Barcelona’s Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi (pictured), who five days ago still topped the FTBL rating of the world’s best midfielders, has dropped to 4th place, even letting new Real Madrid sign Cristiano Ronaldo overtake him.

Messi was first toppled by Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard before Chelsea’s Frank Lampard likewise edged past him after strong performances in World Cup 2010 qualifiers. Messi’s last game was marked by a humiliating 0:2 defeat for Argentina at the hands of modest Colombia.

Messi lost 9.48 rating points in the game to see his tally slump to 182.49 points. Another Argentine star losing steam is Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez. He lost 18.16 rating points in the game against Colombia to see his tally shrink to 110.93 points. He has dropped from 3rd place in the FTBL rating of Argentine forwards to 6th place.