Reviews

I highly recommend you get used to the name "Ricardo Almeida Santos," because this man can change your backline for the better. I've been reading Futbin comments all year under the cards of centerbacks and a constant complaint was "low agility and reactions." Well, now that complaint is no longer valid! This man is 6 foot 5 inches of pure destruction, yet somehow has 99 agility and comes with 95 reactions as well. He even has 88 balance! How is that even possible? With 88 stamina and 99 strength, this guy will boss it for you all game. Now, you may be wondering... how do I fit this guy into my team? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer, especially if you are used to playing formations with 4 in the back. Santos is cheap as can be, but you will likely be spending quite a bit on icons to fit around him. Currently, I am surrounding him with Essien, Zambrotta, Yashin, and Dalot. If you have FB Renato, he can be a piece of the puzzle for you. I think getting Santos on 10 chem is really important as his pace is "low" compared to fullbacks that could be played in his position. However, he is still worth trying out on 8 chem.

Ricardo Santos TOTS is quite comfortably the best CB ever released by EA. He ticks all the boxes and single-handedly changes the game. If you can fit him in your team with 10 chemistry then count your blessings; Don Ricardo will smash each opponent and drag your side to elite one. However, if you are not so fortunate then do not fret - the man is a machine of the bench in the 70th minute and is essentially a human final whistle. If he is not getting at least a yellow card every game then you are using him wrong. All that and he is dirt cheap, in the prem he would be 900k at least.

As a Bolton fan, as soon as TOTS dropped I immediately went to the EFL team and searched for my favorite CB, I was expecting Ricardo Santos to be an 83 or 84 if he even got in, and when I saw he was 85 I was ecstatic. Looking at the face stats, he looked like a decent CB with potential to use, which I was planning on doing so for the rest of the game cycle seeming as we rarely ever get a usable Bolton card in FUT. But when you look at the in-game stats, this card is top-notch. 84 pace with an 86/83 split is solid, going to 96 and 93 with a shadow on 10 chem, but I used him on 8 chem and the 93/90 split felt perfectly fine to me. The shooting is irrelevant, but as we go over to passing we uncover the only true flaws of the card. Although he has 84 short passing and 73 long passing which look decent for a CB, the 63 vision must be what hurts him as his passing was very inconsistent. You should only be attempting basic passes with this card and need to make sure that you don't try and do anything fancy or he will probably give the ball away. Now onto the X-factor of this card that makes him levels ahead any other CB in this game (excluding TOTYs and Icons), the DRIBBLING. Looking at the face stats, you see 77 dribbling and think, that's not horrible, but it's nothing extraordinary either. But then when you look at the In game stats, you see why this card is so good. 99 AGILITY, 88 BALANCE, 95 REACTIONS, and 99 COMPOSURE. The only reason the dribbling rating is so low is because ball control and dribbling are both low 70s. But the fact that this card is 6'5 and still has these amazing dribbling stats is quite phenomenal. You might think that these stats are fake and his height and body type will mask the amazing dribbling in game, but you would be wrong. He can turn as well as you could dream any CB to and he is so smooth on the ball and at turning in general. Onto the defending, with a shadow on 8 chem (which is what I used him on and I can imagine many people will use him on) he has 93 interceptions and 89 def. awareness, which are both solid but not amazing. The thing that makes him win the ball so much though, is his height. At 6'5 his legs are so long that he can stretch so far to make any tackles. I don't even recall giving away a penalty with him all weekend because he always seemed to get the ball. Lastly, we have the physicals. Only 66 jumping can be problematic but he's so tall that he is still the favorite to win any header. 88 Stamina is more than fine for a CB and 99 strength is obviously amazing. 80 aggression isn't really noticeable either. Overall this card is absolutely nuts especially for his 20-30k price. If you can get this man on 7 or more chem I 100% recommend buying this card (or there's a good chance you'll pack him too). As far as links go I have Ashley cole and Deco in there but options like Renato Sanches, Ronaldo, Dalot are also some nice links. The team I used is in the link and it is in game obviously, as I use a different formation pre game to get them on chem. I used the card in a 4312 with What If Wendell next to him at CB and got 14-14 in champs, so not too great but I don't usually secure gold 3 with games to spare and Ricardo Santos can 100% be thanked for that.

Ricardo Almeida Santos is a good old fashioned school yard bully. With his combo of massive size and strength, when he dispossesses the opponent he keeps it. He is frequently throwing attackers to the floor, and I'm not sure I've even been booked with him, he is technically proficient on defense. He is composed enough on the ball that it is not a liability against heavy press (3* WF, no less), but otherwise won't offer any value on ball, not that I would need him to. As it says on his shirt, this man is a BARGAIN.

I have a Portugal heavy squad (FB Sanchez, Deco, FS Dalot, Lopez in goal) and 2 other icons (Essien and Makelele) so I was able to get him to 10 chem fairly easily, but I anticipate that won't be the case for most. I think the speed may prove make or break in the modern game, but at 19k this card is absolutely worth a shot on 8 chem.