The FIFA 15 player ratings are out. After a week of teasing on EA's part, the top 50 rated players on the upcoming football simulation game have been unveiled following the end of the publisher's countdown. Since last Wednesday, star's scores have been drip fed to us 10 at a time until last Sunday's reveal of the top 10. There have been a lot of movers and shakers over the last 365 days and the top 50 really does go to show that 12 months is a heck of a long time in football. To underline that point, Nemanja Vidic was the 15th best player on '14, and the former Manchester United star is now nowhere to be seen. In his place are five brand new additions to the top 50. Players who were relatively under the radar a year ago have since come to the fore off the back of some dazzling performances, with names that were once at the back of our minds now on the tip of our tongues. Comparing last year's top 50 with this year's makes for intriguing reading, and you'd be surprised by how much has changed. With that in mind we thought we'd take a look at the 12 Most Improved Players on FIFA 15. Some of the stars on this list weren't in the top 50 last year but have gone on to join the elite while others have made marginal - though no less notable - climbs. If you think we've missed anyone off, add to this story in the comments thread.
12. Gareth Bale - 17th To 14th
World's most expensive player Gareth Bale isn't quite in the top 10 yet, but he's inching ever closer to the elite. The Real Madrid winger has edged three places since FIFA 14 hit store shelves and can now be found in 14th place. This somewhat glacial climb is no less notable however as it indicates that the Welshman is indeed realising his potential. Given the enormity of his price tag, the pressure is (perhaps understandably) fierce for Bale to make a success of himself at the Bernabeu with notebook-wielding journos waiting for the slightest sign that he might yet flop. So far at least his critics have been left disappointed because the former Spurs star has excelled in Spain. Bale scored 15 La Liga goals last term and added a further six in Europe - one of which came in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid as the planet's costliest star helped secure his new club 'La Decima' - a tenth European crown. That alone should cement his reputation among fans as one of the best ever Galácticos, though the ink hasn't yet dried on his story. Still, if the 25-year-old continues putting in the same sort of performances that ensured his debut campaign in Spain was a successful one, we could see Bale rise even higher up the ratings in the FIFA franchise, and perhaps by the time '16 ships in September 2015, he will have finally cracked the top 10.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
