In what will be the final game of the iconic series before the franchise moves in a new direction, without the FIFA license, there has been relatively little movement at the top.
Indeed, only three of last year’s top 23 (Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Luis Suarez) have dropped out this time around.
Global cover star Kylian Mbappe may have expected to finally be top dog as the powers of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo wane, but the Paris Saint-Germain phenom has just made the podium thanks to another pair of experienced heads ageing like fine wines.
The Sporting News answers the key questions below, along with a full list of the top 23 players.
Who is the best player on FIFA 23?
He won UEFA’s player of the season award, he finished top scorer in La Liga and the Champions League en route to lifting both trophies, he’s the clear favourite for the Ballon d’Or, and now he’s the standout in the virtual world, too.
Karim Benzema has been ranked as the game’s best player by EA Sports, with a career-high overall rating of 92 for his base card on FIFA Ultimate Team.
The Real Madrid striker’s pace has shot up from 76 to 80, shooting from 86 to 88, and passing from 81 to 83.
His physicality has improved by one point to 78, while dribbling (87) and defence (39) have remained consistent with last term.
Lionel Messi FIFA 23 rating: How does PSG star compare to previous years?
Messi still ranks within the top five players on FIFA 23, with an overall rating of 91. However, it does seem a far cry from his peak of 94 (seen on FIFA 12, 13, 14, 16, 19 and 20). Last season, he was the best player in the game.
Though he’s started the current campaign on fire, Messi’s form dipped drastically upon moving from Barcelona to PSG. As such, five of his six core Ultimate Team stats have fallen since FIFA 22, with only his defence (34) staying the same.
Of particular concern to FUT managers, his pace has dropped by four to 81, and his shooting by three to 89.
MORE: Is there a 2022 FIFA World Cup game?
Cristiano Ronaldo FIFA 23 rating: How does Man United star compare to previous years?
Like Messi, Ronaldo’s base-card peak on Ultimate Team was 94 (seen on FIFA 17, 18 and 19). From third place on FIFA 22, he’s now down to eighth place in the rankings, with an overall rating of 90.
That’s a drop of one on FIFA 22, for the striker now finding himself in the unusual position of warming the Old Trafford bench.
The Portuguese’s pace has sharply dipped by six to 81, with passing falling by four to 78.
How many Premier League players are in the FIFA 23 top 23?
Arsenal are the only member of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ without a representative in this first batch of FIFA 23 ratings.
The other five teams have combined for 11 players here, with Liverpool boasting Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.
Manchester City can equal that, as Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson are joined by new boy Erling Haaland.
Manchester United are on two, as Casemiro reuintes with fellow Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo. Spurs maintain the same pair as last season, in Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.
Chelsea round out the list of England-based players, with N’Golo Kante, despite his struggles over the last year.
In comparison, there are five players from La Liga, four from Ligue 1 (all PSG) and three from the Bundesliga (all Bayern Munich).
Who are the biggest movers since FIFA 22?
Benzema has the seen the biggest year-on-year improvement of any player, going from 14th to first following his spectacular run to Champions League glory.
Sadio Mane, who led Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations title and starred for Liverpool before his summer switch to Bayern Munich, has shot up by nine.
Haaland is next, jumping eight places following his switch to City, even though his overall rating of 88 has remained the same, with scores across the board seemingly slightly lower this time around. This comes after a 71-spot leap last season.
Centre-backs Van Dijk and Marquinhos have also climbed by eight places.
Of those in this batch of 23, Jan Oblak has taken the biggest nosedive, dropping 13 places after his shakiest season with Atletico Madrid yet.
A pair of Premier League stars have fallen the next-furthest, with Kane dropping by nine, and Kante by 10.
Three men have stayed in exactly the same position: Robert Lewandowski, De Bruyne and Manuel Neuer.
FIFA 23 player ratings: Full list of top 23 Ultimate Team stars
Karim Benzema 91 overall rating (+2 on FIFA 22) Real Madrid and France ST
Robert Lewandowski 91 (-1) Barcelona and Poland ST
Kylian Mbappe 91 (-) PSG and France ST
Kevin De Bruyne 91 (-) Man City and Belgium CM
Lionel Messi 91 (-2) PSG and Argentina RW
Mohamed Salah 90 (+1) Liverpool and Egypt RW
Virgil van Dijk 90 (+1) Liverpool and Netherlands CB
Cristiano Ronaldo 90 (-1) Man United and Portugal ST
Thibaut Courtois 90 (+1) Real Madrid and Belgium GK
Manuel Neuer 90 (-) Bayern Munich and Germany GK
Neymar 89 (-2) PSG and Brazil LW
Heung-min Son 89 (-) Spurs and South Korea LW
Sadio Mane 89 (-) Bayern Munich and Senegal LM
Joshua Kimmich 89 (-) Bayern Munich and Germany CDM
Casemiro 89 (-) Man United and Brazil CDM
Alisson 89 (-) Liverpool and Brazil GK
Harry Kane 89 (-1) Spurs and England ST
Ederson 89 (-) Man City and Brazil GK
N’Golo Kante 89 (-1) Chelsea and France CDM
Jan Oblak 89 (-2) Atletico Madrid and Slovenia GK
Erling Haaland 88 (-) Man City and Norway ST
Toni Kroos 88 (-) Real Madrid and Germany CM
Marquinhos 88 (+1) PSG and Brazil CB
