Axel Witsel has lost 27 pace from FIFA 22 to FIFA 23

Atletico Madrid star Axel Witsel has been handed a huge downgrade on FIFA 23, after moving from Borussia Dortmund to La Liga in the summer.

EA Sports' latest edition of their famous FIFA franchise is due out in less than two weeks which means players checking up on their new ratings.

Already we've seen a couple of players not be too happy at their cards, with Ajax's Calvin Bassey claiming his silver card was 'disrespectful,' after being one of Rangers' stars in the run to the Europa League final last season.

He's not the only one to have shown his annoyance, with Vinicius Jr not pleased with one his stats, despite becoming one of the most important players for European champions Real Madrid.

The pair have nothing to complain about in comparison to Witsel however, who left Dortmund for Atletico Madrid in the summer, after his contract expired.

The 33-year-old has been given a huge downgrade on his pace, having been rated at 61 pace last year, he's now just 34 pace, losing 27 on his rating.

Axel Witsel just lost 2 Legs in Fifa 23: pic.twitter.com/2cPrE22bz3

— G.Squadbuilders (@GSquadbuilders) September 18, 2022

"Did he lose a leg during last season?" one fan amusingly asked.

"Would be down to 10 men for the first half, would take him 45 minutes to reach the pitch from the dressing room," a second added on social media.

Another fan speculated why the Belgian international may have lost all that pace, saying, "Did he fornicate with one of the EA staff's wife???"

However another fan watched Witsel during Atlet's loss to Real Madrid, in the Madrid derby, on Sunday night and thinks the rating is fair.

"After watching tonight's game I think they were generous," the fan added following goals for Rodrygo and Federico Valverde at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Witsel's age and history of injuries has no doubt slowed him down, and he's even moved to centre back under Diego Simeone, but the new rating does seem incredibly harsh.

Whilst the former Benfica midfielder has been given a huge downgrade on his pace, one player has been given an equally huge upgrade on the stat.

Freiburg star Kevin Schade must have had a new engine installed since last summer, with the right winger given a 25 point boost to now having 94 pace!

That means that only five players on the game, including Kylian Mbappe, are quicker than Schade in FIFA 23, having previously been only ranked as having 69 pace, which is less nice.

SPORTbible Stories is the brand-new podcast from the SPORT team at LADbible.

The first episode features a chat with former Burnley manager Sean Dyche as he opens up on his departure from Turf Moor, what the future holds and the amazing story of the spin wheel for fines while in charge of the Clarets. You can watch the first episode here.