FC 24 Greats of The Game Javier Mascherano Player Review - Cop or Flop

Another day in the life of a FC24 player and we have been treated to another SBC the day before another big promo day. Today we have ourselves a Greats of the Game Mascherano. It feels a little bit like the Heroes have been a bit quiet in this promo, so this is a nice addition to the game.

You can check out the card here!

I will be honest and say that at this stage of the game, this is a fairly average looking card. Fortunately this is a live item so has potential to see a +1 overall upgrade as well as either an additional playstyle+ or a 99 stat. Argentina play Ecuador next so I have a feeling there is a good chance of an upgrade here.

[Insert Squad Screen]

Mascherano drops straight at the back alongside Saliba. You can of course play him at CDM should you wish but for the purposes this I will be playing the card in it’s default position. Hopefully he does not disappoint. 

Chemstyle of choice for this card absolutely has to be the anchor here. Get the pace boosted up whilst maxing out the physical and defensive stats.

Here are the following segments to unlock the Greats of the Game Mascherano SBC:

Argentina

# of players from Argentina: Min 1

TOTS or TOTW: Min 1

Squad Rating: Min 85

# of players in squad: 11

Top Form

TOTS or TOTW: Min 1

Squad Rating: Min 86

# of players in squad: 11

86-Rated Squad

TOTS or TOTW: Min 1

Squad Rating: Min 86

# of players in squad: 11

87-Rated Squad

Squad Rating: Min 87

# of players in squad: 11

88-Rated Squad

Squad Rating: Min 88

# of players in squad: 11

5 segments to complete in total here and i’ve gotta be honest this one is already looking like a tough sell. My biggest issue right now is the “TOTS/TOTW” parts of these SBCs. Sure there is a TOTW upgrade but it feels so tedious to complete just to fit one requirement of an SBC segment. I would be pleased to either see this requirement go or skip to the part of the game cycle where “Best of” items are in packs to make this a hell of a lot easier. But coming in at roughly 380k, this one is a little expensive and needs to absolutely wow in-game to bve worth it.

How did he perform in-game?

+ Strength was very impressive on this card. Mixed with the Anticipate+ playstyle, he absolutely dominated the opposition.

+ Defensive positioning was notably good as well. He pulled back quickly on counter attacks and always got back in-time to put a stop to the oppositions play.

+ Pace for a CB was also decent. He didn’t feel rapid but quick enough to get the job done.

+ Jumping and heading also came in very useful as with having both Aerial and Power Header, he was very often winning the ball in the air and able to clear the ball

+ His passing was also good, especially the short passing. He was very easily able to win the ball back and quickly send the ball upfield for a surprise attack.

Javier Mascherano - Cop or Flop?

As I said, this one needed to wow in-game in order for it to be worth it and in truth, this card was good but not worth departing with 380k worth of fodder. It’s likely that you will have just as good an option already in your club (As I did) that would mean that this card not only wouldn’t feel like an upgrade but also a waste of your coins/fodder with so much more still to come. I would avoid this SBC.

Verdict = FLOP