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Protect your flanks on a budget with these bargain full-backs for FIFA 19’s Career Mode.
Full-back has never been the most glamorous position on a football pitch, but with FIFA 19’s most dangerous players often the fleet-footed wingers, it’s a role you neglect at your peril.
If you’d rather drop most of your transfer budget on a striker or wideman of your own, we’ve picked out some bargain choices for the left and right-back positions in your Career Mode team.
As usual, there are a few rules. We’ve set a cap of €20m on transfer fees (anything over that’s only a bargain to the PSGs or Real Madrids of this world), tried to pick players who won’t demand huge weekly wages, and avoided players the wrong side of 30 where possible.
Prices quoted are ones we’ve genuinely settled on in a FIFA 19 Career Mode game, although it’s just a guide, so if you’re struggling to match them, throwing in a sell-on clause should grease the wheels, particularly for younger players.
LB: Marcos Acuña (Sporting)
When you’re paying €17m for a full-back you want to be sure you’re getting a lot for your money and what 80-rated Marcos Acuña lacks in stature he makes up for in, well, pretty much everything else. He’s not great at jumping and you wouldn’t want his head on the end of your corners but with 90 for stamina, 88 for aggression, 87 for crossing, 85 for dribbling and 80 for dribbling, he’ll make the whole left flank his own. Good enough on the ball to fill in in midfield if required, the 26-year-old also has 84 for long shots and 83 for shot power, meaning it’s worth a pop if space opens up on the edge of the box.
LB: Ismaily (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Shakhtar Donetsk has been a stepping stone for many Brazilian stars in recent years, with Willian, Fernandinho and Douglas Costa all spending time in Ukraine. At 28, Ismaily still has plenty of football left in him yet, and with 88 for stamina, 82 for positioning and 84 for acceleration he’s well equipped to get up and down the wing. Good on the ball and with 80 for crossing he’s dangerous going forward, while strength and tackling stats in the mid-70s mean wingers will have to work hard to get past him too. A bid of around €16.5m should make him yours.
LB: Ben Chilwell (Leicester City)
Ben Chilwell featured in our Premier League Wonderkid XI, but the full-back’s asking price, attributes and potential make him an excellent value-for-money buy, too, even if you do have to dig a little deeper to pay his wages. Leicester will want a little more for him now he’s shown what he can do, but for €14m you get a pacey left-back who’s good on the ball and works hard both in and out of possession. 85 for stamina will keep him going all game and while there are better tacklers out there, he’s no pushover when wingers try to get past him.
RB: André Almeida (SL Benfica)
With just 65 for acceleration and 66 for sprint speed, André Almeida might not be the quickest player on this list, but he makes up for his relative lack of pace in other areas. With 82 for marking, standing tackles and reactions, plus 81 for aggression and interceptions, he’ll make it hard for any winger to cause trouble in the final third, while 84 for stamina, 75 for dribbling and 80 for crossing means he has the energy to get up the other end and do damage himself. At 27 years old and with an overall rating of 80 he’s just entering the prime of his career, so Benfica will want around €13m for the versatile Portuguese.
RB: Rubén Peña (Eibar)
Another hugely versatile player, Rubén Peña is only listed as being able to play right-back or right wing, but he’s physically and technically gifted enough to play almost anywhere on the pitch – even as a striker thanks to 71 for finishing. It’s his pace, tackling and skill on the ball that means he’s usually deployed as a full-back, but with 83 for agility, 87 for balance, and 81 for ball control and dribbling, he does like to get forward and put a cross in. Eibar will want around €12m for the 78-rated 26-year-old.
LB: Jonas Hector (FC Köln)
German international Jonas Hector showed wonderful loyalty to Köln when they were relegated to the second tier of the Bundesliga, but that does mean you can pick him up for a fairly agreeable price on FIFA 19. €11m should be enough to bag you an impressive all-rounder who boasts 82 for stamina, 81 for interceptions and 79 for crossing, plus 76 for strength and 80 for reactions. The 28-year-old’s tackling, marking and passing stats are all in the high 70s and while he’s not as fast as some of the more attacking full-backs on this list, he’s not exactly slow. A solid if unspectacular addition to any squad.
LB: Sergio Escudero (Sevilla)
So happy attacking he can also play as a left midfielder, Sergio Escudero’s crossing stat of 81 makes him a good option if you’re looking for someone to supply balls into the box for a big target man. With 72 for acceleration and 77 for sprint speed he’s not slow to get up and down the flank, plus 83 for stamina means he won’t tire easily either. He doesn’t shirk his defensive duties without the ball either, with 81 for interceptions, 80 for both marking and sliding tackles, plus 76 for standing tackles. An offer of around €10.5m should be enough to convince Sevilla to let him leave.
RB: Hiroki Sakai (Marseille)
Hiroki Sakai is equally comfortably playing on either side of the defence, which makes him a bit like signing two players in one and for around €9.5m that’s a pretty good deal. His standout stat is 90 for stamina, which is just as well considering how hard he works both with and without the ball, but there’s also 80 for sliding tackles and 77 for both marking and standing tackles, plus 79 for aggression and 74 for interceptions. Acceleration and sprint speed of 78 mean he should be able to keep up with opposition wingers too.
RB: Óscar de Marcos (Athletic Club)
FIFA 19 might list Óscar de Marcos as a right-back, but the former striker can pretty much fill in anywhere on the pitch if necessary. Most comfortable playing as an attacking right-back, his acceleration of 81 and sprint speed of 87 make him a real handful for opposition defenders and with 93 for stamina they won’t get a break until the final whistle. There are better tacklers out there, but 76 for interceptions and 78 for positioning means he’s a good reader of the game and 79 for crossing makes him a danger around the box. With less than a year left on his contract, Athletic will take €8.5m for the 29-year-old.
RB: Marcelo Goiano (SC Braga)
Marcelo Goiano might be 30 years old, but there’s no signs of his age catching up with him just yet. The Braga right-back has a stamina rating of 87, plus 77 for acceleration and 75 for sprint speed, so he’ll have no trouble covering the necessary ground, plus he can play left-back if required as well. 78 for crossing and 77 for dribbling mean he can be a danger going forward, but with all his tackling and marking stats in the high 70s, he’s not forgotten what his primary role in the team is. Offer the Primeira Liga side around €8m and you’ll have your man.
