Squad Building Challenges (SBC) are incredibly important in EA FC 25 Ultimate Team, helping players improve their teams without spending any hard-earned cash on packs.
We've been playing EA FC 25 for a while now – and with new SBCs almost daily and amazing packs to earn including Icons and Heroes, there’s always a need to buy high-rated players at cheap prices.
Normally, you’d need to search the transfer market for the cheapest high-rated players, but we’ve done it for you, showcasing the 17 cheapest 87-rated players in the game, ready for you to buy and complete that next SBC.
Complete SBCs with ease
It’s worth noting that EA FC 25’s Ultimate Team market fluctuates by the minute so the prices in this list are a rough estimate rather than an exact price. That said, with 87-rated players that are deemed “fodder” (a term used for players that aren’t quite good enough for your team but perfect for SBCs) the market value usually rises and drops as a whole, so these players should in theory always be the cheapest.
At the time of writing, one of the best SBCs available is the Max. 87 Base Icon Upgrade which requires you to submit one 85-rated squad and two 86-rated squads. The best bit about 87-rated players is that they can be combined with lower-rated cards in order to reach requirements, often saving you coins in the long run.
Here are the cheapest 87-rated players in EA FC 25:
| Player | Team | Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ewa Pajor | FC Barcelona | 87 | ~12,500 |
| Rose Lavelle | NY Gotham | 87 | ~13,000 |
| Mallory Swanson | Chicago Red Stars | 87 | ~13,500 |
| İlkay Gündoğan | Manchester City | 87 | ~12,750 |
| Declan Rice | Arsenal | 87 | ~12,500 |
| Sakina Karchaoui | PSG | 87 | ~13,500 |
| Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | 87 | ~12,500 |
| Yan Sommer | Inter Milan | 87 | ~12,750 |
| Paolo Dybala | AS Roma | 87 | ~13,000 |
| Viktor Osimhen | Galatasaray | 87 | ~13,000 |
| Alessandro Bastoni | Inter Milan | 87 | ~13,250 |
| Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa | 87 | ~13,000 |
| Alexandra Popp | Wolfsburg | 87 | ~13,000 |
| Mike Maignan | AC Milan | 87 | ~13,000 |
| Marquinhos | PSG | 87 | ~13,500 |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 87 | ~13,250 |
| Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich | 87 | ~15,750 |
These prices will fluctuate throughout the lifespan of EA FC 25 but the specific players should remain the cheapest 87-rated cards on the market
EA FC 25 SBC tips
Now that you know the cheapest 87-rated cards, it’s worth going over some tips for completing SBCs in EA FC 25.
First of all, don’t complete every challenge that comes your way as that can be a sure-fire way to lose club value and run out of coins for when you want to add a player to your squad. All SBC rewards are untradeable which means that you’ll be stuck with the player rewards for the whole game unless you use the rewards as SBC fodder themselves.
My biggest recommendation is to make sure SBC players fit into your squad before getting carried away and completing the challenges. Just recently I spent over 300,000 coins to complete the End of an Era Alex Morgan player card SBC and now I’m stuck with a player who is amazing but difficult to fit into a squad. I’ve ultimately moved Morgan to my bench as a super sub, but that’s a lot to spend for a card that won’t even make my starting lineup.
Another great tip is to wait until quiet times to buy players for SBCs, helping you save some coins while still completing the challenges. The best time to buy players in EA FC 25 is usually on a Monday or Tuesday after the end of the Weekend League. On those days, the market is usually lower as loads of people have opened their reward packs for the week.
Finally, make sure to use the brand-new SBC Duplicate Storage in EA FC 25. This new addition has been something fans of the franchise have been asking for for years and allows you to keep multiples of the same players in a pot ready to complete any SBC. It’s a bit hard to find the section when inputting players into challenges but simply press RB/R1 on the player search screen to gain access to your storage.
