Cristiano Ronaldo given brutal -6 pace downgrade on FIFA 23

Cristiano Ronaldo will not be happy with his FIFA 23 rating, having been given a brutal -6 pace downgrade.

The top 23 FIFA ratings have been released, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, Kevin De Bruyne and Karim Benzema the joint-highest rated players on 91.

Ronaldo, who has been the FIFA cover star in the past, has been handed a 90 rating after a 24-goal season back at Manchester United.

The Portugal captain and record goalscorer is still among the very best on the game but it's his pace which has seen a massive decrease.

On FIFA 22, Ronaldo had 87 pace and was still very much a speed demon who would latch on to a through ball in behind.

However on FIFA 23, the final iteration before the game becomes 'EA Sports FC', that number has dropped all the way down to 81.

Messi too has 81 pace on this year's game and we're slowly seeing the decline of the two greatest players of this generation.

Ronaldo's pace has become a huge talking point on social media, with fans not best pleased to see a big drop from one of his trusty attributes:

Back in FIFA 15 Ronaldo had an incredible 90 pace but these days the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's game has evolved into more of a penalty box poacher.

Mbappe, the game's cover star, is also the fastest player on FIFA 23 - with an insane 97 pace made up from acceleration and sprint speed.

Meanwhile, his colleague Neymar has been handed his worst rating since FIFA 16, after receiving a mark of 89.

Rated 88 when at Barcelona, the Brazilian star was 92-rated four years in a row before becoming 91 for the past two FIFAs.

The game is released worldwide on 30 September, with more ratings to be shared in the coming days.