Wycombe Wanderers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa might be the most recognisable face in English football outside of the Premier League.
Despite him still plying his trade in the fourth tier, the League Two striker’s profile has been boosted significantly by becoming the strongest player in the world – thanks to FIFA stats.
It’s a discussion most gamers have before the release of the annual edition of the game, though Akinfenwa is apparently in danger of losing his crown when FIFA 18 comes around.
But, surprisingly, it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when Akinfenwa wasn’t the strongest player on the game – and when he was first introduced into the game, he wasn’t anywhere near.
We’ve taken a look back at the evolution of Akinfenwa on the game, and how he got to this point…
FIFA 05
It was only the second time players from outside the Premier League were included in the game, but here’s the thing – Akinfenwa only had a strength rating of 45.
45.
Let us repeat that again – Adebayo Akinfenwa had a strength rating of just 45.
According to FIFA Index, his strength rating was 45 and his pace was 72. You can only assume the ratings people at EA Sports might have had an off day.
To be fair, League Two on FIFA back then wasn’t exactly the most accurate – Leyton Orient’s South African defender Justin Miller was black in the game, and white in real life.
FIFA 06
Now we’re talking – someone must have seen the earlier error and amended their records accordingly – Akinfenwa’s strength rocketed from 45 to 88 for FIFA 06.
If someone did that in real life, you might be asking some serious questions – but on the game, it was probably just a case of getting increasingly more accurate stats.
FIFA 07
Akinfenwa must have lost a touch of timber in his time at Swansea, as his strength rating went back down to 86 for the 2007 edition of the game.
FIFA 08
Unfortunately there’s no record of Akinfenwa’s stats on 2008 – he was signed by Millwall in November 2007, and was before a time that EA Sports could add players into a game willy-nilly.
FIFA 09
Adebayo’s strength retained a steady level of 86 for the 09 game – tellingly, his sprint speed is now just 52.
FIFA 10
The first signs of FUT cards, so check this out…
And now we’re starting to see the increase of Brand Akinfenwa. His strength hit the 90s for the first time, as he awarded a 91 rating.
FIFA 11
Only six editions ago, and Akinfenwa was started to make headlines. Beast Mode was warming up, as he was awarded a 93 strength rating.
FIFA 12
We’ll brush over the fact he’s got the same picture for three consecutive FIFAs, as Akinfenwa’s strength rating jumped to an incredible 97.
FIFA 13
Well this is slightly unfortunate – he’s got a new image, but his strength rating went down to 96.
But WAIT! Akinfenwa received an IF card for his TOTW9 performance, and he reached the magical 99 strength rating.
The card that put Akinfenwa in the history books.
FIFA 14
Form is temporary… as are FIFA IF stats. The extra hours in the gym must have paid off for Bayo overall however, as he reached a base rating of 97 once again.
By the way, we know we’re brushing over a lot of other stats, but they’re not worth looking at, believe us.
FIFA 15
Still 97. Come on, EA Sports weren’t going to continue to be so cruel were they and not ever give him a base rating of 99 strength?
FIFA 16
Akinfenwa’s rating of 98 strength left him agonisingly one short of a maximum 99 rating… and finally…
FIFA 17
Three cards so far for Akinfenwa, and still a base rating of just 98 for strength.
However, Bayo picked up two more 99 strength rated cards in this edition of the game – thanks to the Movember promotion and the Hallowe’en Ultimate Scream.
So there you go – Akinfenwa has never had a normal rating of 99 strength, with the closest he’s ever received at a base rating of 98.
But those three magical IF 99 cards will always be his.
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