Player Review

Poor Zlatan got a big pace downgrade this year... which i honestly, do not understand at all. Okay, he is injured and "getting old" but come ooooon EA!

Anway, there is a positive side of his "downgrade", that his price is much more affordable, because as i see, most of the players are pace who*es.

The positives

Let's start with his shooting, which is still one of the best on this game. 87 finishing, 91 shot power with 86 positioning is a great combo as if you are in front of goal you can finish those chances and if you are left outside of the box, with enough space, letting a long shot(85) loose is not a problem. With 91 composure Zlatan will finish, what chance Zlatan gets. No doubt about that!

Second let's see his physical stats. 88 strength with 84 aggression is a good combo to hold off any defender and keep your good position in front of goal. His jumping(69) stat is low, but he is 195cm(6'4) tall so he is a king in the air... especially because he has the areal threat and power header trait and speciality.

Third is his Dribbling(82) There is no problem here he would deserve a 5 star skill moves but we all know that EA doesn't give a f*ck, oh well. I can't get any fault with his dribbling, the ball sticks to his feet his close control is top-notch the only little negative is his balance(41), but every tall player has low balance in this game and my Ibra if went to the floor it meant a free kick or penalty.

Lastly his passing. I suggest you use him as a striker with a striker partner as he can easily assist him and do one-two passes to get himself into a good position to score your winning goal. If you want to use him as a CAM, then you need to keep in mind to slap a good chem style on him, preferably catalyst, then he will work wonders as a CAM too.

The con

Let's address the one stat that sets his price around the 150k mark (xbox one). His pace. If you look at it, it doesn't look great, i admit. I also used him with a hunter chem style which boosts him to 78 acceleration and 77 sprint speed which for most people still slow, as they like to just run-run aaaand run.

Zlatan is NOT a card that you buy and shoot the ball up the field and he sprints down the field to catch it, if you want that, go buy Aguero, Jesus, Aubameyang, etc. Zlatan is a target forward. You build up the play with smart passes in the middle or down the wing. If needed you pass back with Zlatan, send him on a run and get the ball back to him for a good finish. This card is not for impatient players or runners, this card is only for you if you like physical play, slow build ups and patient, possession games not quick counter attacks.

As i said before he needs a striker partner, so if you use him as a striker get a more agile, quicker player next to him OR use good, skilled wingers to cross it onto his head, because there is few defender who can overcome Zlatan.

All in all

He's worth it. Totally. If you struggle to finish get him, he is not expensive, with a hunter chem you can easily use him even if you afraid of his pace. Zlatan became my favorite striker in Fifa 16 and i always used his cards, be it Non-IFs, IFs, MOTMs or TOTS' cards throughout the years and i'm glad i could start using him this early in the game because of his cheap price. He is still one of the best strikers in the game and paring up with him some good partners can get you titles!