eFootball 2025 Lionel Messi Starter Pack Review

KONAMI’s eFootball had a banger of a new season start with the v4.0.0 update, which was followed by the v4.1.0 update, which was decent enough as well. Within these updates, something that has stayed constant is the two packs that you can purchase with coins, the Starter Pack. In these two packs, you have two iconic footballers and eFootball ambassadors, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. Of course, you can buy both these packs, but always there is this question about which one to go for if you have funds only for one pack. Now, here is my dedicated review of one of the packs in eFootball 2025, the Lionel Messi Starter Pack.

eFootball 2025 Lionel Messi Starter Pack: Contents and Messi Review

The pack in total contains EXP training points (up to 4,000 x 22) and an in-game strip apart from Messi. There are 10 highlight players available as well, which you can enjoy playing with for sure, but there are some positives and negatives in this pack. Let me begin the review by discussing the star pick of this pack, Leo Messi.

Leo Messi

• Position: RWF
• Playstyle: Prolific Winger

This is a playstyle that we love the most on wingers, as we need them to behave like a winger. When you look at this card, this will remind you of the Iconic Moment Messi card we got back in PES 2021, yes, the times when we still used to call eFootball PES. That was a broken card, but we could enjoy it for a couple of months as eventually, it transitioned into a Legendary Messi card, and that wasn’t that broken.

Now the card is back, but it comes with that fancy Double Booster gimmick, which I’m not really a fan of, especially since I didn’t pull any from the Epic packs. But jokes aside, this card can reach a whopping 100 overall with a single booster applied without a manager boost, so those who love crazy overall ratings will definitely enjoy adding this to their squads.

So, to start things off, I have him at the basic auto-allocate build, so I will talk about that first. Messi’s card strengths include impressive offensive awareness, which ensures he occupies the right attacking positions. His tight possession can also improve to 89 with further boosters, making him a significant threat in crowded areas, he is pretty smooth on the ball hence you can zip quickly away from defenders.

While his passing stat of 77 isn’t elite, it remains reliable, and additional skills like Weighted Pass can improve it further. When building Messi as a center forward, prioritizing offensive awareness is crucial, particularly since Prolific Wingers often remain near the sidelines without good positioning. Focusing on tight possession can be something you can look at. Skills like Outside Curler or First Time Shot can also add variety to your finishing ability.

So, the question remains. Who should go for him? In my opinion, if you already own high-tier cards, like World Cup Messi with 90+ physicality, you might not feel the need for this new version unless you notice performance drops with your older cards, potentially due to Konami updates. I believe Physical Contact is still meta, so the WC Messi remains untouchable.

Alexis Mac Allister

• Position: CMF
• Playstyle: Orchestrator

A good tempo card that helps in dictating play with precision passing and high game intelligence. Stats go up to 100 at max but he isn’t that a worthy card that makes him a game-changer.

Julian Alvarez

• Position: CF
• Playstyle: Deep-Lying Forward

Alvarez is effective at linking up with midfielders, dropping back when needed to help create plays thanks to his play style. His positioning and movement are decent, and you can view him as an all-rounder given how much utility he provides to your squad, he can fit in a couple of extra attacking positions.

Frenkie De Jong

• Position: CMF
• Playstyle: Orchestrator

Another good card, but this surely isn’t his best, but it is really hard to match that POTW CB De Jong card. His dribbling and ability to progress the ball upfield can be a great trait, but his passing is just phenomenal with his card, best fit for that Orchestrator role.

Ousmane Dembele

• Position: RWF
• Playstyle: Prolific Winger

Dembele brings pace and dribbling to the wing, very silky smooth on the ball. His dribbling skill set makes him a threat on the flank and useful in stretching the play. But watch out for that horrendous conditioning and form.

Keilor Navas

• Position: GK
• Playstyle: Offensive Goalkeeper

The stats don’t speak much for Navas, but he is another solid backup GK option. He is solid at shot-stopping with fantastic reflexes and can play off his line confidently even if you field a high line.

Marcus Acuna

• Position: LB
• Playstyle: Offensive Fullback

Acuna pushes up the field well, and another interesting aspect of this card is that you can field him anywhere on the left flank. If are playing him at LB, he tends to struggle a bit defensively because of that low awareness, so build a couple of points towards improving it.

Nicolas Otamendi

• Position: CB
• Playstyle: The Destroyer

Otamendi is a physical defender focused on breaking up plays, which he is stellar at with amazing tackling and awareness. But, he tends to be too aggressive, which can lead to fouls or poor positioning. His speed is a concern, especially when you are hit with counters as with The Destroyer playstyle he moves way too up.

Fabian Ruiz

• Position: CMF
• Playstyle: Box-to-Box

Very weird card. Not good enough for an offensive option, nor to be a balanced middleman in a three-man midfield. Ruiz has a decent work rate but can get bullied off the ball, lacking both Physicality and Balance.

Gonzalo Montiel

• Position: RB
• Playstyle: Offensive Fullback

Montiel likes to join the attack, adding width on the right, but a similar problem as Acuna, his defensive positioning often leaves gaps. His attacking abilities aren’t that great either. However, this guy is very rapid on his feet with good stamina. An underrated pick here, but you need to give him some defending skills.

Arturo Vidal

• Position: CMF
• Playstyle: The Destroyer

Vidal is strong and aggressive in winning the ball and decent on the ball too. Since this card is of him past his prime, you can see his stamina rapidly going down, which is also because of his aggression. Decent card, nothing much to say.

If you are looking at the overall value of the pack, apart from Julian Alvarez, I see no standout in this one in terms of the use case. Maybe Frenkie and Dembele are decent picks but with better cards out there. Although trying out Messi is just fantastic. You are pulling a Double Booster winger card who is explosive, a fantastic dribbler and a finisher for just 1800 coins. That’s really good value. As I mentioned earlier, if you don’t have the WC Messi cards, this pack is a no-brainer.

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