Reviews

I was lucky enough to pack shapeshifter Messi tradable from my weekend league rewards of gold 3. He was the first major player I packed this year so I guess I just got lucky.

Normally I play a 4-2-3-1 narrow formation with Eriksen winter refresh on cam and C. Ronaldo (normal) at striker position.

After looking at his stats, I decided to put a hawk chem-style on him. In the first game, he came on as a sub so I would be able to feel the difference when he plays on full chem.

The first time he got the ball, I tried his finesse shot with his left foot and from 25-30 yards that was his first ever goal he scored for me. His Finesse trait really feels like a cheat code.

On the ball he feels absolutely phenomenal. His turning is the quickest I ever got to experience in Fifa 20 and his ball control is out of this world. You really get the impression as if the ball sticks to his feet. The meta is made for Messi to shine and he does shine. Not only that but his passing is also incredible. He gives great balls through the middle and can assist a striker in multiple ways. If you let him take a corner, the ball gets a crazy spin which results in corner goals from a header because the ball will go to the selected player with a really strange curve. Defenders can't seem to block it. I've used him as a CAM, Striker, RCAM and as a 2nd striker in a 41212(2) formation and I think he performs best as a striker or as a CAM behind a striker. His left foot is a true sledgehammer and he will shoot balls into the net if you give him just a tiny bit of space. His High/low workrate is excellent as a striker and I really notice a big difference compared to his normal Medium/Low. He is quick and nimble and I feel Hawk suits him best so he also will get a tiny agression boost.

However, I always play with a 4231 formation and I'm used to my CAM doing some defensive work. Messi can't do that, so if you have him as a CAM, don't expect him to do any defensive work, or when he does he will quickly run out of stamina. so let him stay forward. Also, his pshysical stats are low. Messi is a fantastic dribbler, but will almost always lose his physical fight to a decent defender.

If you are the kind of player that wants balance, dribbling, turning, agility etc. on a striker, than this Messi is your guy

Similar to many of the people who said they won't complete the FUT Birthday Bag SBC, I was contemplating for hours whether to submit 1/4th of my team or not. I decided to craft some Gold Upgrades and found myself with few 88+ players after an hour of bronze/silver/gold upgrades.(Super lucky, I know) Being nothing close to a good player, I realised that it might be worth to submit all of the newly acquired players (Including Mane, Godin, Sterling) and I opened the Pandora box at 3 in the morning. Having done it on the Companion app, Messi instantly popped on my phone screen. Not gonna lie, I thought I was tripping and I went back to sleep as I had to wake up early. The next morning, I decided to check on my trades and saw one unassigned item. I was not hallucinating after all, the greatest player to ever play football (Sorry CR7/R9 fans) was sitting in my club. I played around 35 games that day. 35 Division Rivals games and no matter whether a win/loss/draw, this guy kept scoring. He scored 7 goals during the first game. He scored 4 goals during the second one and ended up with one hundred goals for the club after 51 games. (Div 3-4 player) This guy impressed me so much that I was forced to write my first review here. (I was lucky enough to pack TOTS CR7 last season and he wasn't nearly as impactful, given the meta last year)

His updated work rates make him a perfect ST/CAM/CF in any formation. The runs behind the defence, the midfield domination, he is simply all over the place. 9 out of 10 shots are bangers. Finesse shots, power shots, chip shots, this man does it all. Dribbling? There are two possible scenarios - he either wins a free kick and scores it or simply left stick dribbles past defenders/goalkeepers. He is unstoppable. I found myself not giving a crap about how shitty the EA Servers are, because at this point, I simply play in order to enjoy this card. Having said that, I highly recommend you to find the players you enjoy playing with the most and to simply play for fun. FIFA 20 ain't worth the nerves. Good luck!