An image of FIFA Ultimate Team cards that could be on the cover of FIFA 18
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10 potential cover stars for FIFA 18

Who’s going to get their face on the cover of FIFA 18? We run down some options.
Written by Pete Dreyer
8 min readPublished on
Each year brings a new debate over who deserves their face on the cover of what is still, the world’s best-selling football game. So, who’ll be on the cover of FIFA 18? “But surely it’ll be Messi?” you cry! Well, actually, it almost certainly won’t. Messi’s contract with EA as FIFA’s cover star ended with FIFA 16, and both he and Barcelona now have a deal signed with Konami as partners of the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise.
So, with Messi out of the picture, and ignoring his perennial running mate Cristiano Ronaldo – because that’s very likely but also quite boring – who else could be in line to grace the cover of FIFA 18? We weigh up 10 players who are surely in the running...

Luis Suárez

After a phenomenal season last year, Suárez ascended into a class with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, and although his form this year hasn't reached the peaks of last year, he's still undoubtedly one of the best players in the world. His numbers this season still make pretty good reading – he's scored 40 goals in all competitions – but it's his unselfish attitude and tireless workrate that really makes him a star.
Unsurprisingly, he was the first player to reach double figures in both goals and assists this season, and that's the sort of stat that makes him worth his weight in gold. Will he make the cover? Possible, but unlikely – this has still been a bit of a down season for the Uruguayan, and his reputation is still clouded by a few unsavoury incidents during his Liverpool and Ajax days. EA might want to steer clear of that.
Chance: 15 percent

Dele Alli

The golden boy of English football, Alli has already been crowned – alongside Spurs team-mate Harry Kane – as the saviour of the national side, and with good reason. Though he still has a bit of a hot streak about him, particularly in the tackle, he’s shown ability and maturity well beyond his 21 years of age.
In fact, how’s this for a stat: with 26 Premier League goals before his 21st birthday, Dele Alli has hit the back of the net more times than Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham did combined in their early years.
Having just taken this year’s PFA Young Player of the Year award, Alli seems destined for greatness, but will he grace the cover of FIFA 18? Quite possibly in England, but perhaps his star isn’t quite bright enough for the rest of the world just yet.
Chance: 20 percent

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Now we’re talking. Zlatan is a bonafide star, loved the world over thanks to his silky footwork, hilarious interviews and unwavering confidence. Most strikers are well over the hill by the time they reach their mid 30s, but Zlatan has proven his quality time and time again in recently years, for huge clubs in Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
Alas, his recent season-ending knee injury could have eliminated his chances of being on the cover of FIFA 18; it’s almost certain that Zlatan’s United career is over now, and if he’s due for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, EA might want to take a different route.
Chance: 15 percent

Carli Lloyd

Our main qualifying factors in this piece are fame and ability, and there aren’t many footballers in the world as instantly recognisable and as dominant among their peers as Carli Lloyd. Not only is she a superb ambassador for the sport, she’s also FIFA’s reigning Women’s Player of the Year for two years running, making her undoubtedly the best female footballer in the world.
We’ve already talked about how EA should be focused on expanding the women’s side of FIFA by including national women’s leagues in FIFA 18, and if that happens, Carli Lloyd should be a shoo-in for the cover. Like Dele Alli, there’s a very good chance that Lloyd will be on the cover of the game in her native USA, but we’d like to think that she might well be the worldwide star too.
Chance: 40 percent
An image of FIFA Ultimate Team cards for five potential cover stars of FIFA 18

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang’s big smile is absolutely made for a front cover, but he’s not just a pretty face – the Gabonese striker is more than deserving on footballing merits too. He’s scored a goal a game for Borussia Dortmund this season, including a ruthless hat-trick against Benfica in the Champions League last month that marked him out as one of the world’s very best goal-scorers.
As regular watchers of the Bundesliga will know, he’s being doing this for years, consistently making Dortmund one of the deadliest sides in Europe. Perhaps all that's lacking in his case is a big money move to the likes of Barcelona or Real Madrid, where his star could really shine. Still, he’s in with a good shot.
Chance: 35 percent

Antoine Griezmann

Atletico Madrid’s young striker has been attracting interest from all over Europe thanks to his goalscoring exploits, and he may well be leaving Diego Simeone's side in a few months, with Manchester United in particular lining up a big money move.
He’s also fast becoming the poster boy for the French national side too, and no wonder – his six goals in six games carried France to the Euro 2016 finals and, although they lost to Portugal, Griezmann is the core of a new generation of French players who look set to be a force in Europe for years to come. He fills all the criteria for us, and if his big move goes through in the summer, there’s a really good chance we’ll be looking at Griezmann on the front of FIFA 18.
Chance: 50 percent

Eden Hazard

After a disappointing season last year, there was some talk of Hazard leaving for pastures new, with some reports linking him with a move away to La Liga, or even back to France. If there was any truth to those, Chelsea must be thanking their lucky stars that they didn’t take the money and run, because Hazard has been back to his sensational best this year, and is a huge part of the reason why they look poised to win the Premier League title in Antonio Conte’s first season at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard’s season stats – 15 goals in 31 games – bely his true value. He's refound his confidence, and his ability to dominate games, and that has played a huge part in keeping Chelsea at the top this year. On top of that, his blend of skill, pace and goalscoring makes him a firm fan favourite around the world, and he's worked with EA before – we wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him on the cover.
Chance: 65 percent

Paulo Dybala

Just as EA predicted, Paulo Dybala continues to go from strength to strength, elevating his status to perhaps the most in-demand young talent in world football. He started the season slowly, as Juventus adapted to the summer exit of Paul Pogba, but as the club has settled, so has Dybala, turning in sensational performances that have fully lived up to his nickname of ‘La Joya’ (The Jewel). With his combination of pace, trickery, and a keen eye for goal, it’s no wonder that he’s on highlight reels seemingly every week, and at just 23-years-old, he has a solid decade of top level football ahead of him. It might be time for EA to start looking towards the future, and locking down Dybala to a long-term contract to be FIFA’s cover star would be good business.
Chance: 40 percent

Marco Reus

Like club-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marco Reus has shown incredible loyalty to Borussia Dortmund, sticking with his hometown team despite interest from the biggest clubs in world football. That loyalty alongside his fantastic technical footballing ability has made him a real favourite among football fans everywhere, and as a result, he won EA’s public poll to choose the cover athlete for FIFA 17.
That of course was the first year after the end of Lionel Messi’s contract, and while Reus is the incumbent and therefore must have a good shot of making the cover of FIFA 18 as well, EA have had a year to figure out alternative plans, and Reus has struggled with injury this season. If EA goes to a vote again, Reus stands a very good chance of being on the front of FIFA 18.
Chance: 70 percent

Neymar

Last but obviously not least, this list wouldn’t be complete without Neymar. He’s been accused of being a bit style over substance in the past, but this season more than any, Neymar has ascended into the stratosphere of elite players.
Like Hazard, his stats are good, but they don’t tell the whole story. 15 goals in 40 games doesn't sound like much, but Neymar’s game is more well-rounded now, and he creates as many if not more than he scores. As a result, his presence on the pitch is magnetic – he poses such a multidimensional threat that he automatically creates space for his team-mates – a gift that only the very best footballers ever give.
Not only that, he’s the face of football in the biggest footballing nation in the world, and probably the face of the sport on a world stage when Messi and Ronaldo retire. How can it not be Neymar, then? Well, Barcelona’s partnership with Konami might well get in the way of that, as might Neymar’s own deal with Pro Evo, but if EA can find a way around that, we reckon Neymar will be your FIFA 18 cover athlete.
Chance: 80 percent
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