End of an Era SBC Predictions

As we reach the end of the 2022/23 season we’re seeing the departures of some of our favourite players. Whether that be them moving on to a different club after years of service, or moving on from the sport entirely they may be given one last special card in a potential End of Era promo. We had the same promo around this time last year and it’s been rumoured to return during Ultimate TOTS. There are so many players who could feature so we’ve predicted which cards we think we’re going to see in the potential End of Era promo. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 99

After an unbelievable 24 year career the Swedish striker finally decided to hang up his boots after Milan’s final match of the season. Zlatan is one of the greatest goal scorers we’ve ever seen with only Messi, Ronaldo and Lewandowski having scored more in the modern era. He played in 7 countries for 9 different teams and won an impressive 32 trophies. It wouldn’t be an End of Era promo without Ibrahimovic and we think that giving him a 99 rated card is more than deserved. 

N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema - 98

Benzema might not be retiring but he’s leaving Real Madrid after 14 years with Los Blancos. He followed his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia where he’ll be joining Al-Ittihad and potentially linking up with one of his French teammates. It’s been rumoured that N’Golo Kante has already completed his medical with Al-Ittihad and will be announced in the coming days. With both joining the same club will we see the two as a dynamic duo End of Era SBC? 

Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique - 95

These three have been vital to both Spain and Barcelona teams of the past and have all decided to end their Barcelona careers this season. Both Busquets and Alba are out of contract and will be looking for a new club for the 2023/24 season whereas Pique has retired from the sport completely. He actually retired in November and received a red card from the bench in what was meant to be his farewell. We’d like to see all three of these released and maybe all in the same SBC!

Roberto Firmino and James Milner - 95 and 93

Firmino and Milner both joined Liverpool in the same transfer window and are both leaving after 8 years on Merseyside. During their 8 years at Liverpool they were part of an iconic side who won everything there was to win including Liverpool’s first and only Premier League title. It’s unclear as to where either are heading next but there have been rumours of Milner moving down south to Brighton and Firmino has been eyed up as a potential Karim Benzema replacement at Real Madrid. 

Joaquin - 93

Alongside both Ibrahimovic and Buffon, Joaquin was one of only three players who featured in the 2002 World Cup to still be playing in Europe. Just like Zlatan he too decided to retire from football this week, going out on a high with his boyhood club Real Betis. After a 23 year career and over 700 games we say goodbye to another legend. 

Marek Hamsik - 93

This wouldn’t be Hamsik’s first End of Era card as he received one back in FIFA 19 after leaving Napoli, but the Slovak midfielder decided to retire from football after a 21 year career. His Napoli cards have been a go to for FIFA players in the past and it’ll be sad to see him retire but we’d like to use a big Hamsik card one last time before he leaves FIFA. 

Jonas Hector and Timo Horn - 92 

Hector and Horn have been immense servants to FC Koln over the last decade. They have both been part of the first team since 2010 and have seen multiple relegations but also multiple European campaigns. The pair leave after a combined 26 years at the club with Hector retiring from football and Horn deciding to find a new club once his contract expires. 

There seems to be so many players leaving or retiring at the end of this season and there were some we had to leave out! Who else do you want to see featured in the End of Era promo?