FIFA Ultimate Team is now in its 11th year. There have been some incredible FIFA titles and a few disappointing ones along the way. Ultimate Team revolutionized the way sports video games are played. Gamers were given the opportunity to work for and acquire better cards to improve their teams. The mode is a cross between career mode and a trading card game.
The best part of Ultimate Team is being able to face off against friends and other clubs online. FUT is all about finding the hidden gems, particularly early in the game. For some reason, there are always a few cards every year that are completely broken. This list will cover 10 of the most notoriously overpowered cards over the past 11 years.
10 Nilmar 80 OVR (FIFA 11)
Nilmar was the blue collar Ronaldinho in FIFA 11. His card had 90 pace, 85 dribbling, and enough strength to hold off defenders. The Brazilian beast had good finishing and physical stats as well. The card was unreal in-game, it felt like Nilmar had 99 in every stat. He could finish on either foot with 5 star weak foot and four star skills. FIFA 11 was one of the most fun games in the franchise, and this card was one of the reasons why.
9 Seydou Doumbia 82 OVR (FIFA 12)
Doumbia was an overpowered FUT card for seven years. Pairing this guy with Vagner Love was just unfair in FIFA 12. The card was the definition of sweat with 94 pace and 76 physical. There were a number of unstoppable players in FIFA 12, but Doumbia has to be at the top of the list. Pace and dribbling were the most important stats in FIFA 12. Doumbia was rapid and had 85 dribbling.
8 Lucas 82 OVR (FIFA 12)
The Brazilian skiller fits perfectly in a squad with Robinho, Pato, and Nilmar. FIFA 12 had some of the best Brazilian cards in the history of FUT, and Lucas was one of the best cards of all time.
Pato was left out of this list because the card was 85 rated. Lucas had 90 pace, 89 dribbling, and good enough shooting to finish around the net. The ball would stick to the character's feet and defenses had no answer.
7 Emmanuel Emenike 81 OVR (FIFA 13)
Emenike is probably the most dominant FUT card of all time. The player was just as effective as Messi and Ronaldo in-game because of how fast and strong he was. Emenike's 81 rated card had 94 strength and 93 acceleration. Fast defenders could not keep up with him, and strong defenders would be overpowered by his strength.
The card's shooting stats were ridiculous for an 81 rated card. The Nigerian striker had 85 finishing, 88 shot power, and 84 longshots on an 81 rated card. Gamers could shoot from almost anywhere on the pitch and put the ball on target. There will never be an 81 rated card as ridiculously broken as this one.
6 Alexander Esswein 75 OVR (FIFA 13)
Something had to be wrong with the coding for this card because Esswein played like a Team of the Season player. Esswein would outpace everyone and place bullets in the top corner of the net. The card felt like it had 99 pace, 99 shot power, and 99 strength. A one-two-through ball was enough to get Esswein in the open and score, it was that simple. It is baffling that the card was only 75 rated. Almost every team in FUT that year had Esswein at striker.
5 Mame Diouf 79 OVR (FIFA 14)
FIFA 14 was the year of overpowered non-rare cards. Son, Ramos, Draxler, and De Bruyne are just a few examples. Diouf was extremely fast, strong, and a reliable finisher around the net. There was something special about the card that is difficult to describe. Dribbling was less of a factor that year, so Diouf's subpar dribbling did not hinder his performance in-game.
4 Loic Remy 80 OVR (FIFA 15)
Many players still have nightmares about this card. Remy was lightning fast and could jump extremely high. Any team using the card would have the option to play a ball through to him or just cross it in. Similar to the old Falcao cards, this card would win almost every header. There was no possible way to keep him from scoring except pray for the best.
3 Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang 82 OVR (FIFA 16)
Aubameyang had to appear somewhere on this list. The speed demon has been an incredible player in Ultimate Team since FIFA 12. This year in particular he had 95 pace and 81 shooting with 77 strength. With finishing in the 80s, Auba was the most frustrating cards to play against. Pace was the most important stat that year, and defenses were torn apart by this cheap low rated card.
2 Sadio Mane 82 OVR (FIFA 17)
Mane's 82 rated card had 94 pace and 90 agility. The card felt like a cheap Messi with decent shooting. There were only a few cards with higher pace, and none of them had better dribbling in-game. This card was a winter upgrade, but the 79 rated version of the card was nearly as good. For just a couple thousand coins, Mane was the top cheap best in FIFA 17.
1 Wilfried Zaha 83 OVR (FIFA 20)
With 91 pace and 87 agility, Zaha was one of the most impactful players last year. The card was trading for just over a thousand coins at one point. Zaha had decent strength and good balance to hold off defenders as well. On paper, his shooting was not very impressive, but he scored almost every time in-game.
The card was one of the more memorable ones from the past few years. Around FIFA 15, EA started including less low-ranked cards that could compete with the high-rated players. Zaha was one of the few cards that reminded gamers of the early days of FUT.