FIFA 20: Cristiano Ronaldo's FUT Card Through the Years
By Tom Gott
Over the last decade, Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of football's most dominant forces, and that status has been reflected in the FIFA video game series.
An ever-present in the series, Ronaldo has had some of the greatest cards we have ever seen in the game, and it has been that way for years.
Let's take a look at all of the Portuguese superstar's cards in FIFA history.
FIFA 10
In the first iteration of readily available Ultimate Team, Ronaldo began life as a 93-rated right winger. He had recently sealed his record-breaking move from Manchester United to Real Madrid, so his card was always expected to be amongst the game's best. With 93 dribbling, 92 pace and 89 shooting, it was exactly that.
However, he was one rating behind Lionel Messi (a common theme in FUT history), and ended up two behind the Barcelona man after he picked up a winter upgrade.
David Villa, who was with Valencia at the time, actually ended up with a 93 overall card as well, so Ronaldo wasn't even the undisputed second-best player in the game when all was said and done.
FIFA 11
FIFA 11 decided to downgrade a lot of players for some reason, so Ronaldo dropped to a ludicrous 89 overall. Messi dropped as well, but came out as a 90.
It was clearly a difference in the ratings system, because Ronaldo's card was actually better than his previous one. He boasted 94 pace, 93 dribbling and 90 shooting, which made him one of the finest right wingers around.
He also picked up three in-forms as the game went on, eventually reaching 94 overall.
FIFA 12
Two of Ronaldo's in-forms in FIFA 11 were as left wingers, and it was in that position which Ronaldo started FIFA 12.
He was a 92 overall, but his stats were very similar to his previous cards. He had 93 dribbling, 92 pace and 90 shooting, and is 89 heading made him an unbelievably versatile weapon - assuming you could actually afford to play with him in the first place.
He was actually tied with Xavi for the title of second-best player in the game, behind - you guessed it - Messi.
FIFA 13
EA finally settled on 92 for Ronaldo, so he maintained that rating by the time FIFA 13 rolled out. Unsurprisingly, his card remained incredible.
92 pace, 92 dribbling and 90 shooting were his standout stats, but his heading was actually to downgraded to 87 which, admittedly, didn't make too much of a difference to his overall play style.
He was two ratings ahead of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, but it still wasn't good enough to earn him top spot.
FIFA 14
Can you guess what Ronaldo's card looked like in FIFA 14? If you went for a 92-rated left winger, then give yourself a nice pat on the back.
His heading continued to fall to 86, but all his other stats remained elite. He came with 93 pace, 91 dribbling and 90 shooting, but those all got monumental boosts when he picked up his near-perfect Team of the Year card, which was 98 overall.
Again, he was the undisputed number two on the game, ahead of Ribery and Monaco's Falcao, who both came in at 90.
FIFA 15
Ronaldo had picked up his second Ballon d'Or between the release of FIFA 14 and FIFA 15, which probably should have justified an upgrade. Did he get it? Nope.
You're never going to believe it, but Ronaldo was a 92-rated left winger. I know, crazy! He did earn himself 93 shooting this year, to go along with his 93 pace and 91 dribbling. The heading stat was scrapped and replaced with physical, and Ronaldo was given just 79.
His status as the best player in the world wasn't enough to overtake Messi in FIFA 15, but it still kept Ronaldo well ahead of both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arjen Robben.
FIFA 16
Stop the presses, we have an upgrade! Winning two consecutive Ballons d'Or is clearly what it takes to earn a boost, and that's what Ronaldo got in FIFA 16.
He was bumped up to a 93 overall, even though his card was worse that the previous year. He maintained his 93 shooting, but had to make do with 92 pace and 90 dribbling. He actually received a position change during the game, so finished FIFA 16 as a striker,
He beat Neymar to second on the list of the game's best players, but still couldn't topple his rival.
FIFA 17
However, that all changed in FIFA 17. Messi may have picked up the most recent Ballon d'Or at the time, but Ronaldo was actually the highest-rated card on the game, and I'm sure he cares about that more than winning a measly Ballon d'Or again.
This year, Ronaldo was 94 overall, and he returned out to the left wing which helped make him famous. With 92 pace, 92 shooting and 91 dribbling, this card was about as incredible as you would expect, and then some.
He had finally moved ahead of Messi, but could he make that position his own?
FIFA 18
Yes. Yes he could. As a 94-rated left winger, Ronaldo retained his position as the game's best player.
His pace and dribbling both dropped to 90, but he kept his 93 shooting. This was actually his last base card as a Real player, as he finished the game with a 94-overall striker card at Juventus
That new card with the Serie A side sent shockwaves around the virtual world, just as it continues to do to this very day.
FIFA 19
Seemingly fed up of trying to choose between Ronaldo and Messi, EA opted to make them the joint-best on the game, giving them both a rating of 94.
Still a striker for Juventus, Ronaldo maintained his 93 shooting, 90 dribbling and 90 pace, and his defending was actually bumped up to 35, which was what fans all around the world had been crying out for (not).
He even earned himself a 99-rated Team of the Season card, which was about as perfect as you could ever imagine.
FIFA 20
Here we are, at FIFA 20, and Ronaldo is no longer a Juventus player. Sort of. The Serie A side sold their image rights to eFootball PES 2020, so FIFA 20 had to settle for the bizarre name of Piemonte Calcio.
As for Ronaldo's card, he was actually dropped down to a 93, and he saw his dribbling stat (89) fall below 90 for the first time in FUT history. Nevertheless, with 93 shooting and 90 pace, fans probably won't notice much of a difference.
However, by falling to 93 overall, Ronaldo gave up his spot as the game's best player, with Messi again taking the throne.