After confirming FIFA 23 as the last instalment in the FIFA franchise, EA Sports is planning new features for the next edition of the popular football simulator and one of those features is the addition of new Icons in FIFA Ultimate Team.
The popularity of classic players and football legends keep rising thanks to EA’s addition of Icons in the FIFA series, creating a significant selling point of FUT to players. The current roster includes former football stars such as Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham or Pelé.
However many other football icons are missing and fans are eagerly waiting for the release of FIFA 23 to see if EA Sports added their favorite football legends in the game or not. Based on popular request and recent rumors, here are five FUT Icons that we would love to see in the final edition of FIFA.
Edgar Davids
The Dutch midfielder confirmed his legendary status while playing for Juventus from 1998 to 2004. His outstanding performances on the pitch has made fans speculate that he might be added to the FIFA 23 Icons roster. His long dreadlocks and glasses that he wore due to glaucoma were his trademark on the field. Davids was an energetic and combative player and also creative with the ball, making him one of the best defensive midfielders the world has ever seen.
Juventus' Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids celebrate during a 2000 match against Lecce (for @ShmeeShmaa): pic.twitter.com/2jYUIqAa
— SI Vault (@si_vault) April 18, 2012
Louis van Gaal labeled David as ‘The Pitbull’ due to his hard-tackling style, aggression, and marking ability. What’s more? Pele chose Edgar as one of the FIFA 100 greatest living footballers. Davids began his career at Ajax, helping his team secure domestic and international titles before moving to AC Millan and later joining Juventus, recording a successful spell. In 2004, Edgar was loaned to Barcelona before returning to Inter Milan and later joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2005. Edgar Davids retired at 37 after playing for Crystal Palace and was later appointed as player-manager at club Barnet in 2012.
Alfred Di Stefano
Di Stefano would be one of the most extraordinary Icon cards to ever be in FIFA Ultimate Team. He has more than one nationality having starred for Argentina, Columbia, and Spain national teams, however he never managed to play in a World Cup. Di Stefano helped Real Madrid secure five European titles in a row, having featured 282 games and scoring 216 goals for Los Blancos. The legendary Real Madrid player was a powerful, fast-paced, skillful, and prolific goalscorer, with great stamina, creativity, and vision, who could play almost anywhere on the pitch.
In 1989, Alfredo Di Stéfano won the Super Ballon d'Or in recognition of an extraordinary career.
⚽ 308 #RealMadrid goals
🏆 17 trophies with @RealMadrid as a player
🥇 2x Ballon d'Or winner (1957 and 1959)#RMFansEnCasa | #StayHome pic.twitter.com/yUbqZtASl4— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 25, 2020
Many might not know this but Di Stefano agreed to join Manchester United in 1958 on a short-loan after the horrific Munich air disaster but astoundingly the Football Association blocked the move. His uniqueness will be evident on the FIFA 23 Icon card with three cards on different nationalities, increasing the possibility of hybrids depending on the card at hand, creating a unique addition for Icons in FIFA 23.
Zico
The former Brazillian attacking midfielder spent most of his professional career in the colors of Flamengo and the Brazil national team. The ‘White Pele’ is deemed as one of the greatest players of all time due to his creativeness, vision, technical skills, eye for the goal, and clinical finishing. Arthur Antunes Coimbra was one of the best passers to ever play the game and the world remembers him for managing to bend the ball in all directions making him one of the greatest free-kick specialists in history.
Prince Gabigol and King Zico! Flamengo's idols
🔃 and ❤Appreciated. pic.twitter.com/UWi8eG3NEH
— Kunin (@kunindesign) May 24, 2022
Zico is regarded as one of the finest Brazilian football legends to never win a World Cup trophy even after participating with Brazil in the 1978, 1982, and 1986 World Cups. Zico stands fifth as the highest goal scorer on Brazil’s national team, having made 71 official appearances and scoring 48 goals.
Gerd Müller
The world remembers the ‘Der Bomber’ for his clinical finishes in the six-yard box, securing his name as one of the best goalscorers in football history. The renowned striker made 62 appearances and scored 68 goals for West Germany at international level. In addition, Gerd Müller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches while playing for Bayern Munich and become the record holder for most goals scored in the league that is yet to be broken!
Gerd #Müller in the #Bundesliga:
427 games
365 goalsHappy Birthday to a true legend of the beautiful game! ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/p28GbrTNpp
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) November 3, 2017
Müller scored ten goals during the 1970 FIFA World Cup for West Germany, receiving the Golden Boot as the top scorer. ‘Bomber der Nation’ has held the World Cup’s goal-scoring record of 14 goals for 32 years being overthrown by fellow compatriot Miroslav Klose in 2014.
Gabriel Batistuta
Batistuta started his career with Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina in 1988 before moving to River Plate and Boca Juniors, where he helped both teams win titles. He became immortalised in the football history books after joining Fiorentina in 1991 and after 10 seasons ‘Batigol’ became the most prolific striker in Viola’s history with 203 goals in 331 games across all club competitions. Fiorentina fans also remember his efforts in helping the team return to Serie A after being relegated to Serie B in 1993.
Batistuta’s legacy is recognized with a life-sized bronze statue erected in 1996 due to his outstanding performance for Fiorentina. In 1996, Gabriel clinched the Copa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana titles but failed to win the luxurious Serie A trophy with the Tuscan club which might have become one of greatest underdog stories of all time. In 2000, Batistuta moved to AS Roma as the highest-paid transfer for players over 30, which stood at £30 million until Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 to break the highest 30-year old transfer record. Batigol played on loan for Inter Milano in 2003 before playing his last two seasons for AL-Arabi and later retired in 2005.
Gabriel Batistuta was born on this day in 1969… Retweet to wish the @acffiorentina legend happy birthday! #Batigol pic.twitter.com/cIUSLMbB6W
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 1, 2015
At international level, Batistuta was Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer with 54 goals in 77 official matches. His record was surpassed by multiple Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi in 2016. El Ángel Gabriel is still Argentina’s all-time top scorer in the FIFA World Cup with 10 goals.
What football Icons would you like to see added in FIFA 23? Let us know in the comments below.