a shot at hitting 87 overall, including Alexandre Lacazette (currently 85) Casemiro (84), Raphael Varane (84), Toby Alderweireld (85), Bernardo Silva (83) and Dele Alli (82).

More established stars such as Edinson Cavani, Cesc Fabregas and Radja Nainggolan also have a chance of edging up from 86 to 87.

In addition to Robben, meanwhile, the likes of Petr Cech, Pepe, Ivan Rakitic and Diego Godin could be in line for decreases that take them off our list of the cream of the crop.