U.S. national team star Megan Rapinoe has admitted that she does not believe she deserved to be the top-ranked women's player in FIFA 21.
EA Sports unveiled their rankings for the new game on Friday and with a 93 overall rating, Rapinoe was at the top of the list just ahead of Sam Kerr and Wendie Renard at 92 overall.
The 35-year-old had a banner 2019, winning The Best FIFA Women’s Player after leading the U.S. to the 2019 World Cup title in France, a tournament at which she won the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball.
Rapinoe, though, has not featured much since that tournament, making just six appearances for OL Reign while playing eight times for the USWNT as the coronavirus pandemic has limited her minutes.
She has also opted out of the two NWSL competitions in 2020, the Challenge Cup and the Fall Series, with her last club appearance coming back in October 2019.
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The release of the FIFA 21 rankings led one Twitter user to declare: "There are a lot of women players who play better than Rapinoe. She gets a high rating because of the brand she carries. If this is done based on footballing ability she's not the best."
Surprisingly, Rapinoe responded to the user and even more surprisingly, she agreed — using the moment to call for more investment in the women's game.
"Yes! I agree," she said. "I am not the best (1 of them tho) this is another example of the underinvestment, resourcing, and attention paid to women’s football. We need more games on TV, bigger budgets, and fairer coverage by the media. #equality."
Three of Rapinoe's USWNT teammates joined her in the top 15 women's players in FIFA 21: forwards Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath, and midfielder Julie Ertz.
France was next best on the list with three players included in the top 15, lead by top-rated defender Wendie Renard, who was joined by midfielder Amandine Henry and forward Eugenie Le Sommer.
Two Dutch players were also on the list after they reached the 2019 World Cup final as forward Vivianne Miedema and winger Lieke Martens were included.