FIFA 21 Freeze: Everything you need to know about the replacement FIFA 21 Futmas promo

(Image credit: EA)

Goodbye FIFA 21 Futmas, hello FIFA 21 Freeze. EA's longstanding Chrimbo campaign was mercilessly axed this season, and replaced with something brand new for FIFA 21. It's over now, but delivered more than a dozen new items, daily SBCs and – at long last – the launch of Icon Swaps and Prime Icons. Below we cover all the big ways in which EA mixed up its traditional December offering, to form your FIFA 21 Freeze guide.

Who made the FIFA 21 Freeze team?

11 new FIFA 21 Freeze cards were initially available in packs, with some decent variety on show. Position changes were en vogue. Sadio Mane (Liverpool, 92) at ST and Casemiro (Real Madrid, 90) at CB naturally appealed, but moving Marco Verratti (Paris, 88) to LM and Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, 87) to RW were also two smart, unconventional ways of venturing outside the meta.

Some lower-rated items were even more bonkers, but in a way that made them affordable to the entire user base. Even now, Nani (Orlando City, 84) at CAM and Alexandr Golovin (AS Monaco, 83) at RB offer a real chance to mix up your squad. As for Salif Sane (Schalke, 85) at CDM with a height of 6’5” and stats of 83 defending and 85 physicality? Gimme.

How else could I earn FIFA 21 Freeze players?

In addition to the initial 11-man team mentioned above, further FIFA 21 Freeze players were available outside of the transfer market.

Yannick Bolasie (Everton, CAM) may have gone missing this season when it comes to setting foot on the Goodison Park turf, but his 85-rated Freeze card is nonetheless a belter, with 86 pace, 85 shooting and 81 physicality. To unlock it you needed to finish five lengthy objectives in Live FUT Friendly: Managerial Masterpiece.

Other new addition Marquinhos (Paris, CDM) required coins (or untradable cards stashed in your club) rather than days of grind. His Squad Building Challenge comprised a team of 86-rated players, with at least one PSG card essential for submission. In return you got an edge-of-box brick wall boasting an 87 OVR with 88 defending, 80 physicality and 80 pace. The challenge cost around 160K to complete, but is sadly long gone now.

“Freeze themed player Squad Building Challenges will go live throughout the event,” said EA as it got underway. “Freeze themed player SBC releases will be accompanied by a second SBC giving you the option to unlock a loan version of that day's player; the perfect way to audition and determine who works best in your team.”

The above SBC cards were followed by Cristian Ansaldi (Torino, RB), Leon Bailey (Leverkusen, RW), Jose Gaya (Valencia, ST), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United, CB), Matteo Politano (Napoli, ST), Jesus Navas (Sevilla, CB), Serge Gnabry (FC Bayern, CAM), Adama Traore (Wolves, LB), Kenny Lala (Strasbourg, RM), Konrad Laimer (RB Leipzig, RB), Houssem Aouar (OL, ST), Joao Victor (Wolfsburg, ST), and Roberto Firmino (Liverpool, CM).

A surprise centre-back version of Monaco striker Kevin Volland followed on from Bolasie as an objectives reward when week 2 of FIFA 21 Freeze got underway.

How much do FIFA 21 Freeze cards cost?

Mane is expensive, and that won’t change any time soon. Fast Premier League strikers never come cheap. As I write this he’s going for 2.1 million coins, while Casemiro was initially extinct. As of late January you can at least find him on the transfer market, but you're still looking at shelling out 372,000 coins.

Verratti can be nabbed for around 114K, Martinez for 415K. At the other end of the scale, Golovin currently retails at approximately 16,000 coins on the secondary market, with Nani at 30K.

Did you say FIFA 21 Icon Swaps are here at last?

They certainly are. By saving up tokens in game – awarded for completing objectives – you can grind your way to a selection of Icons, some of them prime.

At 17 tokens Thierry Henry is the most expensive reward, while you only need to save seven tokens to acquire 85-rated Nemanja Vidic. For now, the other unlockable icons are Frank Rijkaard (14 tokens), Ronald Koeman (13), Davor Suker (11), and Gheorge Hagi (9).

We have a detailed FIFA 21 Icon Swaps guide should you need more comprehensive info on how it all works.

What else was new with the FIFA 21 Freeze campaign?

Oh, a ton of stuff. There were various limited-time FUT Freeze Squad Building Challenges, to go along with SBC sets for the MLS and Serie A. Also live was a challenge to score Bruno Fernandes’ (Manchester United, 91) player of the month card.

A third FIFA 21 RTTF team arrived as part of the campaign on 18 December, as well as an additional smaller batch of FIFA 21 Freeze players on 22 December.

Is there a complete FIFA 21 Freeze player list?

Yep. The full FIFA 21 Freeze player list as of Wednesday 27 January is as follows:

Sadio Mane (ST, Liverpool) - 92
Casemiro (CB, Real Madrid) - 90
Roberto Firmino (CM, Liverpool) - 89
Marco Verratti (LM, Paris) - 88
Bernardo Silva (CAM, Manchester City) - 88
Serge Gnabry (CAM, FC Bayern) - 88
Lautaro Martinez (RW, Inter Milan) - 87
Marquinhos (CDM, Paris) - 87 [SBC only]
Thorgan Hazard (ST, Dortmund) - 86
Jose Gaya (ST, Valencia) - 86 [SBC only]
Jesus Navas (CB, Sevilla) - 86 [SBC only]
Kevin Volland (CB, Monaco) - 86 [objectives only]
Houssem Aouar (ST, OL) - 86 [SBC only]
Lucas Torreira (LB, Atletico Madrid) - 85
Yannick Bolasie (CAM, Everton) - 85 [objectives only]
Cristian Ansaldi (RB, Torino) - 85 [SBC only]
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (CB, Manchester United) - 85 [SBC only]
Matteo Politano (ST, Napoli) - 85 [SBC only]
Kenny Lala (RM, Strasbourg) - 85 [SBC only]
Konrad Laimer (RB, RB Leipzig) - 85 [SBC only]
Nani (CAM, Orlando City) - 84
Leon Bailey (BW, Bayer Leverkusen) - 84 [SBC only]
Adama Traore (LB, Wolves) - 84 [SBC only]
Joao Victor (ST, Wolfsburg) - 84 [SBC only]
Ricardo Rodriguez (CDM, Torino) - 83
Salif Sane (CDM, Schalke) - 83
Alexandr Golovin (RB, AS Monaco) - 83