Featured Image Credit: EA SPORTS
Topics: FIFA Ultimate Team, Ultimate Team, FIFA, EA FC 24, Gaming, Football
Ryan Smart
Topics: FIFA Ultimate Team, Ultimate Team, FIFA, EA FC 24, Gaming, Football
EA FC 24 has officially launched worldwide today - bringing an end to the FIFA series that had spanned 30 years.
EA and FIFA cut ties last year after reportedly not being able to reach an agreement over the cost of the license to use the name of football's governing body.
EA FC 24 doesn't appear to have been hugely affected, though, with all previous leagues still in the game and a raft of new features.
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But the new game does represent the end of an era for any FIFA gamers, with plenty of memories to look back on.
Ultimate Team was only introduced at the beginning of the second half of the FIFA cycle, with the game mode first arriving midway through FIFA 09 initially as a DLC option.
The mode has soared in popularity ever since, and is now questionably the most popular part of each FIFA/EA FC game.
With that has come a range of incredible cards - that range from the sublime to ridiculous, as you will find out below.
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But which players own the 10 worst cards in Ultimate Team history? Let's take a look.
10) David Hollwitz - 40 (FIFA 10)
Union Berlin are flying high in the Bundesliga right now, and playing in Europe, but they were a mid-table second division side when FIFA 10 was released.
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Defensive midfielder David Hollwitz had recently graduated from the club's youth team, but EA didn't feel he warranted higher than a 40 rating.
9) Piotr Zemlo - 40 (FIFA 15)
In fairness to 19-year-old left midfielder Piotr Zemlo, he actually had some decent stats on FIFA 15.
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His 52 defending, 58 pace and 68 physical would have possibly made him a usable defender for a bronze team, but it's probably the position that restricted him to a 40 overall.
By FIFA 16, he was a 54-rated centre-back with similar stats.
8) Paul Tisdale - 40 (FIFA 15)
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The story behind Paul Tisdale's inclusion in FIFA 15 is a strange one.
With Exeter struggling for cash at the time, manager Tisdale registered himself as a player in case of an injury crisis at the League Two side, which would mean the then 41-year-old could sit on the bench.
Given the former midfielder - who played 16 Premier League games in his career - hadn't played for over three years, you can perhaps see why he got a low rating.
7) Luke Roper - 40 (FIFA 13)
If you were an avid watcher of FIFA YouTube videos around FIFA 13, there's a chance you've heard of Exeter midfielder Luke Roper.
At 40 rated and with none of his base card stats over 43, the young midfielder was the joint-worst player in Ultimate Team.
According to the Grecian Archive, Roper later gave up on football and is now working for Deloitte.
6) Alex Cooper - 40 (FIFA 13)
Having been released by Liverpool in 2011, Alex Cooper moved on to play for Scottish club Ross County.
He spent time in the USA and played youth football for Scotland, as well as a one-game spell at Cheltenham in 2016. But EA didn't grant him a rating higher than 40 for FIFA 13.
5) Ben Garrett - 40 (FIFA 12)
Ben Garratt is perhaps harshly deemed as FIFA's worst-ever goalkeeper - but was involved in several England squads at age group level and was in the fringes of the Crewe squad when FIFA 12 came out.
After working his way into the team in 2013, Garratt made over 200 appearances for the club. He was rated at 53 by FIFA 14, and was a 64-rated bronze last year.
4) Viktor Svensson - 40 (FIFA 11)
Defensive midfielder Viktor Svensson was the worst-rated card in FIFA 11, with 31 pace and no other stat over 46.
There were, however, other players that received lower ratings in past FIFAs.
3) Frederic Schaub - 38 (FIFA 10)
At 38 overall, Swiss defender Frederic Schaub was the second-lowest rated player in FIFA 10 - and appears to have his own Wikipedia page solely dedicated to his awful rating.
2) Ian Baraclough - 36 (FIFA 10)
Scunthorpe midfielder Ian Baraclough actually helped his side win the League One play-offs in 2009, although was primarily part of the coaching staff and announced his retirement from playing at the end of the season.
Either way, his 36 rating seemed particularly harsh - although not quite as bad as the one below.
1) Ian Baraclough - 25 (FIFA 10)
Yep, Baraclough takes home top spot, comfortably, for the worst card in FIFA history.
EA decided to give the Scunthorpe man a card 'upgrade' during the season, which actually lowered his rating by 11. The catch? Every base stat on his card was now 11, except for 88 shooting.
The story behind the card - although never officially verified - is believed to stem from an incredible volley Baraclough scored for Scunthorpe back in 2004. EA clearly didn't forget.