FIFA 23 FUTTIES Luis Muriel Player Review - COP or FLOP?

Week 3 of Futties has been somewhat interesting. I feel the hype of that Ronaldinho SBC has probably massively overshadowed Week 3 of this promotion. “Best of” certainly has some improvements to it but is still decent with the inclusion of TOTW finally being back in packs.

But in terms of actual Futties Items, the SBCs have been a little underwhelming. I can’t believe i’m saying this but could we not get a Futties GK?!

But one segment of this promotion that seems to have gone a little bit under the radar is the Futties FUT Champs Objectives. Completing this Objective Requires and Rewards the following:

Win 5 FUT Champions Finals Matches - 94 Futties Buchanan
Win 10 FUT Champions Finals Matches - 85+ x10 Players Pack
Win 15 FUT Champions Finals Matches - 95 Futties Muriel
Win 20 FUT Champions Finals Matches - 85+ x10 Players Pack
Win 25 FUT Champions Finals Matches - 96 Futties Mkhitaryan
Win 30 FUT Champions Finals Matches -  85+ x10 Players Pack
Win 35 FUT Champions Finals Matches - 97 Futties Konate
Group Reward grants an additional 85+ x10 Players Pack

The player we are here to talk about today is one that for a majority of Casual Players will slowly have access to after this weekend is Futties Muriel. I’ve talked about this enough throughout this promo but i’m so glad this card is a Premium Futties Item. I really believe at this point, all Futties cards should just be premium. It’s August EA, let us have some fun!

You can check out the card here!

Whilst of course there is no physical cost to this item, it does require something a little bit more valuable. Your time (and probably your sanity too). But I feel the blow is probably softened by the fact that you can accomplish this over the rest of the game cycle and slowly work your way through, meaning even if you don’t get 15+ wins per weekend you will still likely get all rewards if you commit to it.

Alongside Muriel was fellow Premium Futties ST card, Lukas Podolski. Both cards that I have been really looking forward to trying out. An unlikely duo for sure but both were an absolute blast to use in game. I feel like Podolski really made up the physicality in the duo and supported with taking the pressure off of Muriel whilst he ran and left the rest in his dust.

The Chemstyle of choice for me here has to be Marksman. Putting this card up to 99 Pace, 99 Dribbling and 97 Shooting made the card near perfect. He felt absolutely fantastic on the ball and moved like the flash up and down the pitch.

How did he perform in-game?

+ Pace obviously was perfect on this card. At 99 pace it’s pretty hard to go wrong. Muriel was absolutely rapid!
+ Dribbling on this card was really impressive. He moved slow closely with the ball and was incredibly slick on his movement. Making quick stop and go moves around opponents leading to Muriel being through on goal before the defenders had realised what had happened.
+ Shooting was really good also. With that 5* WF he made light work of providing goals for the team.
/ Positioning wasn’t quite as I would hope as at times Muriel would feel a little bit all over the place and not quite be in the position I would want him to be when I needed it most.
/ Passing was also something on this card that didn’t quite disappoint me but could have been a lot better. I found a few occasions of which he would mess up some crucial passes.
- Strength, much like Pace, is an obvious downfall on this card for me. Despite actually having 87 strength his body type and height meant he was knocked off the ball a fair bit and often wouldn’t win battles for the ball.

Luis Muriel - Cop or Flop?

I think regardless here, the card is an absolute cop. It’s a free item and doesn’t come with a stipulation of choosing this card over a pack. But! Is he worth playing FUT Champs for in August? Yes I know, touch some grass. But at this stage of the game, champs is nowhere near as tough as it usually is and getting to a minimum of 11 wins doesn’t feel like much of a challenge (weird flex I know).

So in general I think this card alone is worth playing some Champs games for. Even if you spread it out across a few weekends. Because at the least he is some free 95-rated fodder. Of which is a good segway into my next point. Is he Fodder or does he go into your squad? Honestly for me he’s going into an SBC. A really fun card to use of course but at this stage of the game there are so many cards just like it and so many cards more “META”. So for me this card is going straight into the R10 SBC but regardless he is an absolute cop!

Verdict = COP