Cristiano Ronaldo Might Be Removed in the Next FIFA 23 Update

It’s been a less than harmonious return to Manchester for one of game’s greats in Cristiano Ronaldo. Another in a long line of stars (Eric Cantona, David Beckham) to don the famous #7 for Manchester United, Ronaldo’s return was supposed to knock off their noisy neighbors from the perch they’ve sat atop for the last decade. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you support, Ronaldo 2.0 was nothing more than a commercial endeavor, and despite his 18 league goals last year, Manchester United actually regressed and are playing much better without him this year. So with recent news that he’s been released from his contract, we’ll explore how Cristiano Ronaldo might be removed from certain aspects of FIFA 23 in the near future.

Cristiano Ronaldo Removed In Next FIFA 23 Update?

Career Mode

For players within career mode, there’s not much to worry about if you’re a CR7 fan. Ronaldo will no longer be listed as a Manchester United player, meaning that him and his huge salary will find himself in the free agents pool until he finds a new home. Considering his agent, Jorge Mendes, shopped his services around this summer and no one was interested, it’s quite possible that it will be some time before he finds a new home, especially as the player will be focused on the World Cup with his native Portugal.

Assuming he does find a club, since he’s technically a free agent now he will not need to wait until January to find a club — but considering the European season doesn’t resume until late December/early January, this shouldn’t be too much of a factor. Despite all that he’s accomplished — and make no mistake, what he and Messi did for over a decade was mind blowing, both in terms of individual statistics and club/country trophy hauls — Ronaldo in his current form and age is massively overrated. Currently a 90 OVR as of the November 16 update, Ronaldo should be much closer to the 80 OVR level considering he’s lost a step and isn’t nearly as clinical as he was. His “High” attacking work rate also needs to come back down to earth considering his lack of movement these days as he’s merely a penalty box poacher who operates solely inside of the 18-yard box.

Despite his declining physicality, he still does possess a great leap so his aerial prowess (player specialty) should still be intact. Perhaps it’s the FIFA ratings algorithm that bumps up his overall, but the former FIFA cover star needs some of those technical abilities such as long shots (90), finishing (92), and ball control (88) greatly reduced to name a few. These inflated ratings that contribute to a high overall rating also inflate his market value considering that Manchester United paid ~22 million to reacquire him from Juventus two summers ago. The free agent list in FIFA 23 now has room atop its free agent list so move over regens and highly rated unattached youth superstars.

Ultimate Team

So here’s where it gets sticky. Even though CR7 would find himself still available within career mode, Ultimate Team only features players that are either tied to current clubs or those who are considered legends. So while not even the staunchest Messi supporter would deny that Ronaldo is a legend, those legends have to be retired, and Ronaldo certainly doesn’t want to hang it up just yet. I’ve discussed the need for a serious ratings revisit, but Ronaldo is still one of the most popular FUT cards and features prominently in a lot of squads.

There’s a long list of players who have been removed from FIFA for various reasons, including the likes of Mason Greenwood, but in Ronaldo’s case it means that he could potentially be unavailable until he finds a new club. He more than likely won’t be removed from any current teams but could be taken out of any packs for the time being (so he would be called “extinct” while still being in the game). The impact to his value is something to keep an eye on as his price has dropped significantly over the last month or so, but a reversal could happen if this card becomes rare.

Bottom Line

After it’s all said and done, the impact of this move by Manchester United likely just represents a temporary inconvenience in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team until CR7 finds a new home.

Related: How to Do Ronaldo’s SIU Celebration on Attack of the Fanboy