FIFA 17’s top 20 Premier League players released and fans of Liverpool and Leicester won’t be happy

Xavi believes Riya Mahrez is good enough for Barcelona. The makers of FIFA 17 don't think he is in the Premier League's top 20.

There has been another glimpse of player ratings for the latest EA Sports incarnation of its popular FIFA franchise. This time, it is the Premier League's top 20 players. We were already aware of the high ratings for Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic but another host has been released and it includes some of the Premier League's brightest stars. There are no Leicester City players, however, and the only Tottenham player to feature is Hugo Lloris. The game's makers do not appear to be swayed by Leicester's league-winning heroics, last time out. While their player ratings are set to climb considerably, the likes of Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater and Wes Morgan do not feature in the top 20. Even N'Golo Kante, now at Chelsea, fails to make it. Mahrez, the PFA and Football Writers' Player of the Year, rates 85/100 but a shortfall in certain skills areas sees him miss out on the Top 20. Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho is the sole entry in the Premier League top 20, Santi Cazorla and Dimitri Payet are joint 13th, while Eden Hazard is joint 6th despite a poor 2016/17. Manchester United have three players in the top 10 - Ibrahimovic and David De Gea are top-rated on 90. PREMIER LEAGUE TOP 20

20. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) – 85 19. Willian (Chelsea) – 85 18. Diego Costa (Chelsea) – 85 17. Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) – 85 16. Dimitri Payet (West Ham United) – 86 15. Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) – 86 14. Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea) – 86 13. Santi Cazorla (Arsenal) – 86 12. David Silva (Manchester City) – 87 11. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) – 87 10. Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur) – 88 9. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – 88 8. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 88 7. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) – 88 6. Petr Cech (Arsenal) – 88 5. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – 89 4. Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) – 89 3. Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – 89 2. David De Gea (Manchester United) – 90 1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United) – 90

So there you have it. At least one Twitter user will be pleased: https://twitter.com/Whysoserious997/status/766073747992416256 The GAA Hour Hurling Show relives Tipperary’s sensational All-Ireland victory with Paidí Maher. Listen below or subscribe on iTunes.