Pay nothing and win: The cheapest FUT meta players in FIFA 23

There will always be a relatively short list of FUT items that are universally agreed upon to be meta-defining. A couple of months into a FIFA cycle, those are usually all special items. But early on, generic gold cards are what most FUT players have at their disposal.

We’ll try to uncover the hidden potential of some gold cards in FIFA 23 that offer much more than their price suggests—players that are probably on a dozen FUT teams but are doing wonders for them or players you can get for next to nothing and receive a Hero level of performance. In plain words, we’re looking for the cheapest meta players in FIFA 23.

Top five cheap meta players in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team

CB: Ronald Araujo – 83 OVR (Barcelona) – 1,200 coins

Ronald Araujo is a Lengthy center back, a status that brings all the boys to the yard in FIFA 23. He is 6 feet 4 inches tall with 84 sprint speed. His defensive stats are impeccable. He plays for Barcelona, which opens up Chemistry options. Araujo is the best value-for-money center back in FIFA 23.

CAM: Piotr Zieliński – 83 OVR (Napoli) – 1,000 coins

Piotr Zieliński is the emanation of Serie A in FUT. He is extraordinary and extraordinarily cheap. The Pole is everything you want from an attacking midfielder. He’s fast, he’s agile, he can pass, he can dribble, and he can shoot. And he can do all of that equally well with both feet.

CM: Rodrigo De Paul – 84 OVR (Atlético Madrid) – 2,500 coins

Rodrigo De Paul is a jack-of-all-trades central midfielder. If you need him to attack, he will. If you need him to defend, he will. If you need him to do both all game long, his 91 stamina will allow for that.

You can pair him up with his Atlético teammate Thomas Lemar (1,500 coins) for extra productivity with Chemistry as a bonus. Lemar excels in the offensive part of the game but isn’t as serviceable on defense. De Paul can cover him up just as effectively as he does in real life.

Not everyone will go all-in on the Atlético duo, of course, so we went for De Paul as a single recommendation because of his versatility. If you have the defensive midfielder role pinned down already, Lemar might do better for your FIFA 23 FUT squad.

CDM: Konrad Laimer – 83 OVR (RB Leipzig) – 1,400 coins

You didn’t think we’d suggest playing Lemar next to a defensive midfielder without recommending anyone, did you? Laimer has already gained a reputation among FIFA 23 bargain-seekers. Thankfully, it hasn’t affected his pricing and he can still be snatched at a laughably low price.

Laimer is very fast for his position and provides a good mix of defending, dribbling, and passing. He’s easily one of the best deals on the FUT Market today.

ST: Tammy Abraham – 82 OVR (Roma) – 700 coins

The Serie A is home to many great strikers who won’t necessarily break the bank. Lautaro Martínez, Romelu Lukaku, and Ciro Immobile are all fantastic options up front who cost two to three times less than similar cards from La Liga and the Premier League.

We would recommend any of them, but they are still significantly more expensive than anything else we’ve listed so far and are the highest-rated players in the league, so they’re not exactly hidden treasures.

We are instead opting to highlight Roma’s Tammy Abraham. His greatest attribute is that his AcceleRATE status is Lengthy. Paired with already good Pace and Acceleration, Abraham is just short of flying on the pitch. Good shooting and decent dribbling are the other positives to his gold card.

Abraham is not much of a passer and his skill moves and weak foot are average. That’s why we’d admit he’s the weakest of our suggestions, but that’s how the striker market is. With a fitting Chemistry Style like Engine, however, his shooting and short passing become elite. His weak foot remains a concern, but at less than 1,000 coins, you can’t ask for perfect strikers.

Finding cheap, amazing performers in FUT yourself is a sweet feeling, but we hope you’ll forgive us for spoiling that moment of discovery for these players once they start winning you FIFA 23 Division Rivals games on their own.