With the updated chemistry system, FIFA 23 Icons are even more sought after than ever in Ultimate Team.
Celebrating the careers of some of the greats of the game, the cards can be an unbelievable asset to your FUT side.
Find out all you need to know about Icons in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team below.
Latest - Trophy Titans Icons
The latest promo in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team is the brand-new Trophy Titans, notable for only including Icons and FUT Heroes in the teams!
As well as the main Trophy Titan Icon version, there have been Junior versions released for specific players, which are lower-rated, indicating the career progression for that player as they amassed their accolades.
Lasting two weeks, the campaign has brought upgrades to another 22 Icons, with the following gaining a boost:
- Ronaldo (OVR 97)
- Zinedine Zidane (OVR 97)
- Baresi (OVR 95)
- Alessandro Del Piero (OVR 95 & OVR 88)
- Marco van Basten (OVR 95)
- Xavi (OVR 95 & OVR 90)
- Dennis Bergkamp (OVR 94) & (OVR 93) - OBJ
- Kenny Dalglish (OVR 94 & OVR 89)
- Steven Gerrard (OVR 94)
- Frank Lampard (OVR 94) & (OVR 93, OVR 90 & OVR 86) - OBJ
- Michael Owen (OVR 94 & OVR 88)
- Fernando Torres (OVR 94 & OVR 86)
- Laurent Blanc (OVR 93)
- Iker Casillas (OVR 93)
- Roy Keane (OVR 93) - SBC
- Miroslav Klose (OVR 93)
- Philipp Lahm (OVR 93 & OVR 92)
- Raul (OVR 93) - SBC
- Patrick Vieira (OVR 93)
- Roberto Carlos (OVR 92)
- Rio Ferdinand (OVR 92)
- Michael Essien (OVR 91)
What are Icons?
Icon cards are some of the most powerful in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team and are given to legends of the game who have now retired.
There are 100 Icon cards in FUT 23, each with multiple card variants, starting with Base Icon cards and upgrading from there.
They are extremely rare to get in a pack, so the most likely way to get them in your squad is through regular SBCs that offer either a specific player as a reward, a player pick or a pack containing a certain Icon.
FIFA 23 Icon Card Types
Every Icon has three main card variants - Base, Mid and Prime.
The Base Icon is the lowest rated of the lot, with the ratings increasing with the Mid and Prime versions.
In past titles, we have had Prime Icon Moments cards, which were the highest-rated version of Icons in the game, however, EA has introduced the new Campaign Icon type this season.
These will be released at various stages in the FUT cycle and will coincide with the promo of the time, as we saw with FUT Heroes being included in the FUT Captains and Shapeshifters promos in FUT 22.
This has been done so that Icons feel more in line with the power creep that happens throughout the Ultimate Team campaign, with EA stating in their Pitch Notes:
Through smaller, more frequent Campaign ICON releases as part of our campaigns, our hope is that ICONs will feel in-line with campaign content as we go deeper into the FUT 23 cycle, helping maintain their legendary status.
The first Campaign Icons came as FIFA World Cup Icons and were part of the World Cup content in Ultimate Team.
Campaign Icons will also be included in Icon Swaps and SBCs.
FIFA 23 Chemistry Change
With the chemistry re-work introduced in FUT 23, Icons now work in a slightly different way.
If they are played in the correct position they will always have full chemistry themselves.
Then, they will provide two chemistry points to any player that shares the same nationality as them.
World Cup Icons
World Cup Icons were included in packs and came via SBCs during the World Cup promos in Season 2 of FIFA 23 Ultimate Team, before rotating out.
In total, 35 players gained a World Cup Icon upgrade, with the following included:
- Pele (OVR 96)
- Ronaldo (OVR 95)
- Zinedine Zidane (OVR 95)
- Garrincha (OVR 93)
- Roberto Baggio (OVR 92)
- Cafu (OVR 92) - World Cup Swaps
- Johan Cruyff (OVR 92)
- Eusebio (OVR 92)
- Lothar Matthaus (OVR 92)
- Emilio Butragueno (OVR 91)
- Fabio Cannavaro (OVR 91)
- Iker Casillas (OVR 91)
- Kenny Dalglish (OVR 91)
- Samuel Eto'o (OVR 91)
- Luis Figo (OVR 91)
- Bobby Moore (OVR 91)
- Carles Puyol (OVR 91) - SBC
- Hristo Stoichkov (OVR 91) - SBC
- Laurent Blanc (OVR 90)
- Roberto Carlos (OVR 90)
- Petr Cech (OVR 90)
- Didier Drogba (OVR 90)
- Gheorghe Hagi (OVR 90)
- Miroslav Klose (OVR 90)
- Michael Laudrup (OVR 90)
- Gary Lineker (OVR 90)
- Bastian Schweinsteiger (OVR 90) - SBC
- Andre Shevchenko (OVR 90)
- Robin van Persie (OVR 90) - SBC
- Patrick Vieira (OVR 90) - World Cup Swaps
- Hernan Crespo (OVR 89)
- Emmanuel Petit (OVR 89)
- Luis Hernandez (OVR 88)
- Davor Suker (OVR 88)
- Gianluca Zambrotta (OVR 88)
TOTY Icons
Team of the Year Icons were the second batch of Campaign Icons to come to FIFA 23 Ultimate Team, with 14 upgraded cards introduced before being rotated out.
The following players gained a TOTY Icon card in Packs or via SBC:
- Gerd Muller (OVR 95)
- Ronaldinho (OVR 95)
- David Beckham (OVR 94)
- Ruud Gullit (OVR 94)
- Alessandro Nesta (OVR 94)
- Andrea Pirlo (OVR 93)
- Hugo Sanchez (OVR 93) - SBC
- Javier Zanetti (OVR 93)
- Xabi Alonso (OVR 92) - SBC
- Claude Makelele (OVR 92)
- Robert Pires (OVR 92)
- Edwin van der Sar (OVR 92)
- Ashley Cole (OVR 91)
- Nemanja Vidic (OVR 91)
FUT Birthday Icons
The annual FUT Birthday celebrations were bigger than ever this year, with Icons joining the party!
19 cards were given the birthday treatment with upgraded weak foot and/or skill moves, with the following players included:
- Paolo Maldini (OVR 95)
- Ferenc Puskas (OVR 95)
- George Best (OVR 94)
- Eric Cantona (OVR 94)
- Eusebio (OVR 94)
- Lothar Matthaus (OVR 94)
- Jairzinho (OVR 93)
- Kaka (OVR 93)
- Patrick Kluivert (OVR 93)
- Rivaldo (OVR 93) - SBC
- Marcel Desailly (OVR 92)
- Gennaro Gattuso (OVR 92) - SBC
- Ronald Koeman (OVR 92)
- Wayne Rooney (OVR 92)
- Ian Rush (OVR 92)
- Alan Shearer (OVR 92) - FUT Birthday Swaps
- Juan Sebastian Veron (OVR 92)
- Rui Costa (OVR 91)
- John Barnes (OVR 90)
New Icons in FIFA 23
There are three new ICON players in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team, with all three players offering something a bit different.
German legend Gerd Muller is the highest-rated of the three new items, and his Prime item will be rated 94 OVR!
Brazilian speedster Jairzinho brings pace in abundance and has the silky skills to match.
Pass master Xabi Alonso will also be a popular addition, although his low Pace attributes may see his usage limited in the game.
The new Icon ratings are as follows:
- Gerd Muller - 89 OVR / 92 OVR / 94 OVR
- Jairzinho - 88 OVR / 90 OVR / 92 OVR
- Xabi Alonso - 87 OVR / 89 OVR / 90 OVR
Removed Icons in FIFA 23
We have also seen multiple players removed as Icons in FIFA 23, with the following no longer part of the roster:
- Deco (Portugal)
- Ryan Giggs (Wales)
- Pep Guardiola (Spain)
- Filippo Inzaghi (Italy)
- Diego Maradona (Argentina)
- Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan)
- Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria)
- Marc Overmars (Netherlands)
Hidetoshi Nakata and Jay-Jay Okocha have been converted to FUT Hero cards, so will still be in FUT 23.
Alternate Reality Icons LEAKED
Fut Scoreboard, an account that mines data from the FIFA 23 game code, revealed on Twitter that two Icon card types have been added.
One addition was the TOTY Icons, which have since made their way into the game, with the other being labelled as Alternate Reality Icons!
What these Alternate Reality versions could be is anyone's guess, but it leaves the mouthwatering prospect of seeing Icons as we've never had before.
They will probably be released alongside the promo of the time, which would also suggest that there will be an upcoming Alternate Reality event on the way!