5 players who could have been the cover star of FIFA 18

A future FIFA cover star?

It’s that time of year again where EA Sports and Konami go head-to-head in the race to create the best football game. Lionel Messi has dominated the cover for the FIFA series but since his contract with EA came to an end, there has been a race over who will be the cover star for the iconic game.

Barcelona and Messi’s contract came to an end in 2016, which resulted in EA publishing a poll that allowed their customers to vote for their FIFA 17 cover star. Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus won the accolade ahead of Anthony Martial, Eden Hazard and James Rodríguez.

This edition has seen Ballon d’Or and Euro 2016 winner Cristiano Ronaldo named as the cover star.

While Ronaldo is more than deserving of the award, here are five other players who could have been named on the cover of FIFA 18, which is set to release in September.

#1 Dele Alli

Tottenham Hotspur and England international Dele Alli’s 2016/17 campaign was his best season to date. A £5 million signing from MK Dons in 2015, the 21-year-old scored 18 goals in 37 Premier League outings, which helped Spurs finish ahead of their North London rivals, Arsenal.

At the moment, there’s no doubting the abilities of Alli. He’s arguably England’s best player, despite still being eligible to play for the U21 side – who were recently knocked out of the U21 European Championship in Poland by Germany.

In the past, EA had Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the cover of FIFA 13, and Alli far exceeds the potential of the now 23-year-old.