EA Sports FC players are hoping Franz Beckenbauer might make a return to Ultimate Team some day

Following the death of legendary German footballer Franz Beckenbauer, some EA Sports FC 24 players have expressed their hopes that he might make a return to the series formerly known as FIFA’s Ultimate Team mode following a hiatus.

Over the course of lengthy playing and managing career the man nicknamed Der Kaiser helped shape what it means to be a defender and became an institution in German football, winning the world cup as both a player and manager. Now, following his death at age 78, EA FC players have been expressing their hopes that Beckenbauer’s absence from EA’s footy series might come to an end.

“Rest in peace to a footballing great and German icon. Would love to have him back in Ultimate Team some day,” wrote one user on the EA Sports FC subreddit about the player, who hasn’t featured in the mode in a number of years.

FIFA 17 currently marks his most recent appearance in Ultimate Team, as a 93 overall rated legends card, and was the end of a run of three straight, with FIFAs 15 and 16 having featured Beckebauer cards boasting the same overall rating and stats.

The rumoured reason behind EA’s initial decision not to add that same Beckenbauer card to FIFA 18 and beyond was due to the fact he was being investigated alongside two other former high-ranking figures in German football, Wolfgang Niersbach and Theo Zwanziger, for suspected corruption linked to Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid. FIFA's Ethics committee ended up dropping this inquiry in early 2021, citing the expiry of the statute of limitations as its reason.

If bringing Beckenbauer back to the mode due to this or any other issues, such as licensing agreements, isn’t possible, a couple of users in the aforementioned thread have suggested that a squad building challenge (SBC) based around fellow German legends Lothar Matthäus or Gerd Muller could be a fitting tribute. If you’re after a way to pay respects outside of UT, kicking off a career that’ll see you play for or manage the German national team seems like a good shout.

In other EA Sports FC news, TOTY voting began yesterday following EA’s publication of its men’s and women’s nominee squads, so make sure to have your say on who sees their season recognised via a swanky blue card by casting a ballot.