Lionel Messi has occupied the cover of the FIFA video game franchise for four years now, but the reigning Ballon d’Or winner is expected to be replaced in the coming years due to his contract with the franchise coming to an end.
According to the Metro, Messi will no longer be the cover man of the popular football franchise produced by EA Sports, and speculation as to who his replacement will be has already begun.
Real Madrid superstar James Rodriguez has been identified by L’Equipe as the front-runner to be on the next cover. Apparently, Rodriguez’s teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as well as Barcelona megastar Neymar are off the radar due to their connections to EA Sports’ rival, Konami.
The most recent edition of the franchise, FIFA 16, received very positive reviews. Game Informer gave it 8.75/10 while the aggregate Metacritic gave it 82/100 for Playstation 4 and 85/100 for XBox One.
FIFA 16 in England and Ireland featured Jordan Henderson as the co-cover athlete, while some of the other cover athletes were Oscar (Brazil), Antoine Griezmann (France), Alex Morgan (USA), and Mauro Icardi (Italy).
SEE MORE:
Little-known Israeli-based African big man confident of securing Arsenal transfer
Ballon d’Or winner LEAKED – Barcelona megastar beats Ronaldo & teammate
Tottenham transfer news: Highly-rated youngster goes on trial with Dutch club