EA Sports FC 24 downgrades Rui Costa and Jari Litmanen to Heroes, Berbatov added

Another batch of five EA Sports FC 24 Ultimate Team Heroes have been revealed, but this time EA is taking away as well as giving.

Jari Litmanen and Rui Costa, both considered to be some of the least usable Icons in FIFA games, have been downgraded to Heroes.

While this is understandable, unless you’re Portuguese, Finnish, support Milan or Fiorentina, or are just a huge fan of Louis van Gaal’s awesome ‘90s Ajax team, hopefully this will make them both more accessible and fun to slot into squads. Both of them were exciting players, and it’s sad to see two bonafide legends written off by the community so completely.

As well as that storied pair, another long-awaited addition has also been confirmed: Dimitar Berbatov. The languid Bulgarian with a touch softer than a newborn kitten will have a new 88-rated Bundesliga Hero card celebrating his breakout with Leverkusen before moving to Spurs and the Premier League. Not only is one of the most-used skill moves in the game, “the berbaspin”, named after him, but it will be really cool to see how his velcro ball control and pinpoint finishing translates to virtual football.

Also joining the roster in EA Sports FC 24 is another Portuguese Hero, Paulo Futre. 89 overall might seem quite underrated for a player who came second to only Ruud Gullit in the 1987 Ballon D’or voting, but while we have a lot of Icons and Heroes in forward positions Futre was very much a winger rather than a striker. Will this be a year where crossing and headers are overpowered again? Let’s hope not.

And of course, EA Sports FC 24 will also feature women’s footballers on the same pitch as the men in Ultimate Team. The latest female Hero to be revealed is Sonia Bompastor, famous for winning the Women’s Champions League with Lyon before it was cool, before going on to win the same competition as a manager - becoming the first woman to win the Champions league as a player and a coach, let alone with the same team. Like Berbatov and Futre, a greater focus on ball-retention in EA Sports FC 24 will surely help her midfield skill set to shine.

The full list is as follows:

• Sonia Bompastor - France, D1, 89 overall
• Paulo Futre - Portugal, Liga Portugal, 89 overall
• Jari Litmanen - Finland, Eredivisie, 89 overall
• Rui Costa - Portugal, Serie A, 89 overall
• Dimitar Berbatov - Bulgaria, Bundesliga, 88 overall

This is the second tranche of Ultimate Team Heroes to be revealed for EA Sports FC 24, after the inclusions of Alex Scott, Carlos Tevez and Wesley Sneijder were also confirmed.

EA Sports FC 24’s release date is set for September 29, 2023.