EA Sports FC 25 features more icons than ever before, allowing you to fill your squads with legendary players from almost every era of football. Whether they were your dad’s idols, your grandma’s favorite players, or even your own from when you were younger, the sheer variety of icons in the game is a sight to behold.
However, icons are now more accessible than ever. When they were first introduced, only the best of the best had any hope of utilising their services – but now most players will be able to add an icon to their ranks at some point in EA Sports FC 25’s lifecycle.
In addition to a slew of recent features like FC IQ, EA Sports FC 25 features 8 recent icons, 3 male and 5 female, joining the list of over 100 that appeared in the last EA Sports FC. Here’s a look at each of them, as well as some speculation on who we might see next!
EAFC 25 recent icons
- Gianluigi Buffon – 91 OVR – BR – Juventus/Parma/Italy
Gigi Buffon had it all: incredible range, explosive one-on-one reactions and an unparalleled sense of positioning.
How many great players have we seen play well into their 30s in Italy’s top flight? But Buffon has managed to become the Serie A appearances record holder despite not playing in the league for four seasons of his illustrious career.
His enormous frame, likely unique build, and animations will certainly make him a forceful candidate in EAFC 25, where recent goalkeeping playstyles could change the utility goalkeeper meta.
- Gareth Bale – 88 OVR – RW – Wales/Golf/Madrid (in that order)
One of the greatest British footballers of all time, Gareth Bale’s rating is arguably low. He brings a vigorous and unparalleled sporting quality to EAFC 25.
It seems like EA is trying to lower the ratings a bit in FC 25 – the same thing happened with Hazard and Yaya Toure during the recent champion reveal – presumably to give Ultimate Team room for more special cards throughout the year.
Either way, Bale is sure to be a quick, forceful and lethal striker, similar to Garrincha and Jairzinho.
- Lotta Schlein – 90 OVR – ST – Sweden/Lyon
Lotta Schlein is an extremely effective striker who has scored an exceptional number of goals over her 20-year career. She is one of the few players in the top division to have scored more goals than she has played in.
She is similar to another Scandi Lyon legend, Ada Hegerberg from Norway, if you are looking for a comparison: high, but with excellent dribbling and technique. If her PlayStyle+ is Finesse Shot, as rumoured, then she may play a bit like Alex Morgan – who was very good for most of her early game at FC 24.
- Julia Foudy – 90 OVR – CM – USWNT
Homare Sawa and Camille Abily are two examples of the success of introducing Women’s Icons to FC 24, while Julie Foudy looks to be another great player with similar skills: a tireless running midfielder with enough agility to win the ball back, cover it and pass it forward.
- Lillian Thuram – 88 OVR – RB – Parma/Juventus/France
The father of Inter Milan’s Marcus and Juventus’ Khephren, world champion defender Lillian Thuram is a legendary wall of steel who will be a great complement to many of the other Icon defenders.
Thuram is listed as a right-back in the trailer, but is just as (if not more) notable for playing as a CB – a bit like Jules Kounde today – so he will offer options in both positions. Because of this versatility, and because he will be very quick and adept at attacking, he is sure to be both popular and costly.
- Nadine Angerer – 92 OVR – BR – Germany
When I first started watching women’s football, Nadine Angerer was as iconic and fearsome a player as Oliver Khan or Manuel Neuer. She was an unbeatable goalkeeper whose presence was enough to demoralise the opposing team.
Hopefully, the PlayStyles goalkeeper will be able to make even shorter goalkeepers (Angerer is 175cm) useful.
- Aya Miyama – 90 OVR – LM – Japan
Aya Miyama is a true free kick specialist who famously scored two goals in one match against England in the 2007 World Cup. Hopefully, Aya Miyama will prove to be a clever winger who, thanks to her slight build, appears quick.
Dead Ball+ will definitely be her playstyle, but I hope she gets some more significant ones in the promos. Her agility and technical skills mean she’ll probably do well in the recent Rush mode as well.
- Marinette Pichon – 88 OVR – ST – France
It may be challenging to believe, given the powerhouse that France currently holds in both women’s and men’s football, but Marinette Pichon scored the first goal for France at the Women’s World Cup all the way back in 2003, the fourth edition of the tournament sanctioned by FIFA and the first in which France took part.
Almost every highlight of her game involves catching the end of a long through ball or karate kicking the ball into the bullseye – a true number nine.
Full list of EAFC 25 icons
If the list of returning players remains the same, from a few classic players to an entire army of legends, EA Sports FC 25 will feature over 100 icons.
Here’s everyone who appeared in the last game:
- Mia Hamm
- Brigit Prince
- Homare Sawa
- Camille Abilly
- Kelly Smith
- Casillas
- Lev Yashin
- Edwina van der Sar
- Petr Cech
- Peter Schmeichel
- First
- Zinedine Zidane
- David Beckham
- Thierry Henry
- Carlos Alberto
- Cafu
- Marco van Basten
- Eusebio
- Zico
- Roberto Baggio
- Raul
- George the Best
- Andrew Pirlo
- Ronaldo Nazario
- Ronaldinho
- Johan Cryff
- Ferenc Puskas
- Garrincha
- Paolo Maldini
- Gerd Muller
- Sir Bobby Charlton
- Franco Baresi
- Xavi
- Dennis Bergkamp
- Ruud Gullit
- Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Rival
- Didier Drogba
- Eric Cantona
- Socrates
- Philip Lahm
- Gary Lineker
- Christo Stoichkov
- Fabio Cannavaro
- Jairzinho
- Roberto Carlos
- Alexandra Del Piero
- Lothar Matthaus
- Ian Rush
- Gianfranco Zola
- Sol Campbell
- Roy Keane
- Gennaro Gattuso
- Gianluca Zambrotta
- Luis Hernandez
- Mr. Bobby Moore
- Sir Kenny Dalglish
- Javier Zanetti
- Alexander Nesta
- Hugo Sanchez
- Alan Shearer
- Cocoa
- Samuel Eto’o
- Carles Puyol
- Emilio Butragueno
- Luis Figo
- Franck Ribery
- Juan Roman Riquelme
- Michael Laudrup
- Fernando Hierro
- Andriy Shevchenko
- Patrick Vieira
- Robin Van Persie
- Marcel Desailly
- Miroslav Klose
- George Hague
- Ian Wright
- Robert Pires
- Frank Rijkaard
- Nemanja Vidic
- Xabi Alonso
- Emmanuel Petit
- Juan Sebastian Verona
- Ashley Cole
- Michael Essien
- Henrik Larsson
- Hernan Crespo
- Clarence Seedorf
- Michael Ballack
- Fernando Torres
- Davor Suker
- Patrick Kluivert
- Claude Makelele
- John Barnes
- Frank Lampard
- Steven Gerard
- Ronaldo Koeman
- Paul Scholes
- Wayne Rooney
- Bastian Schweinsteiger
- Michael Owen
- Rio Ferdinand
- Paul Nedved
- Laurent Blanc
- David Trezeguet
EAFC 25 Icons Rumors
While this is likely the last time we’ll see recent icons in EA Sports FC 25, it looks like we’ll see a few more legendary names in the future.
The main character is Diego Maradona, who appeared in the classic eleven before EA’s license to exploit his image expired a few years ago.
El Diego and Pele were usually tied for the greatest players of all time, and that would certainly be the case if he ever returned. Plus, his dribbling would be incredible with the recent playing styles.
Another is the lion himself, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Interestingly, Zlatan has a long-standing dispute with EA over the exploit of his image, which was acquired through a deal with FIFPro, as is the case with most other players.
Rumour has it that this dispute was the reason why Zlatan was not given the End of an Era card in FIFA 23, even though he deserved it.
However, with the lines of communication having been opened in the past, there has been speculation that Zlatan could eventually appear as an icon once an agreement has been reached.
Finally, it’s worth discussing which Icons could be demoted to Champions (like Rui Costa and Jari Litmanen in FC 24).
Many of the long-standing Icons who were brought in before the Heroes were invented, such as Luis Hernandez, David Trezeguet and Juan Sebastian Veron, are barely used and could be placed in a lower category. As are some of the other lesser-used forwards, such as Davor Suker and Fernando Torres (I like Torres, but that’s one great season for Liverpool, that’s enough for an Icon).
When Yaya Toure, arguably one of the five best African players of all time, is a Hero, then you can’t really fault anyone on the basis of quality. Then the World Cup is no limit either, as Joan Capdevila won in 2010. Even the Ballon d’Or doesn’t separate the Heroes from the Icons (Jean-Pierre Papin won it in 1991).
