The ratings for popular video game franchise FIFA are often a bone of contention for its die-hard fanbase.

But for the professionals too they can clearly be a cause for debate and the latest scores for FIFA 21, revealed on Thursday, have proven no different.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi recently went through a real-life transfer saga, yet his on-pitch qualities were reflected by the fact he is the highest-rated player on the game at 93.

Cristiano Ronaldo drops to 92 this year, while Robert Lewandowski, Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne and Jan Oblak all carry a 91 value.

For some, though, the virtual attributes are not entirely appreciated … step up Inter forward Romelu Lukaku.

"Let's be honest FIFA just mess with the ratings so we players start complaining about the game and give them more publicity..." he wrote on Twitter.

"I ain't with this s***. I know what I do."

It appears Lukaku, rated 85 overall, was particularly unhappy with a pace attribute of 81, adding: "Did EA Sports not see my goal against Shakhtar Donetsk. What is wrong with them?"

Lukaku was not alone, though, with Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte taking exception to his pace rating of 63.

Laporte posted two pictures on Twitter. Above one in which he was smiling, he wrote: "Waiting for my new FIFA rating." Above another with his head in his hand, he added: "Finding out I have 63 pace."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's rating has dropped to 87 overall, including a slight dip to his pace score, with the Arsenal striker responding to a tweet about the news with a series of, we assume sarcastic, laughing face emojis.

Not everyone was despondent, though. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk said of his 90 rating: "What do you guys think, not bad right?"

Team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold said of his 87 to BBC Sport: "Yeah, I'm happy of course. 87, jeez. Wow, that's high."

However, a shooting score of 66 was contested by the England star.

"I think maybe they put that in there because it's my squad number. I'm hoping. Four goals from full-back ... I don't know," he added.

"I'm not going to challenge it too much. I would have liked it to be higher though."