FIFA 23 FUT BIRTHDAY RABIOT AND PEDRO PLAYER REVIEWS - COP OR FLOP?

After some monster SBC’s with huge price tags, EA have served up far more accessible fare. With 2 SBC’s on the same day, from the same league with two very linkable nations, Rabiot and Pedro FUT Birthday items are here!

Both coming in at just over 100k, both seemingly very well received by the community, it’s a nice change from EA during a week of questionable SBC pricing. I definitely think that EA have added cost to SBC’s that run for longer anticipating the usual barrage of 90+ rated fodder that comes with Team of the Season. Given that TOTS is expected at the end of April, those 60 and 90 day SBC’s might end up being reasonably priced once we get into Blue season. 

However, with 2 belting cards to be checking out today, let’s see if they can hold a candle to their much used Serie A counterparts, Flashback Pogba and TOTT Di Maria!

Check out the cards! - Rabiot 88 & Pedro 88

Rabiot FUT Birthday SBC Requirements

#1 - Juventus
Juventus Player - Min 1
IF Player - Min 1
Squad Rating - 83
Pack - Small Prime Mixed Players

#2 - Serie A
Serie A Player - Min 1
Squad Rating - 86
Pack - Prime Electrum Players

Total Cost from scratch ~ 137k
Estimated Pack Return ~ 10k

Pedro FUT Birthday SBC Requirements

#1 - FUT Birthday Player
Serie A Player - Min 1
Squad Rating - 86

Total Cost from scratch ~ 118k

Both of these SBC’s are really nicely priced. Fairly easy to complete with a little bit of grinding and both there for 2 weeks giving you more than enough time to complete a few objectives or a couple of champs runs to fill in some gaps. 

What isn’t well priced is Rabiot’s loan SBC. Coming in at 40k, an 84 rated squad is absolutely ludicrous for a loan player that isn’t one of the elite players. If EA really want to go down the route of high game Loans, they have to be priced more competitively. A team of 11 99 game loans that cost 40k per player is going to have its work cut out to make the cost back. And you don’t even get to use the card as fodder at the end of its usefulness. 

Rabiot and Pedro FUT Birthday SBC In Game Analysis

I wasn’t expecting a lot from these two players, I'll be honest. EA tend to indicate how good players are with their prices and two 88 rated cards coming in at just over 100k suggested we might be getting two duds. 

I was wrong. 

Starting with Rabiot, this is the budget Flashback Pogba. Ok, he doesn’t have the 5/4 of Pogba but his 5 star weak foot is an absolute win. He’s got the physical stature, the same links and comes in at ¼ of the price of Pogba. 

Rabiot was superb as a Box to Box midfielder for me. There’s a penchant in game for rangey French midfielders, be it Thuram’s Future Stars, Vieira, Pogba etc, Rabiot is the next addition to this collection, and a fine one at that. 

Whilst at times he did feel slightly sluggish, his size and strength meant he could hold off opponents easily before getting up to speed. And moving with the ball was surprisingly easy too. His 92 ball control and respectable low 80’s agility and balance meant he could really drive through the middle of the pitch. His passing was superb too.

The only negative aspect I had was that, when he did get chances, he couldn’t put them away. Far more of a creator than a finisher. However for a medium/medium work rate player, he puts an absolute shift in. Always aggressive in defence and always available in attack. 

If Rabiot is the blunt force instrument to break up the opponents play in midfield, Pedro is the surgical knife that slices open the opponents defence. Tiny, quick, agile, 5/5, he has everything those incredibly annoying wingers tend to possess. 

He has also been give the finesse trait and although his sub 89 shot power means you don’t get those insane looping trivela’s, his green timed finesse’s were a joy to behold. The ability to both drive at a defender and take shots on from distance meant defending against him was a tough task too. 

Whilst he is small and does get knocked off the ball, I found him incredibly slippery and it meant it was very hard for defenders to really get too much on him. Couple this with his wonderful knack for picking up space and making runs in behind, he was a joy to attack with. If you used his flashback from a few years back, this gives me a lot of the feelings that card did just with 5/5.

Both of these cards are brilliant for their price. A joy to use and competitive with cards far exceeding their value.  
 

How Do They Compare?

We’ll stick with one comparison for each player since we’ve got a double bill!

For Rabiot, it has to be Flashback Pogba. Whilst not the same players by any means, they would both fill an identical spot with identical links. 

Going into this, it’s worth remembering that Pogba was over 4 times more expensive than Rabiot.

As mentioned previously, Pogba has 5/4 compared to Rabiot’s 3/5 and for me this is fair trade off. AirJapes mentioned it in conversation the other day (let me just pick that name up) that he values 5 star weak foot over skill moves for any player that isn’t a winger. I honestly think for a Box to Box midfielder, I have to agree with him. Rabiot is also taller and faster than Pogba by a combined 7 acceleration and sprint speed.

Despite having lower Dribbling, I also think Rabiot excels here. With 2 extra reactions and balance being countered by 4 dribbling. Defensively it’s not even close. Rabiot has 9 more interceptions, 8 more defensive awareness and 5 more standing tackle. He also has 9 more stamina.

However, Pogba does take over when it comes to the technical aspects of the stats. An all round much better shooter and, despite having 3 fewer short passing stats, a much more well-rounded passer of the ball. Physically he’s a joke too. 8 more strength, 9 more jumping and 13 more aggression.

Is Rabiot better than Pogba? Not by a long shot. Does he offer 95% of what Pogba does for ¼ of the price? Absolutely. 

Pedro on the other hand has slightly stiffer competition. TOTT Di Maria was arguably the best SBC released in the first 6 months of the game. Almost identical in price to Pedro and released in December, it was a 90 rated screamer of a left winger. 3 months or so later and we’ve got an 88 rated Pedro for around the same price…

However Pedro does have 5/5 compared to ADM’s 5/4, he’s also shorter with a generic build compared to Di Maria’s slightly gangly unique build, and he has High/Low work rates compared to High/Med. There’s definitely some non-card rating-related characteristics that help what is a fairly comprehensive ransacking when you start comparing stats.

Pace is dead even. Shooting is all Di Maria. Despite losing out by one in finishing, Di Maria has more in every other stat compared to Pedro. Passing is a similar story, 13 extra crossing, 6 more curve and even 28 more free kick accuracy more than make up for the 3 extra short passing Pedro possesses.

Dribbling is a much more even affair, however. Di Maria’s 83 balance has always been a little bit of an Achilles heel and compared to Pedro’s 94, it’s a big swing. Di Maria does however have 5 more composure and is physically dominant too. 

Without the price discrepancy of Rabiot to Pogba, this is a much tougher sell for Pedro. I definitely think they offer slightly different things and could absolutely work in the same front line, however. I also think Di Maria was the gold standard of SBC’s this year in terms of ability vs price. It’s an unfair comparison, but Pedro gets a few good ticks in his column.

FUT Birthday Pedro and Rabiot - Cop or Flop?

Rabiot has 90% upvotes and Pedro, 80%. These are finally some well priced FUT Birthday SBC’s that offer a little taste of the FUT Birthday of old. An actual 5/5 attacker and a fantastic 5 star weak foot box to box midfielder. 

Jackgravvs comes in with today’s highlighted comment, mainly for his profile picture…

This is the fun type of content I feel that the general player base wants to see. Affordable, usable, fun cards that aren’t stretching the power curve but offer a little something different. I know there will be those who love to brag about being in Elite Division and these being Div 6 cards, but the reality is, they have harder Friendly matches so who’s the real winner?

Whether you want to Vote for Pedro or just want to scream “ADRIAAAAN” like Rocky, both of these cards are dynamite.

Cop

SBC Rating: 8/10