Player Review

Hey there!

After EA blessed me with some exceptional players in the packs I have opened, which I decided to sell and easily allowed me to pick up this card for around 90K at the time. His price will continue to rise, but don't worry, you will get brilliant value for your spendings. I will talk about my experiences with this card and about his necessary attributes individually, ending with a comparision with other defenders I've used. Keep in mind I've used an anchor on this card.

Pace - He's been downgraded by a few pace points in comparison with last year, but his speed is, with the chemistry style still very good (potentially his fine agility also playing a role here). I have to say that he will most likely not keep up with the fastest forwards in the game (Sterling, Mbappé, Sane) but it's nowhere near the slowness you get with Pique and Hummels.

Shooting - N/A, really is not that important for a centre half. Stats aren't bad at all for a defender, however.

Passing - His passing has been upgraded since last year and both his short and long passing are excellent. Often I've had my fullbacks or wingers storming down the flank with Ramos in possession and with his right foot (his left wasn't quite as consistent), practically all of his passes ended up in the desired place. The boost in composure from last year is also noticable, he feels composed on the ball. His vision is definitely good for this stage in the game, and even later in the game, I doubt it will become a problem.

Dribbling - Ramos' agility is brilliant and his balance isn't low either on paper for the position he playsin. He turns quickly and feels agile on the ball, and his dribbling itself isn't even bad either. I don't think 65 represents him in-game, 70-75 would be more suited for me. His first touch is good as well. I would describe Ramos as one of the best ball playing centre backs in the game at this point.

Defending - Ramos is known for his quality defending in real life and this transfers over to the game. His tackling is out of this world, he wins so many balls against any attackers he's come up against (yes, I'm also talking CR7 and Mbappé). Defensive awareness is on point as well, he's always in the right position, and this also assists him with intercepting balls more easily, which he does excellently. He reacts quickly to through balls and long balls and will be a nightmare for your opponent's attack.

Physical - You see it more and more often, players' physical increasing with age. The combination of Ramos' jumping and aggression makes him extremely good in the air, even though I will say that he'll still struggle against tall attackers (I'm talking 6'3+ here) because of himself not being very tall for his position, which is a slight con, but not game-changing. From corners, he's a menace though. Strength is good and allows him to muscle off a lot of attackers (despite the strongest, i.e Lukaku) or hold on to the ball trying to play it out. 80 Stamina for a defender I would actually almost label as 'end-game' - he won't have any issues at all playing for 120 minutes even.

The fact he has 3 star skills is actually a nice bonus as well, being able to heel-to-heel flick past attackers if you're wanting to take a risk like that. His weakfoot is fine, not as great for playing the long balls but definitely good enough to clear it out with or pass to the midfield or fullbacks. You might be wondering; are his workrates a problem? No. Absolutely not. If you set him to stay back while attacking, he will. In the 25 games or so I've played he hasn't really joined the attack at all except for joining set-pieces.

And finally, to quickly compare him with other centre backs: He's absolutely the best one alongside Varane and VVD I've used thus far, but he's different from both of the two in the fact that he's more your mobile centre-half instead of being tall and strong as the former two I've named. Pair him up with either of those, or another strong tall defender (Koulibaly, Chiellini, Campbell or Blanc if you're really rich) and you'll have opponents struggling to bypass your defense.