FIFA 23 is set to release at the beginning of Fall 2022. Many leaks have surfaced revealing new features in FIFA 22, from cross-play to new icons and heroes coming to the game.

Leaks are continuously dropping for both FIFA 22 and FIFA 23. However, one part of the next FIFA reveals that fans always look forward to is the new ratings of their favorite players. Many players are expected to have upgrades or downgrades on their base items from FIFA 22.

Based on their previous ratings and performance last season, here are our predictions for the 10 highest-rated players in FIFA 23.

10. Thibaut Courtois (GK, Real Madrid: 89 Rated)

Thibaut Courtois and Liverpool's Alisson were arguably the top two goalkeepers in the 21/22 season, so they may end up being the joint highest-rated goalkeepers in FIFA 23, especially with expected downgrades to Jan Oblak and Marc-André Ter Stegen after tough seasons. Strictly for winning the Champions League Final and playing such a crucial role for the team, we're sticking Courtois in at 10, who had a great season in Spain and Europe.

9. Mohamed Salah (RW, Liverpool: 89 Rated)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah started off the 21/22 season as a Ballon D'Or contender, bagging goals left, right, and center. While he cooled down, Salah still had a great season, and can possibly be upgraded from his 89-rating to 90. With or without the upgrade, Salah still makes it into the top 10 most likely and will be a top attacker in the game early on.

8. Erling Haaland (ST, Manchester City: 90 Rated)

After a huge move to Manchester City, expectations are high for the Norwegian superstar in his first season in the Premier League. Erling Haaland dominated the Bundesliga once again in 21/22 despite missing a few games due to injury. But when he played, he was arguably a top 3 striker in the world. Expect a big upgrade for Haaland, likely a +2 from his FIFA 22 gold card to the 90-club for the first time.

7. Neymar Jr. (LW, PSG: 90 Rated)

Neymar Jr. did have a good season for PSG, however, their attack didn't mesh well until the end of the season. Now, with rumors of Neymar potentially leaving the club, Neymar's FIFA 23 future is still up for debate, both for rating and club. It is possible that he will maintain his 91-rating, but perhaps to reduce how many 91+ rated players are in the game, Neymar may be downgraded by 1 to a 90. Regardless of rating, Neymar will still be broken in FIFA 23 with his 5* skill moves and weak foot.

6. Kevin De Bruyne (CM, Manchester City: 91 Rated)

Kevin De Bruyne has been arguably the most consistently-great player in the Premier League over the past few seasons. He has a great 21/22 season, helping Man. City to another Premier League title and bagging 15 goals and 8 assists. KDB had a solid upgrade from FIFA 21 to FIFA 22, but will likely stay at the 91-rated club in FIFA 23.

5. Karim Benzema (CF, Real Madrid: 91 Rated)

Many football fans see Karim Benzema as the front-runner for the Ballon D'Or this year, after an insane 21/22 season. Real Madrid did win both the LaLiga and Champions League, and Benzema was one of the biggest reasons for the team's success, coming up clutch in every close game. He's definitely getting an upgrade in FIFA 23, either a +1 or +2, but he definitely deserves to be a top-5 player in the new game.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo (ST, Manchester United: 91 Rated)

Similarly to Neymar Jr., CR7 had a solid season for Manchester United, but unfortunately the team coming up short of any trophies last season makes his efforts a bit deflated. His future is also up for debate outside of FIFA, with rumors that he's requested to leave Man U for Champions League football elsewhere. Cristiano Ronaldo is always a popular player in FIFA in EA Sports' eyes, so we see him at most maintaining his 91 rating, although some could argue that he deserves another downgrade as we saw in FIFA 22.

3. Lionel Messi (RW, PSG: 92 Rated)

Lionel Messi didn't live up to expectations at PSG in the 21/22 season, at least until the final third of the campaign. Due to that, we do expect him to get a slight downgrade to 92-rated. However, Messi was still a great gold card in FIFA 22 regardless of his stats, and it should be the same case in FIFA 23 making up one of the deadliest attacks in the game.

2. Kylian Mbappe (ST, PSG: 92 Rated)

Kylian Mbappe has quickly risen to a top 3 player in the world and is the front man of one of the best attack trios in FIFA 22. The same should go in FIFA 23, with Mbappe due another upgrade after his performances in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Considering that he is the leaked cover boy for the new game, there's a chance he could be the joint-highest rated player in the game. But no matter how prolific the young Frenchman is, it's hard to deny the number 1 spot of being the best striker in the world anymore.

1. Robert Lewandowski (ST, Bayern Munich: 93 Rated)

In 46 games across all competitions, Robert Lewandowski score 50 goals and collected 7 assists. Adding another Bundesliga Title to his trophy cabinet as well, Lewandoski is in the running for the third year in a row to get a Ballon D'Or, and has yet to win one. However, he has crept up the top-rated players in FIFA, and FIFA 23 may see him finally become the highest or joint-highest rated player in the game.

While he may not be a popular pick early on in each game cycle, he will easily be the best shooter in the game, and if he makes the move away from Bayern to another club, he may continue his run as the best striker in the world.

We'll have to ultimately wait for the ratings reveal to confirm the true top ten, but it will surely resemble something close to these ratings.

This article was originally published on dbltap as FIFA 23 Ratings Predictions: The 10 Highest Rated Players .