FC 24 is currently celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Ultimate Team mode. But if you look at the real performance of some gold cards, you will see that EA was already in a patronizing mood when assigning FC 24’s ratings. We look at players who have not been able to justify their ratings so far.
What’s the matter? The overall ratings and how they come about are a big topic, especially before the start and at the beginning of a new FIFA/EA FC part. Controversies often arise that some players are too weak or too strong.
After half a year of EA FC 24 and having played more than half of the season, it can be said that some stars are doing better in the game than on the real football pitch. For some, this was already apparent before the season.
We introduce you to 4 players where you can ask why they have such a good rating.
4 players whose performance and rating do not match
What criteria did we look for? We looked at the real statistics of players from the previous season 22/23 and the current season 23/24 to identify any trends. We used the assessments and analyzes from Sofascore to help us do this. These include data from almost all players in most leagues and competitions and therefore provide a good overview.
We limited our selection to cards that received at least an 84 rating. Players who were unable to play due to injuries and suspensions were excluded.
Péter Gulácsi (84) – RB Leipzig
The Hungarian was the undisputed number 1 in Leipzig’s goal for years and was always a reliable source of support. He was one of the top three best keepers in the Bundesliga for a long time. Tragically, Gulácsi tore his cruciate ligament in October 2022 and did not make his comeback between the posts until 2024.
But after his injury, things are anything but smooth for the goalkeeper. Statistics prove this very clearly. According to Sofascore, he has a negative value for goals prevented (-0.56), meaning he allows more goals than he has to save. In comparison: Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim), the Bundesliga keeper with the highest grades and a hot contender for a place in the Team of the Season, has a strong score of 5.38.
As part of a revelation, we made our first team of the season prediction for the Bundesliga. Here you can find the article.
Even before Gulácsi’s cruciate ligament tear, there were already signs of a negative trend in the Bundesliga. Before his injury, he only managed 0.56 goals prevented per game. If Gulácsi doesn’t improve again here, his next card in the next Ultimate Team should be revised down at least 2 or 3 rating points.
Marcos Acuna (85) – Sevilla FC
The left-back and his team are playing a season to forget. The perennial winner of the Europa League is only in 16th place in the domestic league and has to be careful not to fall even lower. They were also eliminated from the Champions League without a single win. This may also have upset many owners of Acuña’s Road To The Knockouts card.
The low form is also related to the poor performance of the actually so reliable left-back.
The Argentine has only contributed a single goal in 14 games in LaLiga this season. Not enough for a full-back in an actual top team. With him in the lineup, Sevilla FC always conceded at least one goal. While in the past it was his lack of discipline that prevented him from even better performances (3 red cards 22/23), this season several injuries in particular have set him back again and again.
There could be a lot of downgrades in FC 25 for Acuña and his teammates. Since he has the strongest rating of all players at Sevilla FC with an overall rating of 85, the downward correction could be the most severe for him.
Ciro Immobile (85) – Lazio (Lazio in FC 24)
In recent years, the Italian striker’s rating has been steadily declining. While he still had a rating of 87 in FIFA 22, it was corrected downwards by one point in each of the following two games. In FC 24 Immobile only has an 85 and this season clearly shows that even this rating could be too high.
In the 22/23 season, Immobile was unable to build on his strong performances from previous years, where he always scored at least 20 goals. He only managed 12 goals and 5 assists. Apparently the Italian will beat this negative value. In 25 games so far, Immobile has only scored 6 goals and one assist.
The most serious thing: Immobile undercuts his value for expected goals, because according to statistics (8.37) he should have had at least two more goals in his account. In comparison, Inter’s top striker Lautaro Martínez exceeded his expected goals by more than 8 goals (23 goals at 14.93 expected).
The aging goalscorer was perhaps lucky to even get an 85 card in FC 24. His numbers show that it was probably Immobile’s last strong card.
He could suffer the same fate as other players in FC 24: 5 old favorites who are too bad for your team this year
Marco Verratti (86) – Al-Arabi/Qatar (only available at Paris Saint-Germain in FC 24)
For a long time, Verratti was one of the most important pillars at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and in the Italian national team. In September 2023, after disagreements with his new coach at PSG, he moved to Al-Arabi in Qatar and can no longer compete with the best players there.
But even before his move, Verratti had his worst season since the introduction of player ratings (15/16) on Sofascore, with a grade average of 7.02. Verratti wasn’t really able to convince in his last two appearances for the national team (March 2023) and hasn’t been called up for over a year since his last appearance.
In FC 24 you can still buy Verratti as a PSG player. His card dates from the start of the season. You can no longer pull it out of the packs since the Qatari league is not present in the game. Due to his involvement with Al-Arabi, the 86 version may have been Verratti’s last strong card.
This brings us to the end of our list. Finally, we are interested in your opinion. Are you satisfied with our small selection? Can you think of any players who were overrated by EA and didn’t deserve their rating? Feel free to write it to us in the comments.
Finally, we have a recommendation for you: I tested the most popular special card in Ultimate Team and now I know why it is played so much