FIFA 22: See the best teams to play career mode

FIFA 22 is the latest game in the EA Sports soccer franchise, bringing some changes and other classic modes revamped. The Career Mode, for example, is one of the traditional options of the game, where the player can manage a team, the career of a player, or even create a team from scratch (new in the current version). And to act as a manager and challenge yourself, it is important to choose a team that provides good conditions for growth.

Techidence separated some of the best teams to play this mode of FIFA 22. The list includes teams with robust casts, high financial power, and good grades, but that still has room for development for future seasons. Remember that EA’s game is available for PC and PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One consoles.

Ajax (Netherlands)

• Overall Rating: 79
• Defense level: 80
• Midfield Level: 78
• Attacking level: 81
• Transfer budget: £29.6m

Ajax has a good squad and are the big contender for the Eredivise, the Dutch league title. The player who chooses the team in Career Mode should encounter two major challenges: the quest for continental success and the development of promising players. The latter comes with the difficulty of keeping these athletes in the squad in the long term and at the same time increasing the budget to improve the squad.

The 19-year-old Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch, for example, appears on EA’s list as a player with the potential to dominate soccer’s future. In FIFA 22, the Ajax midfielder’s overall is 78 but could reach 90 in the hands of a good manager. The duo Dusan Tadic (84) and Nicolás Tagliafico (82) are some of the most experienced names in the squad.

Barcelona (Spain)

• Overall Rating: 83
• Defense level: 80
• Midfield Level: 84
• Attacking Prowess: 85
• Transfer budget: £111.8m

The crisis faced by Barcelona in the post-Lionel Messi era of the real world has not yet fully arrived in FIFA. The Catalan team has a good budget, but the squad needs work and renewal. Barça’s great hope lies in the Spanish duo Ansu Fati (overall 76) and Pedri (81), who can reach maximum potentials of 90 and 91, respectively. The team’s challenge is to get back to figuring among the great European teams.

For this, you will count on experienced names such as Frenkie de Jong (87), Memphis Depay (85), and Sergio Aguero (87), who will be important in this reconstruction. But in the long term, it is important to look for other talents, since many athletes are already over 30 years old.

Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

• Overall Rating: 81
• Defense level: 81
• Midfield grade: 81
• Attacking ability: 84
• Transfer budget: £54.29m

Players looking for a team with long-term potential to develop may find Borussia Dortmund a good choice for Career Mode. The German team suffers from a long title drought and the first team contains some players over 30 years old, such as Mats Hummels (overall 86) and Marco Reus (85). On the other hand, the club focuses on developing young athletes and names like Giovanni Reyna (77) and Jude Bellingham (79), who are good bets for the future.

The team’s budget is smaller than that of other big European teams, but only Dortmund has the talent and the goals of Erling Haaland (88), who is quite young and can reach 93 overall. The challenges are to hold on to these talents in their early 20s and to go head to head with the multi-champion Bayern Munich, sovereign in Germany and a strong name in the Champions League.

Piemonte Calcio/Juventus (Italy)

• Overall Rating: 83
• Defense Level: 83
• Midfield Level: 81
• Attacking Prowess: 83
• Transfer budget: £88.9m

Piemonte Calcio (the fictitious name of Juventus, which has an exclusive contract with Konami in eFootball) is the team with the greatest financial power in Serie A (the Italian league) and the main bet for local soccer on the European scene. The squad is a good mix of experience, established names, and young talents. The defense is one of the team’s great assets, led by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny (87 overall) and led by the experienced defensive duo Giorgio Chiellini (86) and Leonardo Bonucci (85).

Juve also has two names on the Career Mode top potential list: Italian striker Federico Chiesa (83 could go as high as 89) and Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt (85 through 91). In addition, there is one of the best Argentine players at the moment, Paulo Dybala (87), who is 27 years old. Here, the challenge will be to win the Italian league again and, above all, to win the Champions League title.

Manchester United (England)

• Overall grade: 84
• Defense Level: 83
• Midfield Level: 84
• Attacking range: 85
• Transfer budget: £163m

One of the big highlights of the European transfer window was Manchester United. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo (91), along with the arrival of Jadon Sancho (87) and Raphael Varane (86), is an important addition to a team that already had great stars such as Paul Pogba (87) and Bruno Fernandes (88). Despite this, the team faces tough opponents in the Premier League, as well as being a secondary force in the Champions League.

The star-studded squad and the million-dollar budget make the English club a great choice for starters in Career Mode. The long title drought combined with legendary rivalries and the Premier League, one of FIFA’s most challenging domestic tournaments, make the manager’s role even more intense.

Paris Saint-Germain (France)

• Overall Rating: 86
• Defense rating: 85
• Midfield Level: 83
• Attacking strength: 89
• Transfer budget: £188m

Another big highlight of the last transfer window was Paris Saint-Germain. The arrival of Lionel Messi (93) and the Argentine’s partnership with Kylian Mbappé (91, but can reach 95) and Neymar (91) leave the French club with the best attack in the world and FIFA 22. At the other end of the field, PSG has Sergio Ramos (88) and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (89 and up to 93).

Winning Ligue 1 seems certain, and this combination of factors makes the team the easiest to manage in Career Mode. Still, the manager needs to pay attention to two important factors: the average age of some sectors, making it important to invest in the formation of young talents, and the playing time of so many stars, who may ask to leave the team if they do not get much playing time.

Real Madrid (Spain)

• Overall Rating: 84
• Defense Level: 83
• Midfield Level: 86
• Attacking level: 83
• Transfer budget: £162m

The player who chooses Real Madrid in Career Mode will have experienced and consolidated athletes at his disposal, such as Casemiro (89) and Toni Kroos (88), but it will also take promising players like Rodrygo (79) and Vinícius Jr. (80). Vini Jr. is the only Brazilian on the list of young players with the highest aptitude in FIFA 22’s Career Mode, with a maximum potential of 90, third-best improvement rate.

El Clásico also always promises many emotions, as does the dispute for the La Liga Cup. On the continental level, Real has good individual names, and it is up to the player to put together a collectively competitive team.