Several leaks have emerged for EA Sports FC 26, including the next batch of Icons and who will be on the game’s cover.
As we hit the summer months, the announcement of the next EA Sports FC game is guaranteed to be just around the corner.
The past few entries, including last year’s EA Sports FC 25, were all officially revealed in July, ahead of a September launch. The inevitable EA Sports FC 26 is expected to follow suit and, as is also tradition, leaks have outed several details already.
This includes who will be gracing the cover of EA Sports FC 26 and according to several leakers, it’s set to be a repeat of last year.
According to leaker LeanDesign, who leaked last year’s cover star, England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham will once again be splashed on the cover for EA Sports FC 26.
Repeat cover stars aren’t unusual for the series. Lionel Messi has appeared on four FIFA covers, from FIFA 13 through 16, while Cristiano Ronaldo had a back-to-back billing on FIFA 18 and FIFA 19.
The footballer who has featured on the cover the most is Wayne Rooney, who notched up seven games from FIFA 06 until FIFA 12.
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In other leaks, reliable insider Fut Sheriff has revealed the next batch of stars set to appear as Icons in Ultimate Team for EA Sports FC 26. You can check out the full list below, but one of them, Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimović, is a somewhat surprising addition.
In 2020, Ibrahimović criticised EA for allegedly using his name and likeness in the game without his permission. ‘Who gave FIFA EA Sport permission to use my name and face? @FIFPro? I’m not aware to be a member of Fifpro and if I am I was put there without any real knowledge through some weird manouver [sic],’ he tweeted at the time.
EA responded with a statement which pinned the blame on FIFPro, the organisation which represents professional footballers. ‘This is between FIFPro, the players within their association and their representatives,’ an EA spokesperson told Forbes.
Ibrahimović disputed this claim in subsequent tweets, but his presence as an Icon in EA Sports FC 26 suggests the dispute has been settled.
Leaked Icons for EA Sports FC 26
- Zlatan Ibrahimović – Sweden
- Andrés Iniesta – Spain
- Toni Kroos – Germany
- Marcelo – Brazil
- Giorgio Chiellini – Italy
- Alex Morgan – USA
- Francesco Totti – Italy
- Oliver Kahn – Germany
- Sara Thunebro – Sweden
- Cha Bum-kun – South Korea
- Steffi Jones – Germany
- Sissi – Brazil
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