Thought the New Year was going to bring some respite in your desperate hunt for impossible-to-pack Ultimate Team cards? Nu-uh. EA has just unveiled the 2018 Team Of The Year roster for FIFA 19, and it’s rammed with superstars who’ll tease you into opening shiny fresh packs – only to trigger the development of new curse words upon the sight, for the zillionth time this season, of Shinji Kagawa.
In previous editions the TOTY has been La Liga heavy, but this year it features a welcome mix of players from four leagues. Here’s the complete line-up, followed by details of how you can try to acquire one of the these highly sought after items. (Clue: use GR’s FIFA 19 Ultimate Team coins guide to save the required moolah, rather than emptying your bank balance for gold packs.)
- GK: David De Gea (Manchester United)
- LB: Marcelo (Real Madrid)
- CB: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
- CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
- CB: Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
- CAM: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
- CM: Ngolo Kante (Chelsea)
- CM: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
- CF: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
- RW: Kylian Mbappe (Paris SG)
There’s also a fan vote to choose a twelfth and final player, which comprises a shortlist of five: Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Neymar, Mo Salah, and Eden Hazard. Voting ends on 10 January, with that player added to packs on 11 January. Be sure to cast your vote in-game rather than online, as you also get a one-match loan of whichever player you select.
As for the main team, forwards are available in packs now, with midfielders due to be swapped in at 6pm UK time (1pm Eastern/10am Pacific) tonight (8 January). 9 January will see defenders and De Gea take their place, with the whole team then available in packs across the weekend. (So if you’ve been hoarding packs in readiness for TOTY, wait until Saturday morning to open them.)
A better bet is to save up and target one particular card, though you’ll likely need to liquidate your whole club to afford one of those attackers. As of Tuesday 8 Jan, Mbappe is shifting for 4.2 million, Messi for 5.5 million, and Ronaldo for 9.5 million. Marcelo and Varane should be a touch more affordable if you’ve been using our guide across the season.
FIFA 19 is out now – and if you're looking for some fresh blood to liven up your Ultimate Team squad, then check out GR's rundown of recently updated FIFA 19 player faces.
