The ultimate FIFA 23 FUT Heroes guide: New FUT Heroes, returning FUT Heroes, and how they work in FUT 23

EA added some flavor to FUT Heroes this year by teaming up with Marvel for a special edition of the cards in the style of Marvel superheroes. While that is a nice touch, what FIFA 23 players really care about is the quality of the items themselves and how they will work within FUT 23.

FUT Heroes will be one of two special items available in FUT upon the launch of FIFA 23, the other being Ones To Watch items. It is therefore crucial to know what these cards do and who are the confirmed players to receive a FUT Heroes item since these items could seriously boost your initial FUT 23 squad.

What are FUT Heroes items in FIFA 23 and how do they work?

FUT Heroes are special items for players who are no longer active. These items come with a chemistry buff. Since the players they are based on are retired, the items don’t come with a club affiliation but a league affiliation instead. In practice, this means that FUT Heroes have a full green link with every player from that league, regardless of the club they play for.

The base versions of these cards will be released simultaneously with FIFA 23. But there will be upgraded FIFA World Cup FUT Heroes later down the line. Those upgraded versions will be based on a player’s trademark World Cup moment and the card’s upgrade will be in relation to that moment’s significance.

An untradeable FIFA World Cup FUT Hero item was one of the bonuses for pre-ordering FIFA 23 before Aug. 21, 2022. Those who did will receive their reward when FIFA World Cup FUT Hero items are released.

EA said all FIFA World Cup FUT Heroes will be added to FUT 23 on Nov. 11.

All confirmed new FUT Heroes in FIFA 23

EA unveiled the names and base cards for all new FUT Heroes that will be introduced to FIFA 23. While there aren’t any 90+ OVR cards on the list, that doesn’t mean they aren’t any good.

The chemistry advantages FUT Heroes have over regular items almost make up for any lack of dry stats. It’s not like there are dozens of 95 OVR items at launch anyway, so grabbing an 89 OVR striker that links with every single German player in the Bundesliga or every French player in Ligue 1 sounds like a sweet launch day deal.

There are 21 new FUT Heroes in FIFA 23, the base cards of which are all rated between 85 and 89 OVR. Listed below you will see their position, OVR rating, and the nation and league they are affiliated with in FUT 23.

• CB: Lúcio – 89 OVR (Brazil and Serie A)
• ST: Jean-Pierre Papin – 89 OVR (France and Ligue 1)
• ST: Rudi Völler – 89 OVR (Germany and Bundesliga)
• ST: Diego Forlán – 88 OVR (Uruguay and La Liga)
• CB: Rafael Márquez – 88 OVR (Mexico and La Liga)
• CB: Javier Mascherano – 88 OVR (Argentina and La Liga)
• CAM: Jay-Jay Okocha – 88 OVR (Nigeria and Premier League)
• CM: Ricardo Carvalho – 88 OVR (Portugal and Primeira Liga)
• ST: Tomas Brolin – 87 OVR (Sweden and Serie A)
• LW: Harry Kewell – 87 OVR (Australia and Premier League)
• CDM: Yaya Touré – 87 OVR (Ivory Coast and Premier League)
• CM: Claudio Marchisio – 87 OVR (Italy and Serie A)
• CAM: Hidetoshi Nakata – 87 OVR (Japan and Serie A)
• CF: Landon Donovan – 86 OVR (USA and MLS)
• LB: Joan Capdevila – 86 OVR (Spain and La Liga)
• ST: Sidney Govou – 86 OVR (France and Ligue 1)
• CAM: Dirk Kuyt – 86 OVR (Netherlands and Eredivisie)
• LM: Park Ji Sung – 86 OVR (South Korea and Premier League)
• ST: Włodzimierz Smolarek – 86 OVR (Poland and Bundesliga)
• RW: Saeed Al-Owairan – 85 OVR (Saudi Arabia and Saudi Pro League)
• ST: Peter Crouch – 85 OVR (England and Premier League)

All returning FUT Heroes in FIFA 23

The new brigade of FUT Heroes is joining an already established core of 19 returning legends. Just like the new entries, returning FUT Heroes in FIFA 23 are rated anywhere from 85 to 89 OVR.

• ST: Fernando Morientes – 89 OVR (Spain and La Liga)
• CAM: Abedi Pelé – 89 OVR (Ghana and Ligue 1)
• LM: David Ginola – 89 OVR (France and Ligue 1)
• CB: Jürgen Kohler – 89 OVR (Germany and Bundesliga)
• ST: Diego Milito – 88 OVR (Argentina and Serie A)
• ST: Mario Gomez – 88 OVR (Germany and Bundesliga)
• ST: Antonio Di Natale – 88 OVR (Italy and Serie A)
• GK: Jorge Campos – 87 OVR (Mexico and MLS)
• CB: Iván Ramiro Córdoba – 87 OVR (Colombia and Serie A)
• RW: Joe Cole – 87 OVR (England and Premier League)
• GK: Jerzy Dudek – 86 OVR (Poland and Premier League)
• CAM: Aleksandr Mostovoi – 86 OVR (Russia and La Liga)
• LM: Fredrik Ljungberg – 86 OVR (Sweden and Premier League)
• ST: Ole Gunnar Solskjær – 86 OVR (Norway and Premier League)
• ST: Robbie Keane – 86 OVR (Ireland and Premier League)
• ST: Sami Al-Jaber – 86 OVR (Saudi Arabia and Saudi Pro League)
• ST: Tim Cahill – 85 OVR (Australia and Premier League)
• CAM: Clint Dempsey – 85 OVR (USA and MLS)
• CAM: Lars Ricken – 85 OVR (Germany and Bundesliga)

Looking at the full list, it’s noticeable that EA is a bit stingy on Premier League FUT Heroes. There’s just one player rated above 87, Jay-Jay Okocha, who is Nigerian and therefore more difficult to link.

While settling for lower-rated items that would link easier, like Joe Cole or Peter Crouch, is an option, it appears that once again going for a non-Premier League squad will be the best approach in the early days of FUT. This holds especially true if you want to snatch one or more of these FUT Heroes since there are very strong cards for every other major league besides the EPL.

There are unique illustrations for all 40 FIFA 23 FUT Heroes. You can see what EA and Marvel have come up with over on EA’s official site.