Is Diego Maradona coming to FC 25? Release date confirmed
Following years of rumours, leaks and a legal dispute, one of the greatest footballers to walk the earth is set to make their long-awaited return.
Following weeks of speculation and a long legal dispute, Diego Maradona is now set to make his return to the world of FIFA with EA Sports FC 25.
After a lifetime of football achievements that included a World Cup win, multiple Series A titles, world-record transfer fees and some of the best goals to ever be scored on a football pitch, Maradona sadly passed away at the age of 60 in 2020.
Known as El Pibe de Oro ('The Golden Boy') throughout his career, the Aregentine's popularity and legend have long continued to this day.
With EA Sports FC remaining the de facto way to play as your favourite players, many fans around the globe will be thrilled that Maradona will return to the football simulator so they can reenact many of the legend's most notable moments throughout the years.
The good news is that there's not long to wait either with official details now coming straight from the source. Yes, at long last, EA has confirmed Maradona is on the way.
Is Diego Maradona coming to FC 25?
EA has now officially confirmed that Diego Maradona will be added to EA Sports FC 25 on 14th February 2025. The player is set to headline the Grassroot Greats promo that will arrive alongside.
Whether Maradona will feature in Ultimate Team or the general game as a whole is still unclear, though the former is most probable, considering the mode's huge popularity.
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What were the Diego Maradona FC 25 rumours?
Several rumours suggested an announcement surrounding Diego Maradona's return to FC 25 took place in early February.
The most prominent rumour was from FC 25 known leaker DonkTrading (via X), who stated that Maradona would arrive with a 97 rating.
Some fans speculated that El Diego would be introduced alongside the leaked Grassroots Greats promotional event (first rumoured by FutSherrif).
EA removed Maradona from FIFA 22 due to a legal dispute in March 2022 surrounding his image rights. As a result, three cards featuring the Argentinian great were withdrawn from the game.
"Due to a third-party legal dispute, we must suspend Diego Maradona from appearing in FIFA Ultimate Team Packs, future FUT content and the Soccer Aid World XI in EA Sports FIFA 22," a statement from EA read in March 2022.
"As such, Diego Maradona Icon Items will no longer be made available in Packs, SBCs and FUT Draft.
"We have always included Maradona’s likeness and image under valid license agreements, first with Mr Maradona himself and later with the company entitled to license Maradona’s image rights worldwide."
It's now believed that the legal dispute has come to an end.
EA Sports FC 25 is available across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.
Read more on FC 25:
- FC 25 release date - pre-orders & latest news
- FC 25 ratings - when will they be confirmed?
- FC 25 Career Mode - best new features
- FC 25 pre-orders - all bonuses confirmed
- FC 25 closed beta - how to get codes
- FC 25 new features - 25 major changes
- FC 25 Ultimate Team - confirmed FUT changes
- FC 25 Pro Clubs - changes explained
- FC 25 professional fouls - controversial feature explained
- FC 25 cover - box art revealed
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Authors
Matt Poskitt is a freelance journalist who specialises in arts and culture – be that movies, TV, video games, tech or otherwise. Matt headed up the games and entertainment section at T3 (Future Publishing), alongside being found across The Guardian, CNET, PC Gamer Mag, GamesIndustry.biz, Insider, iNews, IGN, TechRadar, PC Gamer Mag, NME and many more.
