EA Sports FC 25's Team of the Season (TOTS) program is nearing its end, but it kept one of soccer's biggest names up its sleeves until now: Lionel Messi.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner tops the selection of the best MLS players, getting a 97 OVR with fantastic attribute ratings: Messi The Argentine boasts 98 Dribbling, 97 Passing, 96 Shooting and 93 Pace with only his Physical (82) and Defending (45) lacking behind. Inter Miami didn't have the best start to the ongoing season, currently ranking sixth in the league, but it would look positively disastrous without the megastar's contributions - Messi has been fielded 13 times so far, scoring ten goals and five assists in these matches.
These contributions often proved decisive, such as in their 2-1 wins over Atlanta and Philadelphia as well as their 2-2 against New York City and 1-1 against Toronto. Even Miami's recent 5-1 over Columbus -- so one-sided on paper -- might have been a meager draw without his two goals and two assists.
The rest of MLS is not slouching either, though, with several athletes nipping at Messi's heels. Here's the full MLS TOTS in EA FC 25:
Lionel Messi -- Inter Miami (97 OVR)
Luis Suárez -- Inter Miami (96 OVR)
Christian Benteke -- D.C. United (96 OVR)
Evander -- FC Cincinnati (96 OVR)
Steven Moreira -- Columbus Crew (96 OVR)
Ricard Puig -- Los Angeles Galaxy (95 OVR)
Emil Forsberg -- New York Red Bulls (95 OVR)
Jordi Alba -- Inter Miami (95 OVR)
Jackson Ragen -- Seattle Sounders FC (94 OVR)
Kristijan Kahlina -- Charlotte FC (94 OVR)
Brad Guzan -- Atlanta United (93 OVR)
Ryan Gauld -- Vancouver Whitecaps FC (92 OVR)
Messi's archrival, Cristiano Ronaldo, managed to land a 97 OVR card as part of the Saudi Pro League TOTS, matching the Argentine once more. The Portuguese player similarly leads his competition's TOTS ahead of players like Karim Benzema, Moussa Diaby, and N'Golo Kanté.
As is tradition, EA Sports also released a 'Rest of the World' TOTS to highlight other standout performances from around the globe. Atlético Peñarol's Leonardo Fernández and Ulsan Hyundai FC's Ko Seung-beom stand at the top of this squad with 96 OVR each.
