Ronaldinho center stage on FIFA 07 cover

Soccer's international flavor will once again be on display on the cover of Electronic Arts' FIFA 07. The publisher today announced that it has signed seven soccer stars to grace the cover of the upcoming sports game, which ships to stores on October 3.

Though the players on each cover will be determined by region, one athlete will be featured on all covers. Brazil's Ronaldinho, who plays professionally for FC Barcelona, will be featured as the center piece of each cover and will be flanked with local stars. Ronaldinho, who was featured on the cover of FIFA 06, is the two-time FIFA player of the year and apparently a big fan of EA's FIFA franchise.

In North America, LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan and Mexico's Francisco Fonseca will be featured alongside Ronaldinho on the cover. Similar honors go to Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in the UK (pictured), Bayern Munich's Lukas Podolski in Germany, Valencia's David Villa in Spain, and Olympique Lyonnais's Juninho Pernambucano in France.

EA also announced that it has extended its licensing deals with two professional soccer leagues. The publisher reached an agreement with the Premier League for an additional four years of licensing, extending the deal through the 2010-2011 season. EA also extended its partnership with the Mexican First Division League, but no terms were announced.

FIFA 07 is being released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Game Boy Advance, and PC. For more information on the game, check out GameSpot's preview.