FC 25 94 Team of The Year Grimaldo Player Review

TOTY is always going to be a popular time for the FC cycle, but with the saviour of FC25 recently dropping in the form of the most recent patch, it feels like the game is truly back for the time being.  The attackers and midfielders have come and gone and we are on to the defenders… With all of the attacking improvements and defending downgrades I was interested to see how some of the best of the best would cope in a weekday Rivals grind.

Grimaldo is an interesting TOTY card in that recent TOTY EVOs stand in direct competition with the Leverkusen defender… Of course many will question “why bother” when you have an equivalent available or when Theo Hernandez is 350k… But at the same time is part of why Grimaldo is so “cheap” on the market, relatively.  Regardless of how he felt in game or how he compared to Theo I was immediately disappointed to see that EA had not graced Grimaldo with a more OP selection of PlayStyle Plus options… But the statistics still looked insane and all that was left was to add a Chemistry Style, drop Grimaldo into my formation, and jump into some Rivals matches.

The familiarity of the 4-5-1(2) still feels best for me regardless of the patch and Grimaldo is a perfect option for what I want out of my left back.  With three Role++ options at left back it would be a bit of bad luck if he didn’t fit your style, and for me the Wingback++ was perfect.  I went with the SENTINEL Chemistry Style to get the most out of where I was actually playing Grimaldo and add the Physical improvement needed to contest the wings. All was set with the hope that Grimaldo could deliver the Leverkusen magic of last year in the following squad:  

Rating: 9.5/10

This card is every bit of a 9.5/10 that you can be without creeping into the perfect conversation.  Honestly I was having so much fun (which the patch is certainly part of) that I continued on with some Champs Qualis as you will see in the video clips.  Looking back on it I should have switched to a GLADIATOR and really tested just how potent this card could be in attack as defensively it didn’t seem like he needed much help.  Mourinho once said that he was just tired from looking at Robertson and the same could be said for Grimaldo in this review.  The 97 STAMINA and RELENTLESS combination on this card is no joke and you can just about get away with 90 minutes of sprinting into attack, all the way back to defending, and immediately right back down the wing.

Main Statistics – Movement

Skills: ★★★★

Pace Rating: 10/10 

Dribbling Rating: 10/10

Defending Rating: 9.5/10

PlayStyles: Quick Step Plus, Slide Tackle Plus, Block, Intercept, Technical, Relentless

I realize that this is covering a lot of the cards' statistics at once, but it is the combination of these attributes operating in perfect harmony that makes Grimaldo so special.  The 97 ACCELERATION & 96 SPRINT SPEED with the QUICK STEP Plus is a joke and I watched Grimaldo absolutely destroy some of the quickest cards in the game for Pace.  The CONTROLLED EXPLOSIVE does enough to keep the quickness while allowing for top end pace as well.

The Dribbling is simply a continuation of the Pace and was immediately responsive and dynamic.  With 90’s across the board it is no surprise that Grimaldo is good on the ball, I just wasn’t expecting him to be borderline unstoppable.  The TECHNICAL dribbling has the same feel as a Foden where opponents seem to drift away from you when it is activated and even the strength on the ball was surprising.  Normally I would never give a 10/10 for a 4 STAR card but again this card is just special.

The ability to move so quickly and the added top end speed makes Grimaldo a solid ball winner as well.  There was not one moment where I thought “Theo would have won that” because Grimaldo basically won everything.  I can’t believe he doesn’t have JOCKEY PlayStyle as it felt like he did in the review and the INTERCEPT & BLOCK are just more weapons to deploy.  The reason for the 9.5/10 is that I would still like to have ANTICIPATE and/or BRUISER… But at that point it really would be perfect.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 5/5

Not often that a 2 million coin card with direct (much cheaper) competition is an easy 5/5 value but again there is nothing Grimaldo can’t do.  The 3 goals and 6 assists in 5 matches (there were actually two quits so I could have played another) in Rivals was just the beginning and the Champs Qualis performance would have improved the contributions per game well beyond 2.0.  You could even get away with playing Grimaldo as a LM, but the running power from LB was too good to give up.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

It would be bad if a TOTY didn’t have it all… But Grimaldo really has it going on.

+ The Shooting was surprisingly solid. If only that SLIDE TACKLE Plus was TRIVELA we might have had a real issue with this card moving forward.  Even still the FINESSE SHOT is nice while the 4 STAR WEAK FOOT worked well when called upon.  I felt the 80 FINISHING was way over performing as the 96 SHOT POWER benefitted from well placed strikes on more than one occasion. 

+ The Passing is another weapon in the arsenal and includes another mixture of solid PlayStyles and ridiculous statistics.  I didn’t use the WHIPPED PASS as much if I am honest as the headers are contested and of course therefore useless… But in general Grimaldo was pinpoint throughout the review.  The Passing statistics on this card really are foolish and resemble that of an OP midfielder more than a LB.   

+ I have alluded to the Physical parts of this card a few times already as the STAMINA & STRENGTH performed really well.  Grimaldo feels and even looks bigger than his 171cm | 5’7 frame would suggest, and was solid in tackles while also a menace to dispossess.

Closing Words

Probably not going to read too many reviews that look at any TOTY card and call it a useless waste of coins… But there were surprises in this review that suggest the price is fair at the very least.  I haven’t even touched on the DEAD BALL, a PlayStyle that is not exactly sought after but is certainly a bonus to have in the squad.  All in all this card is up for the battle and delivered throughout the review without fail.  Worth one final note that this is going to be one of the few “affordable” TOTY options and brings that boost to most squads that you would want from a promo containing the best of the previous year…  If you can get the Leverkusen man for a test drive he is absolutely fantastic.   

Hoping you are well. Cheers for reading.