Cristiano Ronaldo shares the top spot in EA FC 26 in the Saudi Pro League. However, he receives one of his weakest ratings ever – only over 20 years ago was he rated worse.
This is Ronaldo’s new rating in EA FC 26: EA released the top 100 ratings in FC 26 at the beginning of the week on Wednesday evening (September 10, 2025), and also published the top 26 ratings of the Roshn Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo has been playing in Saudi Arabia for over 2 1/2 years and with an 85 rating for FC 26 is among the top 4 players in his league:
- Cristiano Ronaldo (85)
- Karim Benzema (85)
- N’Golo Kanté (85)
- Iñigo Martínez (85)
Although Ronaldo is one of the strongest players in his league, fans of the Portuguese must still come to terms with another downgrade of the aging superstar. From a rating of 86 in FC 26, it drops to an 85 rating in FC 25.
Looking at his statistics from the 24/25 season, the downgrade becomes apparent at first glance.
What season did Ronaldo play? Looking at the bare numbers on the statistics page Sofascore, Ronaldo delivered another strong season. In the league and in the Asian Champions League, the striker scored 33 goals in 37 matches and assisted 3 more goals for his teammates. He also scored 8 goals in 8 matches for the Portuguese national team on the way to winning the UEFA Nations League.
That makes 44 goal involvements in 45 matches. A striker can’t perform much better, and yet Ronaldo gets the next downgrade. This continues the negative streak in EA FC/FIFA.
Another downgrade: Ronaldo was only rated worse in FIFA 04
What does the downgrade mean? With the downgrade to an 85 rating, Ronaldo is getting closer to his lowest value since records began in EA FC (formerly FIFA). When Ronaldo transferred to Manchester United as a mega-talent in 2003, his virtual counterpart received a strong rating of 80 in FIFA 04.
Since then, he has not been rated lower. On the contrary: since FIFA 04, with very few exceptions, his ratings have only improved. Over 3 years (FIFA 17, 18, and 19), he even reached a very strong 94 rating.
However, since FIFA 19, the ratings have been steadily declining. With the transition from FIFA to EA FC, there was the first major drop of 4 rating points:
| FIFA-/EA-FC-Section | Rating Ronaldo |
| FIFA 19 | 94 |
| FIFA 20 | 93 |
| FIFA 21 | 92 |
| FIFA 22 | 91 |
| FIFA 23 | 90 |
| EA FC 24 | 86 |
| EA FC 25 | 86 |
| EA FC 26 | 85 |
What could be behind the downgrades? That a player can’t maintain the level of a 94 card forever is not surprising.
When the first EA FC was released, Ronaldo managed only 19 goals and 3 assists in 40 matches after his return to Manchester United. During this time, he also experienced the first significant downgrade from 90 to 86.
Since his move to Al-Nassr (January 1, 2023) in the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo has once again been consistently delivering many goals. Nevertheless, the Portuguese initially stagnated in rating from FC 24 to FC 25 and now even has to deal with a downgrade in FC 26 despite strong 44 goal involvements in 45 matches.
This could have various reasons:
- The level of players in the Roshn Saudi Pro League cannot keep up with the qualitative breadth of the European level. According to Transfermarkt.de, the Saudi Pro League has an average market value of only €65.17 million, while the Bundesliga, for example, offers an average value of €240.55 million: This is why EA likely weights the goals and assists in this league differently.
- Ronaldo has adjusted his playing style so that even at the age of 40 he can shine without much effort: He participates little in the game and positions himself cleverly to get into good situations without much effort.
EA probably cannot overlook Ronaldo’s age and the weaker league. In general, there is a trend in EA FC that older players lose pace, dribbling and/or physicality. Fellow strikers from international top leagues and clubs also have to settle for minor reductions in pace and dribbling. Examples include Kane (FC Bayern) and Lewandowski (FC Barcelona).
What does the downgrade mean for EA FC 26? As an 85 card, Ronaldo is no longer among the top tier in FC 26, but even with an 86 in FC 25, he wasn’t. Should the gameplay revert to focus more on pace, speed, and agility as announced, Ronaldo could be a casualty.
However, he could still deliver the following added value for your game:
- strong finishing with both right and left foot
- outstanding heading ability and jumping power
With the new downgrade, Ronaldo unfortunately loses his status as a Walkout in Ultimate Team during the pack animations. So if you receive Ronaldo from a pack, he will not get a special presentation anymore.
In conclusion, we ask you: What do you think of the downgrade? Do you find it justified? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. More and more ratings will be released gradually. We have made predictions on MeinMMO about which star could benefit the most: EA FC 26 Ratings Prediction: Who could receive the biggest upgrades in Ultimate Team?
