EA Sports FC 24 Career Mode: best players for all positions

The Career Mode for EA Sports FC 24 is where many players of the soccer simulation series go for a relaxed and casual single-player experience – that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to win at any cost, though. After all, Career Mode is all about becoming the most iconic manager of all time, a title that can only be claimed by obtaining one thing: success.

Naturally, the easiest way to triumph in soccer is to assemble the greatest squad you can think of – you may even call it an ultimate team, pardon the pun. For that, you’ll need to find the best EA FC 24 Career Mode players for all positions. With our handy list, this is pretty simple as we rank the players by their current overall ratings and state their maximum potential as well.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best goalkeepers (GK)

1. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) – 90 OVR, 90 Potential
2. Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona) – 89 OVR, 89 Potential
3. Alisson (Liverpool FC) – 89 OVR, 90 Potential
4. Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid) – 88 OVR, 88 Potential
5. Ederson (Manchester City) – 88 OVR, 89 Potential
6. Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München) – 87 OVR, 87 Potential
7. Mike Maignan (AC Milan) – 87 OVR, 89 Potential
8. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain) – 87 OVR, 90 Potential
9. Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund) – 87 OVR, 90 Potential
10. Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential

Things are looking somewhat bleak for the top goalkeepers, even though Courtois retained his position at the zenith: The Real Madrid keeper lost one point in potential, while his predecessor Manual Neuer got with a three-point OVR reduction. Ouch. Donnarumma, too, lost one point in OVR and two in potential. At least ter Stegen was able to add one point to his OVR. Borussia Dortmund’s Kobel enters the top ten for the first time.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best left-back (LB, LWB)

1. João Cancelo (FC Barcelona) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
2. Andrew Robertson (Liverpool FC) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
3. David Alaba (Real Madrid) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
4. Marcos Acuña (FC Sevilla) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
5. Theo Hernández (AC Milan) – 85 OVR, 90 Potential
6. Yannick Carrasco (Al Shabab) – 84 OVR, 84 Potential
7. Grimaldo (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) – 84 OVR, 84 Potential
8. Lucas Hernández (Paris Saint-Germain) – 84 OVR, 85 Potential
9. Jordi Alba Ramos (Inter Miami) – 83 OVR, 83 Potential
10. Nacho Fernández (Real Madrid) – 83 OVR, 83 Potential
11. Luke Shaw (Manchester United) – 83 OVR, 83 Potential
12. Alphonso Davies (FC Bayern München) – 83 OVR, 88 Potential

Cancelo lost two points in OVR but remains the best left-back alongside Robertson. Theo Hernández lost one point as well but remains at 90 potential. Important, however, is Marcos Acuña's upgrade to 85.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best right-back (RB, RWB)

1. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München) – 88 OVR, 89 Potential
2. João Cancelo (FC Barcelona) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
3. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool FC) – 86 OVR, 88 Potential
4. Ronald Araujo (FC Barcelona) – 86 OVR, 91 Potential
5. Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
6. John Stones (Manchester City) – 85 OVR, 86 Potential
7. Giovanni Di Lorenzo (SSC Napoli) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
8. Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona) – 85 OVR, 89 Potential
9. Kyle Walker (Manchester City) – 84 OVR, 84 Potential
10. Niklas Süle (Borussia Dortmund) – 84 OVR, 86 Potential
11. Marcos Llorente (Atlético Madrid) – 84 OVR, 84 Potential
12. Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) – 84 OVR, 86 Potential
13. Reece James (Chelsea FC) – 84 OVR, 86 Potential

On the right, the versatile Kimmich sits at the top now after overtaking Trent Alexander-Arnold. Araujo's upgrade is impressive, flying to 86, while Trippier, although with rising odds, remains a safe second-hand player at 32. Napoli captain Di Lorenzo nets three additional points and watch out for Koundé if you're on the hunt for youngsters.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best center-backs (CB)

1. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC) – 89 OVR, 89 Potential
2. Rúben Dias (Manchester City) – 89 OVR, 90 Potential
3. Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain) – 87 OVR, 88 Potential
4. Matthijs de Ligt (FC Bayern München) – 86 OVR, 89 Potential
5. Éder Militão (Real Madrid) – 86 OVR, 89 Potential
6. Ronald Araujo (FC Barcelona) – 86 OVR, 91 Potential
7. David Alaba (Real Madrid) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
8. Raphaël Varane (Manchester United) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
9. John Stones (Manchester City) – 85 OVR, 86 Potential
10. Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
11. Aymeric Laporte (Al Nassr) – 85 OVR, 86 Potential
12. Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan) – 85 OVR, 90 Potential
13. Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona) – 85 OVR, 89 Potential

Virgil van Dijk remained at the top even though he lost a point, but is now tied with an upgraded Dias. Marquinhos and Rüdiger got hit with point reductions, whereas de Ligt and Militão added to their scores. Koulibaly completely disappeared from the radar after a couple of disastrous years.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best midfielders (CDM, CM, CAM)

1. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 91 OVR, 91 Potential
2. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) – 90 OVR, 90 Potential
3. Casemiro (Manchester United) – 89 OVR, 89 Potential
4. Rodri (Manchester City) – 89 OVR, 90 Potential
5. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 88 OVR, 88 Potential
6. Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München) – 88 OVR, 89 Potential
7. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) – 88 OVR, 88 Potential
8. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) – 88 OVR, 92 Potential
9. Luka Modric (Real Madrid) – 87 OVR, 87 Potential
10. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal FC) – 87 OVR, 90 Potential
11. Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona) – 87 OVR, 90 Potential

Dread him, run from him, but Kevin De Bruyne arrives all the same at a 91 OVR, the highest in the game. It’s noteworthy that Rodri and Fernandes both added two points to their ratings, while the new generation with Valverde and Ødegaard is rearing its head.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best left-wingers (LM, LW, LF)

1. Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) – 91 OVR, 94 Potential
2. Neymar Jr. (Al Hilal) – 89 OVR, 89 Potential
3. Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) – 89 OVR, 94 Potential
4. Heung Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur) – 87 OVR, 87 Potential
5. Sadio Mané (Al Nassr) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
6. Ousmane Dembelé (Paris Saint-Germain) – 86 OVR, 87 Potential
7. Rafael Leão (AC Milan) – 86 OVR, 91 Potential
8. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (SSC Napoli) – 86 OVR, 92 Potential
9. Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern München) – 86 OVR, 93 Potential
10. Jack Grealish (Manchester City) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
11. Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
12. Marcos Acuña (FC Sevilla) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
13. Diogo Jota (Liverpool FC) – 85 OVR, 87 Potential
14. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – 85 OVR, 88 Potential
15. Theo Hernández (AC Milan) – 85 OVR, 90 Potential
16. Phil Foden (Manchester City) – 85 OVR, 90 Potential
17. Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – 85 OVR, 91 Potential

In whichever category he competes, there is no contest: Kylian Mbappé remained at the top with his 91 OVR, unchanged since FIFA 23 (ditto for Neymar). Huge changes in the rest of the field: Vinícius adds three, Leão two, and Kvaratskhelia an astonishing dozen points to his score, after the latter started out with a paltry 74 OVR in FIFA 23. Tottenham’s Son got hit with a reduction of two points, but remains in a strong position. Bayern’s youngster Musiala keeps climbing.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best right-wingers (RM, RW, RF)

1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC) – 89 OVR, 89 Potential
2. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) – 88 OVR, 92 Potential
3. Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) – 88 OVR, 92 Potential
4. Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
5. Ousmane Dembelé (Paris Saint-Germain) – 86 OVR, 87 Potential
6. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal FC) – 86 OVR, 90 Potential
7. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (SSC Napoli) – 86 OVR, 92 Potential
8. Domenico Berardi (US Sassuolo) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
9. Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) – 85 OVR, 85 Potential
10. Phil Foden (Manchester City) – 85 OVR, 90 Potential
11. Rodrygo (Real Madrid) – 85 OVR, 91 Potential

Despite a minus one on his OVR, Salah remained the best right winger. Saka entered the top ten, pushing compatriot Sterling out of the list, just as Berardi ousted Chiesa from the ranking. Coman and Dembelé kept France's flag flying high, earning a place in the rankings where they had remained mere spectators last year.

EA FC 24 Career Mode: best strikers (CF, ST)

1. Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) – 91 OVR, 94 Potential
2. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 91 OVR, 94 Potential
3. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) – 90 OVR, 90 Potential
4. Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) – 90 OVR, 90 Potential
5. Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona) – 90 OVR, 90 Potential
6. Harry Kane (FC Bayern München) – 90 OVR, 90 Potential
7. Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid) – 88 OVR, 88 Potential
8. Victor Osimhen (SSC Napoli) – 88 OVR, 91 Potential
9. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) – 87 OVR, 90 Potential
10. Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
11. Sadio Mané (Al Nassr) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
12. Paulo Dybala (AS Roma) – 86 OVR, 86 Potential
13. Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea FC) – 86 OVR, 88 Potential
14. Rafael Leão (AC Milan) – 86 OVR, 91 Potential

The scepter of the best strikers changes hands: last year we had Benzema together with Mbappé, now with the Frenchman's downgrade made way for a new partner at the top in Haaland, who added three points to his score. Lewandowski, too, lost a point, while the ratings of Kane and Martínez went up by one each. Osimhen won himself a sumptuous five points.

To become an even more successful manager, check out our EA FC 24 Tactical Visions guide as well as our EA FC 24 Training Schedule guide.