Not just play FIFA, but dominate. The Portuguese star is currently ranked number one in the world on the FIFA Ultimate Team Champions leaderboard, after going 30-0 yet again during the weekend league. And it’s only Saturday afternoon. I had a look at the live FUT Champions leaderboard this morning and there Jota is, sitting pretty at number one. This isn’t one of those stories about a footballer who’s decent at FIFA. Jota is astonishingly good at the game, and winning 30 matches without loss in FUT’s most hardcore competitive mode is the kind of record the pro FIFA players shoot for. This isn’t a one-off, either. Jota has gone 30-0 in FUT Champions before. He’s just consistently brilliant, wrecking his opponents game after game. In May 2020, Jota beat now-Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final of the FIFA 20 ePremier League Invitational. Watch that match in the video below: “Since my dad gave me my first PlayStation as a kid, it’s been like another passion of mine. I always played football on it,” Jota told The Athletic in December 2020. Via Jota’s esports-focused Twitter page we know the team he’s currently using in Ultimate Team. He’s got his own 99-rated card slotted in there at left midfield - EA gives some pro-players a special 99-rated card of themselves to play with. Unfair, I know. Elsewhere, Jota has four icon cards: Brazilian Ronaldo, Portuguese goal machine Eusébio, Dutch great Ruud Gullit and French midfield legend Patrick Vieira. He’s got our friend Nick Pope in goal, too. The Burnley stopper is considered one of the best goalkeepers in FIFA because of his height, which is the subject of some debate. Clearly, Jota is putting some serious time into FIFA at the moment, and why not? He’s currently injured. This week, under-pressure Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said Jota is at least a fortnight away from returning after a knee injury that has kept him out since the start of December. Before his injury, Jota was in fine form, scoring five goals in nine Premier League appearances for his new club. Perhaps the rest of the PlayStation FUT Champions leaderboard will be hoping for Jota’s swift return to action in the real world, so they can have a better chance in the virtual.
