FIFA 21: Release Date and Review of Notable Player Ratings

It's almost FIFA 21 time.

On Sept. 21, EA Sports announced the following: "We aren't releasing a demo for FIFA 21. Instead, we've made the decision to focus our development team's time on delivering the best full game experience for current and next-gen consoles. We look forward to EA PLAY members jumping in 10 days from now and launching the game Oct 9."

Ronan Murphy of Goal noted the game—which is typically released in September—will not be out until October because of delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

EA Sports canceled a number of events involving FIFA, shut down offices across the world and had employees work from home for extended periods of time. Still, anybody who pre-ordered the Champions Edition or Ultimate Edition of FIFA 21 will be able to download it on Oct. 6.

There are always new features, revamped rosters and much more with every edition of the popular game, but player ratings always generate plenty of discussion.

With that in mind, here is a look at the top 15 men's and women's players by overall ranking, per EA Sports' official website.

Top Men's Players

1. Lionel Messi, Argentina, 93

2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, 92

3. Robert Lewandowski, Poland, 91

4. Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium, 91

5. Neymar Jr., Brazil, 91

6. Jan Oblak, Slovenia, 91

7. Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands, 90

8. Kylian Mbappe, France, 90

9. Mohamed Salah, Egypt, 90

10. Sadio Mane, Senegal, 90

11. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Germany, 90

12. Alisson, Brazil, 90

13. Sergio Ramos, Spain, 89

14. Manuel Neuer, Germany, 89

15. Sergio Aguero, Argentina, 89

Top Women's Players

1. Megan Rapinoe, United States, 93

2. Samantha Kerr, Australia, 92

3. Wendie Renard, France, 92

4. Vivianne Miedema, Netherlands, 91

5. Amandine Henry, France, 91

6. Dzsenifer Marozsan, Germany, 91

7. Lucy Bronze, England, 90

8. Eugenie Le Sommer, France, 90

9. Caroline Graham Hansen, Norway, 90

10. Tobin Heath, United States, 90

11. Alex Morgan, United States, 90

12. Lieke Martens, Netherlands, 89

13. Almuth Schult, Germany, 89

14. Christine Sinclair, Canada, 89

15. Julie Ertz, United States, 88

The debate over who is the best player in the world between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continues, but FIFA gave the nod to Messi in this year's version. Gamers can control him on Argentina or Barcelona.

It seemed for some time this summer that the 33-year-old may not be on the virtual version of Barcelona. On Sept. 7, Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens of ESPN reported he returned to training with the club after attempting to force a transfer. 

Messi elected to avoid a legal battle with what he called "the club of my life" and to stick around for the upcoming season, even though he thought he should have been permitted to leave for free because of a contract clause. He has since played in all three of Barcelona's La Liga games to start the 2020-21 season. 

On the women's side, it is no surprise Megan Rapinoe tops the rankings.

The international superstar boasts a head-turning list of accomplishments following an incredible 2019. She won the Ballon d'Or Feminin, The Best FIFA Women's Player, a spot on the FIFA FIFPro Women's World XI, a place on the FIFA Women's World Cup All-Star Team and the FIFA Women's World Cup Golden Ball all last year.

She also took home the Golden Boot in the World Cup while helping lead the Americans to victory.

Rapinoe now has another thing to add to her illustrious resume after FIFA 21 deemed her the best women's player in the world.