FC 24 Versus Fire Sergio Ramos Player Review

With the festive Winter Wildcard promo firmly in the books it is on to the next one this weekend as the FC Versus promo dropped into packs.  And while we would all love a Neymar, it was a slightly more affordable option for this time around.  
While it is nice to see a usable version of Sergio Ramos joining along with this promo it does mean that a flashback (long hair and headband included) is probably out of the question for some time now… But with two solid options available there is certainly an opportunity to fit one of the Spanish legend’s cards into your squad.  

In this case the choice was pretty simple based on squad options and having just reviewed WW Yashin it did provide a unique opportunity to look at a similarly priced option in the same position.  The 4-3-2-1 still remains the go to and Ramos took his place alongside VVD as we dove into another round of Weekend League warriors.

Ramos was the man on fire patrolling the back line all weekend long in the following squad:

Overall 

Rating: 9.5/10

The perfect overview I can give this card is to say, he is everything I hoped Yashin would be.  Of course Yashin was solid and the hat is worth every extra coin, but there were moments of sluggish movement and general concern against the best opponents that were completely absent using Ramos.  While it was clear to me (and I mentioned in the review) that Yashin was overpriced at 1.5 alongside Maldini… I do feel Ramos is a bargain at 1.1 million.  Of course TOTY will likely see that fall further and would be a complete steal with how solid Ramos performed this weekend.

Main Statistics – Defending

Defending Rating: 10/10

Pace Rating: 10/10

Physical Rating: 9/10

PlayStyles: Bruiser Plus, Slide Tackle, Anticipate, Aerial

For quite a while I have been pairing VVD with Thunderstruck Gomez.  The size and dominance of VVD pairs perfectly with the pace and cover of Gomez… But there are matches where Gomez can be found wanting defensively, especially in physical battles and against the best attackers in the game.  With Ramos, I was able to get the best of both worlds and the result was a rock solid base at the spine of my squad.

First off the SHADOW Chemistry Style brings the 96 ACCELERATION into the conversation and mixed with Ramos’ body type and “feel” it created an incredible responsive jockey and burst of pace.  Yet, my immediate worry was always the 81 SPRINT SPEED, which was thankfully aided largely by the LENGTHY Accelerate and a VVD-esque ability to track down opponents.

One area I was never concerned about was the defending and what a dominant performance it proved to be. It is difficult to pick out the highlights as it all worked so well together… But the 96 INTERCEPTIONS did completely make up for the lack of INTERCEPT PlayStyle, to the point that I had to go and double check it was for sure not on the card.

Maybe the most impressive part of it all was the combination of the ANTICIPATE PlayStyle and 94 STANDING TACKLE… Often accompanied by the BRUISER PLUS and 88 STRENGTH.  Those jammy, bounce-of-the-shins goals simply didn’t happen, which in truth is worth every coin I spent. 

Value/Coins - Fodder

Value/Coins - Fodder: 5/5

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ramos even at 1.3 million… he is that good.  Too many defensive weapons and there were still more.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

Had to leave something out to talk about here, but as you will see it all just meshed so well together.

+ Already mentioned the “feel” of this card and it is just another extension of the defending.  The silky movement from sprint, to jockey, to tackle was also present on the ball where Ramos felt essentially press proof.  There is no statistic to really explain this one as the 71 AGILITY & 70 BALANCE more resembled the high 90’s of attacking wingers in game.

+ Ramos really was the gift that kept on giving and the passing was just as quality.  The statistics do back this one up as the 85 SHORT PASSING rivals some of the games best midfielders.  But the real star of the show was the 88 LONG PASSING combined with the LONG BALL PASS PlayStyle adding further potency to any cross field balls to relieve pressure.  More than anything this was a huge improvement on both Yashin and Gomez who simply can’t sling the ball out wide the way that Ramos and VVD can.

In the end there was just enough concern to rule out a perfect 10/10 rating for me in this case, but it was closer than I ever expected.

- The pairing with VVD was absolutely perfect and the smaller - bigger combination of defenders proved a solid partnership yet again.  But there were moments where the 184cm | 6’0 frame of the Spanish defender was put to the sword and while the 95 JUMPING & AERIAL PlayStyle cleared away most issues… It wasn’t even close to the effectiveness of VVD.  This led to both my opponents ability to play out to larger strikers in the air (which VVD would normally sail over and head back down to midfielders)... and create a fragility on corners that I was not 100% happy about.  This of course is bound to happen when playing a combination like this, but it is still worth pointing out that Ramos was not immune to those threats.

Closing Words

Essentially I need to find an extra 1.1 million coins immediately.  I simply cannot afford the luxury of this type of card when I need to put the coins into future reviews and so I reluctantly go back to Joe Gomez who literally will never feel the same again when compared to this weekend's matches with Ramos.  I don’t think I can recommend him anymore… And I still haven’t even touched on the immediate 2 STAR Spanish links that make including these Versus cards so simple.  In the end the recommendation is this near flawless account of what I witnessed this weekend… An absolute must try if you can find the coins. 
Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading