MLS teams are busy signing up ex-Premier League stars and current FIFA eSports players
Live football is all set to take over this summer and indeed throughout the rest of the year. In the interim, stars of the virtual game have been making headway at stealing away fans from the likes of Messi and Lewandowski.
Here are some of the world’s best FIFA online players, who would be completely out of their depth on real turf but are completely at home when they have a controller or keyboard at their fingertips.
Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt
Regularly touted as not only the number one FIFA player in the world but also the greatest FIFA player of all time, Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt has achieved a lot for someone yet to celebrate his 19th birthday.
His achievements in the online domain have also garnered interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world, with Liverpool signing him to play in their colors during the new ePremier League tournament. Not content with stopping there, he has also represented his national team, England, at the inaugural eNations Cup.
Unfortunately, despite having home advantage, with the 2019 eNations Cup being held in London, Tekkz suffered the old England national team curse, dropping out in the knock out phases and allowing France to take home the trophy. He's far from quitting, however, and in the coming months, we'll surely see him dominating his opponents.
Niklas Raseck
While fans are not really used to seeing an Englishman at the top of the rankings, it’s no surprise when a German player fights their way to the top echelons of a sport.
Second in the all-time prize money earnings standings behind Tekkz, is Niklas Raseck. "NRaseck" competes on the international stage too, and represented the likes of Hoffenheim in the popular Virtual Bundesliga. Hoffenheim fans probably wish his skills could be transferred into real life, to boost their ailing oddschecker Bundesliga odds and avoid the looming mid-table obscurity.
It may not be long before the merchandise at team shops features prominent video gamers as well as high profile players
Spencer FC
Okay, so he is not a high-level gamer, but Spencer Owen is without doubt number one when it comes to having FIFA clout both online and offline.
After all, how many people could have thrown together a game at Wembley Stadium featuring a host of YouTubers playing against the likes of legends such as Robert Pires and Jamie Carragher?
Aside from bringing a huge amount of entertainment value, the link-up with big business to make the game a reality showed the sort of selling power players of eSports games and their fans now have. We only have to wait and see what else Spencer will come up with, in the near future.
Jay Ajayi
Europe is not the only continent where eSports are crossing over into the mainstream, with the MLS in the US also signing up online talent.
There was a special twist thrown into the mix this year as NFL star Jay Ajayi, who plies his trade for the Philadelphia Eagles, also signed a deal to play professionally for MLS side Philadelphia Union as a FIFA gamer who will compete in the new eMLS league.
As far as we know, this is the first time that such a move has been made, with an athlete trading his helmet for a controller, but with many top sportspeople being video game fans, maybe this is the first of many.
Nicolas "nicolas99fc" Villalba
Despite being from Argentina, Villalba plays in the colors of the Swiss club, FC Basel.
He has fast become known as one of the best players of FIFA on the PlayStation, to the point where fans now simply know him as The Iceman.
So here they are, the top FIFA players in the world today. We only need to wait a bit more to see new faces emerging and stealing fans from traditional football.
