For the last few years, star footballer Lionel Messi and EA Sports’ FIFA series of games have basically been synonymous with each other- but that might change with this year’s upcoming FIFA 17, if these reports from French newspaper L’Equip (translation by Game Watcher) are to be believed. Apparently, Messi’s contract runs out, and he has not renewed it- nor is he interested in renewing it.
The question of a suitable replacement cover athlete raises some interesting possibilities now. Who would replace Messi on the cover of FIFA games? While there are a lot of possibilities (Messi may be the biggest football player on the planet, but there are also other well known athletes in the sport after all), there are some immediate deductions for us to make- it can’t be Neymar, since he’s got a contract with Konami for the PES series, so it would be a conflict of interest. It could be Wayne Rooney- he used to be FIFA‘s coverboy back before Messi, and I imagine EA wouldn’t mind having him be on the cover. Apparently, Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez is the current favorite, and I’m not sure fans would necessarily mind that.
FIFA 17 is due out some time this year (probably in September) on every system known to mankind except Wii U, though the main, headlining versions will probably be on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.