EA Sports has officially announced the FIFA 21 Team of the Year – and for the first time ever, there’s no space for Lionel Messi.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Kevin De Bruyne are set for huge in-game upgrades on Ultimate Team after more than 10 million votes were cast in the process.
Four members of Bayern Munich's treble winning side - Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich - made the XI, with Premier League champions Liverpool the only other club represented more than once.
FIFA 21 Team of the Year in full:
GK: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
LB: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
CB: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
CM: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
CM: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
LW: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Piemonte Calcio) - 98 OVR
ST: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - 98 OVR
RW: Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) - 97 OVR
EA
The final XI was announced on January 22 at 5pm GMT. In the past, cards have been available in packs within hours of the XI being confirmed.
The first set of player ratings were announced shortly after the XI. Ronaldo and Lewandowski received 98-rated cards, with Mbappe at 97.
There had been rumours that Lewandowski could have been in for a 99 rating. He scored 55 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions for Bayern as they won the treble in 2019-20, and has already broken a Bundesliga goalscoring record in the first half of the new campaign.
Messi had previously been involved in every Team of the Year since the promotion began in FIFA 11. He has 14 goals to his name this season after scoring 31 in 2019-20, but Barcelona’s struggles have clearly not gone unnoticed in the FIFA community.
Past TOTYs have seen players gradually rolled out into packs by position, with goalkeeper/defenders out first, followed by midfielders, then forwards.
Details regarding Objectives and Squad Building Challenges (SBCs) have not yet been released, but limited-offer special packs are likely to be available over the coming days.
Team of the Year often comes with a 12th Man vote, for the player who fans were most disappointed to see miss out on the final XI. Messi could therefore see a late reprieve, with Neymar another likely candidate.