7 former FIFA ballers we can’t believe are now retired: Emenike, Alessandrini…
Former Chelsea, LA Galaxy and Santos stars are among the former FIFA Ultimate Team ballers that we can’t believe are now retired.
Maybe we’re just getting old, but we’ve been left scratching our heads when we realised just how many former FIFA ballers are now retired in real life.
We’ve gone through some of the most overpowered players in the game’s history and have picked out seven of them who are no longer playing professionally.
Romain Alessandrini
Renowned for his FIFA 19 SBC, Alessandrini has been a staple in Ultimate Team for the last decade. The rapid Franch winger has always been a menace in the game, especially during his LA Galaxy days.
However, following his retirement last month, EAFC 24 will be the last edition of Ultimate Team that he features on.
“I had to do it for my family and myself, a difficult but wise decision I think,” the 35-year-old said upon announcing his retirement.
Emmanuel Emenike
We dread to think how many controllers have been smashed over the years thanks to this guy. During his peak around FIFA 13, Emenike was in a league of his own.
With 90 pace and 94 strength, it didn’t matter if you had TOTY Sergio Ramos in your backline, the Nigerian forward would always find a way to score. Always.
Luckily for the kids of today, they don’t need to stress about facing Emenike in Ultimate Team as he called it quits on his career back in 2019. Although given he’s still only 36 and is in good shape, we reckon he could still do a job these days.
Nilmar
Before Neymar, there was Nilmar. The Brazilian forward was like a cheat code back in the day with his 92 pace and four-star skills.
He played out the final years of his career in the Middle East before spending a short spell with Santos in 2017. His FIFA 12 card will live long in the memory.
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Seydou Doumbia
The rapid Ivory Coast forward used to give people nightmares. From FIFA 12 to FIFA 17, Doumbia was inevitable.
Along with being a menace in the game, his scoring record in real life was also quite something. During his club career, Doumbia managed to score 210 goals in just 402 appearances. No wonder he had so many special cards over the years.
After years of tormenting Ultimate Team players, he eventually hung up his boots in 2021 and hasn’t featured in FIFA since.
Marvell Wynne
Being a centre-half with 96 pace should have been illegal.
It didn’t matter that he was only 66 rated, he could keep up with literally any attacker on the game back in FIFA 12. After years of tormenting Ultimate Team players, the United States international eventually announced his retirement in 2017.
He’s one of the many players from over the years who were far better in FIFA than in real life.
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Ramires
Arguably the best box-to-box midfielder in FIFA history. Around his heyday in FIFA 13, the Brazilian midfielder was in everyone’s team without fail.
After spending a couple of years out of the game, the former Chelsea midfielder took the decision to retire in 2022 at the age of 35.
Luckily, Ultimate Team enthusiasts can still enjoy playing with Ramires today as he’s been given an honorary FUT Hero item in EAFC 24. That tells you just how legendary he was on the game back in the day.
Yassine Chikhaoui
Five-star skills and a five-star weak foot? The streets won’t forget Chikhaoui.
The Tunisian attacking midfielder spent his peak years with Zurich, but injuries weren’t kind to him over the years. Following back-to-back ACL injuries, he announced his retirement from the game last year.