Player Review

First of all, my apologies to those expecting a Boateng review from having someone that played him in the CDM position. I got him last Friday after using FUT Birthday Sané for the goals and then swapped him in a 4231 around in-game with FB Luiz, so that Boateng would play CB, alongside 93 Cannavaro, and Luiz CDM. The games I played after that, are all Weekend League (and I think 4 DR games in Division 1). This guy helped me achieve elite 3, he is fantastic. I am not a German, nor Bayern fan nor specifically a Boateng fan boy, but he is just outstanding. I'll be covering each stat and giving you the thoughts on them. Keep in mind I used him with the Anchor chemstyle, on full chem.

Pace - The speed stats were obviously boosted by the chemistry style, and even though you shouldn't expect him to outspeed the likes of Mbappé and Ronaldo, he is quite fast. A little slow on the start up, but I'm not going to note it down as a con, I'll explain a little later in the review why. His sprint speed is really good though, he definitely will be able to catch up with a lot of attackers.

Shooting - Not really going to talk about this, I (and you shouldn't either!) don't shoot with my center backs and it isn't important at all to be honest.

Passing - His passing stats are really good, and coupled with that 4 star weak foot and 96 composure you can truly feel that. He is brilliant at passing out from the back with either foot, easily reaching in my case my backs or the outside CAMs, but also CDMs when it is a short pass. His vision is great and you feel that. I don't think he's misplaced one single pass this WL - perhaps some balls didn't reach the target because of the opponent defender intercepting, but that isn't really his fault.

Dribbling - His dribbling itself isn't that bad at all, despite what you might expect. His ball control is quite good, he is very composed on the ball, but he does feel a little bit heavy. He's a bit slow on the turn and not the most agile player, as his stats suggest, but again, I didn't have problems with it at all. Players such as Van Dijk also have these issues and personally I've never had issues with him either.

Defending - Boateng is an elite defender. Being 6 foot 4 with 94 reactions makes him intercept so much attemped through balls, and lets him get his foot in the way simply every time. His marking is solid, which means his positioning is great, and that is why his low acceleration really isn't a problem, because his defensive positioning is so good that opposing players will not have space to pass the ball into, because he is the way. His standing and sliding tackle are extremely clean, although you would possibly expect him to be too clunky at times because of his agility and balance being relatively low, but I haven't conceded one penalty, and that isn't because I'm a good defender in this game, he just stopped everything. I'd say his defending is around the same level as the best center backs in the game.

Physicality - 6 foot 4, 91 jumping with an anchor, 99 strength and 97 aggression. I don't think you can ask for much more. He wins practically every header. He's scored 3 goals off corners this WL, but won so many headers from corners, and his efforts were either saved or cleared off the line, or nearly missed (which probably is down to me, because 98 heading). He won definitely at least 90% of the headers from opposing goal kicks against the likes of CR7 and Flashback Ibrahimovic, no joke. And then his strength and aggression is so, so good. I've faced FB Ibra 7 or 8 times and Boateng continiously outjumped and outstrengthened him. I felt really confident against the taller strikers with him against the people that would just spam crosses (I hate that). His stamina is perfectly fine for a CB, easily lasts 120 minutes. If he'd play as a CDM it may be problematic, but this review is of him as a CB, his original position in real life.

What else I would wish for this card? Nothing really. It was free, he is relatively easy to link (especially with all Bundesliga POTMs!) and an end-game centre-half. If I'm being hypercritical, the only thing I can think of is a bit more mobility, but you can improve that with a chemstyle, although I just really liked the +10 on jumping (and defensive boost to max), which is why I went for an anchor.

You should absolutely 100% get this card. No doubts about it, the efforts you put in will be worth it. Trust me.