Virgil van Dijk has forever inked his name in the FIFA lore after becoming the first defender in the series’ 26-year history to receive a 99 rated FIFA FUT card.
The never before achieved feat was accomplished via the defender’s special FIFA Team of the Year card. The Liverpool star, as well as the rest of the 2019 TOTY members, all received limited edition cards commemorating the occasion. And while the lowest rated players of the bunch – Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and van Dijk’s real-life teammate Andrew Robertson, are still rated at a whopping 94, the Dutchman himself has much more to brag about.
Van Dijk is one of two players in the squad to be maxed out with a 99 rating. The other, surprise, surprise, is Lionel Messi. The defender’s stats are a joy to behold as even his shooting, rated 80, can rival many attackers in the game. With 88 pace, 90 dribbling, 92 passing, 98 physical and 99 defense ratings there’s quite literally nothing you could exploit, so good luck trying to score against this
More notable is the fact that Virgil van Dijk is the first defender in the history of the FIFA series to get a 99 rated FUT card. Alright, “FIFA might be 26-years-old, but Ultimate Team was introduced much later”, you’re probably thinking right now. And while, yes, that’s correct, we’re still talking 10 years here. An entire decade without anyone else making it to 99. Not Vidić, not Ferdinand, not Terry, not Ramos, not anybody.
So, let’s give the man his due respect. There will certainly be doubters out there, but you can’t argue too much against the Premier League Player of the Season, the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, the Ballon d’Or runner-up, the Champions League winner, the… you get where I’m getting at by now, right?
The more interesting question is could somebody else have done it earlier? Do you believe there were defenders before van Dijk that deserved a 99 rating? Who might be the next defender to reach top rating? Let your thoughts flow!
