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CR7

 

To be completely honest, I did not enjoy CR7 in FIFA 18.  After reading loads of articles, Reddit posts, and FUTBIN reviews I was excited when I finally had enough coins to purchase the then Real Madrid man.  I think he lasted 15 games and I sold him, never using him again for the remainder of the year.  As I have mentioned a few times already this year I was fortunate enough during Carniball to pack the now Juventus frontman in a brilliant stroke of luck.  I won’t lie that after 10 games with only 5 goals I was about ready to sell and move on yet again.  Needless to say, after 40 games, 39 goals and 15 assists, my tone has changed.
Playstyle.  Playstyle is such a huge factor in how FUT Managers determine the value on a player.  I realized after 10 games that I was simply trying to make CR7 do what previous strikers like Butragueño and Mbappé had done for me and getting frustrated when it did not work.  In reality CR7 is an entirely different animal, and once you learn to control him, he can be set loose on your opponents and tear them apart in a matter of minutes.  I went with the FINISHER chemistry style and used CR7 as the frontman in the 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations throughout the past two weekends.  Ronaldo is definitely the game changer in the following squad:
 

 


Pace, Shooting, & Physical

I am lumping these three together, but I will pay them each the respect they deserve with separate analysis. However, the reason I can’t help but consider these statistics as one is due to the personalized animations that CR7 possess.  If you are like me and a fan of differences in cards… in-game face, dynamic images, tattoos, key attributes; than this card is a God send. Additionally, these animations lead to improvements in each of these categories… whether CR7 is gliding past an opponent, slamming the ball into the far corner, or rising like a salmon out of the stream to head the ball above the failing defender trying to mark him… he is always doing it in his own style.
Pace is a not an issue with this card.  Maybe 89 ACCELERATION could be improved to get the big man moving a little quicker, but when he reaches 91 SPRINT SPEED it is ample pace to blaze past defenders.  The movement on this card is ridiculous and the majority of the time CR7 is at a dead sprint beyond his marker when he receives the ball anyway.
Shooting with this card is a dream and you just have to close your eyes and enjoy the ride.  4 STAR WEAK FOOT feels like a 7 and with the FINISHER chemistry style applied ALL SHOOTING CATEGORIES are at 99 except for 97 VOLLEYS & 95 PENALTIES… both of which are beyond useable.  While previous patches have tried to deal with contorted shooting, CR7 always finds a way to shape his body send the ball flying into the top bin.
Physical is the word that you think of when CR7 is mentioned… a specimen of a human being, and this translates well into the pixelated version of the Portuguese star.  The back post header has become an abused gameplay feature and whether or not you agree with exploiting it, it is hard to deny its effectiveness.  While I can only imagine the quality of TOTY CR7, I will speak to the fact that NIF CR7 is fantastic in the air.  At times I even felt guilty as a misguided cross would lob up near the top of the 18 year box, only to have Ronaldo jump out of the park to send a laser beam header into the top bin.  88 STAMINA is just another perk in the list of abilities this card possess.

Pace Rating: 9.4/10
Shooting Rating: 9.7/10
Physical Rating: 9.9/10


Defending, Passing & Dribbling

Defending is basically non-existent with most strikers but I will say that CR7 does a good job of tracking down the ball in the final third.  Additionally, he is a force in your own 18 yard box defending corners as well.  But these moments are few and far between and I will turn my focus to Passing and Dribbling.  Much like ICONs I have reviewed, this card has some hidden magic beyond what the statistics say.  The 15 assists in 40 games is a result of two things; one, this card is exceptionally accurate regardless of the style of pass you play; two, defenders will overcommit when CR7 is on the ball opening up a final pass to finish off your attack.  Both are an asset and both contributed equally to an excellent return with this card.  

Dribbling is perhaps the key area that I needed to focus on changing when reviewing this card.  The neat cut backs and turns that I had been executing with other forwards felt clunky and ineffective.  I finally realized that due to the size and shooting ability on this card I could provide wider angles for turning and cutting the ball back and the card would do the work.  CR7 protects the ball better than any card I have used except TOTY Van Dijk and most players just can’t get a foot in.  This protection offers the opportunity to pass or find a shot that smaller, less physical forwards, just cannot obtain.  On one hand the 87 AGILITY & 70 BALANCE both have a negative effect on CR7’s dribbling abilities, but if used differently he more than makes up for this with strength and pace.

Defending Rating: N/A
Passing Rating: 9/10
Dribbling Rating: 9/10

 

Final Score

Final Rating: 9.7/10

A mirror score to SIF 90 rated Mbappé just fells right for this review.  Perhaps CR7 is a 9.75 and just slightly edges the Frenchman for me.  Personally I like the links to Mbappé a lot better but there are still numerous options to make CR7 fit. The thing that I really enjoyed about my review of Ronaldo is that it felt different.  All of the personalized intricacies in the playstyle of this card bring a simple freshness to the game.  Running animations, free kick run ups, celebrations, and even the tifo before each match all add up to a unique experience with this card.  Above all else these features are what ultimately separates CR7 from Mbappé and the other insane cards in FIFA 19 and why I would 100% recommend this card to anyone needing that final push to bring the big man into your team.  He will steal you matches, make goals out of nothing, and as much as I need the coins for other reviews I cannot bring myself to sell him.  When it all comes down to it you can always remember three simple words to sum up this card. Near. Post. Corners.   Cheers for reading.


 

Game Stats:
 

 

 

 

Game Highlights:
 

 

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