PES 2021 Cover Revealed
  POSTED August 24, 2020
Konami revealed the PES 2021 Season Update. The two iconic players of the last decade join for the first time in a game cover. Ironically instead of a new game, PES 2021 is just a season update.Â
For the first time, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo share a game cover. Also, Alphonso Davies and Rashford complete the scene. Probably one the best PES cover ever but incredibly it will be for a game that has been announced just as a season update.
A few weeks ago, Konami confirmed what it was a rumor. PES 2021 will be a season update. It does not mean it will be just a DLC, but a game whose core will be exactly the same as PES 2020, only updating teams kits, rosters, and probably some other stuff. Also, due to sponsorship agreements that have come to an end, Konami lost important licenses like Milan or Inter that won´t be present in PES 2021.
Cristiano made his debut in PES covers in PES 2008. Cristiano was at Manchester United and he shared the cover with Michael Owen in the UK, Gianluigi Buffon in Italy, Lucas Neill in Australia, and Didier Drogba in France.
Suddenly in PES 2009, everything changed. Messi shocked the international football scene and he became the cover athlete.Â
In PES 2010, Messi shared the game cover with Fernando Torres, he kept being the cover athlete in PES 2011.
In PES 2012 Cristiano returned as the cover athlete. By that time Cristiano was playing at Real Madrid. Even when Cristiano became the top scorer of La Liga with 40 goals, Messi and Barcelona conquered Spain and Europe in 2011, while Cristiano won the Spanish Cup with Real Madrid.
Cristiano continued to be the cover athlete in PES 2013.
During 3 years, neither Cristiano nor Messi were on the cover. In PES 2014 the cover for the game was the first in the series not to feature a football player since PES 3, featuring a UEFA Champions League art. In PES 2015, Mario Göetze, the german world cup hero with his extra-time goal in the final, was the cover athlete. Göetze was playing for Bayern Munich. In PES 2016, the player on the cover was Neymar wearing Brazil National Kit.
In PES 2017, Messi returned in a certain way. The cover of the game features Barcelona players Neymar, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Ivan Rakitić, and Gerard Piqué, as well as the team's home stadium Camp Nou beneath the UEFA Champions League ball design with an Adidas Finale football on the pitch. This cover reflected the exclusive partnership between Barcelona and Konami. When this cover was released Real Madrid was the king of Europe, winning the first Champions League of three in a row.
In PES 2018, Luis Suarez became the cover athlete of the standard edition while Barcelona players like Messi, Neymar, Iniesta, Sergi Roberto, alongside Suarez, were in the legendary edition box art. In PES 2019  Barcelona Philippe Coutinho appeared on the front cover of the standard edition, whereas David Beckham appeared on the front cover of the legend edition.
In the end, the guy that really deserves the cover is not there. Even when Alphonso Davies was incredible during the Champions League, Lewandowski was probably the guy that should be on the front cover of PES 2021.
