This German Player Is FIFA 17's First New Global Cover Athlete In Four Years

One of the surprising stories of FIFA 17 is that Lionel Messi won't be the global cover star. Messi has been on the series' covers for the past four years, but this year, a new athlete is taking over. Publisher EA announced today that the German player Marco Reus has won the cover vote.

Reus plays for the German national team in addition to Borussia Dortmund. He won the most of 3.1 million votes cast in the competition, beating Manchester United's Anthony Martial, Real Madrid's James Rodriguez, and Chelsea's Eden Hazard.

The FIFA 17 website proclaims, "Strong with either foot, lethal from a dead ball, and with a knack for scoring important goals, the German international has featured in the Bundesliga Team of the Year four times and is the heart and soul of his hometown club."

FIFA 17 launches on September 27 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. It'll include a host of new features and changes, such as a story mode following the character Alex Hunter as he attempts to make it big in the English Premier League. You can check out the story trailer here and read our preview of the game here. The story mode will only be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, however.