Kylian Mbappe isn't on that cursed EA Sports FC cover. In fact, the French forward is just about the only player who isn't.
His opposite at Manchester City, Erling Haaland, is front and centre of the game. The likes of Marcus Rashford, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka have all made the front of the game, with legends like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and David Beckham getting a spot there, too. Women's stars like Sam Kerr, Marta and Leah Williamson are there. Even Pele and Johan Cruyff, who are both no longer with us, have made the lineup.
It's curious then that Mbappe, who was the star of the past three EA games, has been totally missed off the rebrand. If EA fancied a change, why did Sam Kerr – Mbappe's FIFA 23 cover co-star – make the cut? Perhaps there's something deeper to this…
EA Sports FC might have learned from FIFA's mistake – and deliberately omitted Kylian Mbappe
Cast your mind back to summer 2018, EA were about to drop the third instalment of The Journey, their blockbuster story mode which followed fledgling attacker Alex Hunter from leading his Premier League side to glory, inexplicably being turfed out to the MLS (that was weird) before returning to Europe's elite.
FIFA 18 was huge, with the second chapter of The Journey featuring cameos from Antoine Griezmann, Dele Alli, Thomas Muller, Rio Ferdinand, Thierry Henry – and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese was the cover star, too, screaming on the cover in his Real Madrid shirt. So the plan was obvious for FIFA 19 when Hunter got his move to Los Blancos: Ronaldo was surely set to feature more heavily?
Only Ronaldo pursued a shock move to Juventus in the summer of 2019 – and the final instalment of The Journey felt a little muted compared to the other two. In fact, EA had to switch the cover of the game from a photo of Ronaldo in a Real shirt to one of him in a Juve top.
Fast-forward to 2023 and EA are taking no chances. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Paris Saint-Germain want Mbappe to leave now rather than for free next summer – the player himself denies that he'll be leaving.
Sure, the video game could carry a picture of Mbappe wearing his national jersey – but that's a navy blue Nike top and looks from a distance a lot like PSG's. The away kit doesn't help either, that's white. With the Frenchman's future looking particularly doubtful, it's an obvious choice to leave him off the cover this time around.
After all, other players on the cover don't have such tumultuous near futures. Saka and Rashford are on the brink of new deals, Bellingham has a new club and Haaland isn't leaving any time soon. It's sincerely doubtful that Ronaldinho or Beckham will throw a spanner in the works this summer, either.
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With PSG issuing an ultimatum to Mbappe to either sign a new contract or leave, Arsenal have emerged as a shock option to sign the forward.
Lionel Messi apparently belittled PSG in his farewell message to Mbappe, while Real Madrid have apparently already agreed terms for the player. Patrick Kluivert, meanwhile, has tipped Mbappe and Haaland to compete for future Ballon d'Ors.
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