The Best Low Budget Icons On FIFA 22

FIFA 22 is the only football game on the mass market at the moment, meaning for the first time, fans of the beautiful game really have no choice.

It's a big year for EA Sports; the new Konami title should be polished and ready for next year, as should the other title set to land on home computers. That is the future, but the here and now is all about the FIFA franchise.

Whilst it has many game modes, the one that pulls in millions of players is the Ultimate Team mode. It plays on the fact every fan thinks they can put together a team better than a manager; they believe they know the best formation for the world's most talented players. In Ultimate Team, they get to prove it. They assemble a squad of players linked by chemistry, meaning that they either share a nationality, club team or domestic league with another player. The better the chemistry in your team, the better they play together. It's such a simple premise, but it's resulted in huge revenue for EA Sports.

Some of the best cards fetch high in-game prices, and the most lucrative are called icon cards. These are players from the past, such as Pele or Socrates, as demonstrated by Futhead. They automatically have chemistry with any player, making them an immediate fit, even if your team is exclusively one nationality or league. Also, they tend to be overpowered cards because they feature legends of the game. EA released three versions of each icon: a base, mid and top. As a Bwin Sports infographic on FIFA 22 explains, there's always a battle at the beginning of the game to find affordable cards for your team, and that usually rules out icon cards for new players. However, the base cards are quite affordable this year; in the past, you've needed hundreds of thousands of coins for one icon, but this year, fewer than 100,000 coins will bag you an icon such as base Ian Rush or Roy Keane. Even if you want a decent one, 150,000 coins are enough.

Who are the most attractive affordable icons in the game? These three can all be bought for less than 150,000.

Franco Baresi (91) – 128,000

Baresi is a great defensive card and worthy of eyeing on two conditions. Firstly, make sure you have some pace at the side of him; he's down on 69 and will get torn apart by quicker players. Secondly, make sure you find a good chemistry card that accentuates that pace. His defensive attributes (94) and physicality are good, and his high rating helps get your overall team rating up. He's cheapest on PC at 128,000; console owners pay between 133,000 and 156,000.

Jay-Jay Okocha (87) – 110,000

This is the mid-icon Okocha, and one that, like Baresi, needs a good chemistry card; might we suggest a hunter to help boost the shooting as well. Once he's got that, he's a real handful, with five-star skill moves, 87 acceleration and 92 dribbling. There are better right-wingers out there, such as Mo Salah, but if it is an icon you crave, then he's a great pick. His price is down from 160,000 in FIFA 21, demonstrating the new pricing around icons.

Christian Vieri (90) – 143,000

Unbelievably, this is Vieri's top icon card, and it still comes in at under 100,000 coins. Pace is a problem again, EA Sports doesn't seem to think old players were all that quick, but he becomes much better with a hunter. 91 shooting is sensational even without the chemistry card, whilst his physicality at 84 should bully the best defenders. This card has been as high as 200,000 on PC but can be found below 150,000 at the moment. He's also left-footed, so he works well on a two-man attack's left side.