FIFA 21: The 20 Strongest Players on Ultimate Team - Ranked
By Adam Aladay
Whether it be winning the ball back, retaining possession or going on a slaloming run, the strongest players pose a constant threat throughout games.
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We've been treated to the top 100 highest-rated players for FIFA 21 Ultimate Team, but let's be honest, we're always interested in knowing those finer details, aren't we? Sure, it's always fun to play with the quickest and silkiest players in the game, but it just doesn't quite compare to tearing through an opponent while using a player's sheer power to go on a surging run.
Here's a look at the players with the highest strength rating in FIFA 21...
20. Mateo Pavlović - 93 Strength
Team: Angers
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 75
Standing at 6ft 4in, Pavlovic possesses height and power. The central defender's card hasn't changed much at all from FIFA 20 - meaning he has held on to his 93 strength and 84 physicality.
It also means, however, that he still possesses 31 pace. That's quite slow.
Still a gold card, though.
19. Abdoulaye Seck - 93 Strength
Team: Antwerp
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 69
Seck has received an upgrade in FIFA 21 - albeit just by one rating. But his pace has drastically increased, while his physicality has also risen to 93.
The 28-year-old has made a strong start to the 2020/21 season for Antwerp, starting all five league games, while he has even chipped in with a goal as well.
18. Willy Boly - 93 Strength
Team: Wolves
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 80
A Wolves player on this list...it must be Adama Traore, right? Right?!
Wrong.
Willy Boly remains an underrated and under-appreciated member of this Wolves team. The centre-back is not only consistently solid at the back, but he also poses a real threat from set pieces through his height and power.
17. Niklas Sule - 93 Strength
Team: Bayern Munich
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 84
Oh, what I would give to see the Bayern Munich training programme.
Sule's tall and muscular frame mixed with his ability on the ball and reading of the game defensively makes him one of the most complete defenders in Europe.
The German's physicality and strength ratings have actually gone down from 82 and 94 to 81 and 93 respectively.
93 strength isn't exactly bad though, is it? And judging by the way Leon Goretzka has grown physically over the past year, it would hardly be a surprise if Sule was one of a handful of Bayern players on this list in FIFA 22.
16. Issa Marega - 93 Strength
Team: LB Châteauroux
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 64
A defensive midfielder in FIFA 20, Marega has been converted to a centre-back this year as this was where he played the majority of his games at Cercle Brugge.
No real surprises here.
15. Geoffrey Kondogbia - 94 Strength
Team: Valencia
Position: Central Midfielder
Overall Rating: 79
The one and only midfielder on this list...wait, what? Yep, Kondogbia is the sole midfielder to sit within the top 20 for strength.
Kondogbia didn't actually make the top 20 in FIFA 20, but while his physicality has stayed the same, his strength rating has gone up from 92 to 94.
Not only is he a very tricky customer to dispossess, his understanding of how to use his body allows him to nick the ball away from players with consummate ease.
A useful gold card to have at your disposal.
14. Kalidou Koulibaly - 94 Strength
Team: Napoli
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 88
One of the world's finest centre-backs, Koulibaly's future is very much up in the air this summer.
He always uses his physicality to great effect in defensive positions, making it almost possible for an attacker to get past him in one-on-one situations.
Many have tried, but the majority have failed.
13. Pape Abou Cisse - 94 Strength
Team: Olympiacos
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 75
Another newcomer on this list, Cisse's strength rating has drastically increased this year - going up four.
With his pace, power and threat that he poses from set-pieces, Cisse could be quite a shrewd acquisition in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team.
12. Ariel Nahuelpan - 94 Strength
Team: Club Tijuana
Position: Striker
Overall Rating: 72
Who?!
Well, I'm glad you asked. 32-year-old Nahuelpan has had quite the career outside Europe, featuring for 12 clubs during his career to date.
The striker has earned himself an upgrade of two on his strength after a 2019/20 season during which he managed 11 goals.
11. Sebastián Coates - 94 Strength
Team: Sporting CP
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 81
Sebastian Coates was never the quickest centre-back around, was he? But his strength in defensive duels is undoubted and he once again retains his 94 strength rating in FIFA 21.
Now playing in a league which suits his style, Coates has been a regular at Sporting CP. As well as acting as the leader at the back, he also chipped in with six goals last season.
Not bad, Seb.
10. Florian Ballas - 94 Strength
Team: Erzgebirge Aue
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 68
You may be sat there once again thinking 'who?' - and well, you wouldn't be the only one.
You may perhaps even be looking at the name of the team and thinking 'who?' - and again, you wouldn't be the only one.
The 27-year-old only recently made the switch to Erzgebirge Aue in Germany's second division after departing Dynamo Dresden.
He may have gone down in overall rating, but he keeps his place in the top 20 for strength. That's all that matters really, isn't it?
9. Felipe Carvalho - 94 Strength
Team: Vålerenga Fotball
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 68
It wasn't long ago when Felipe Carvalho was being linked with a move to Arsenal.
The defender was very keen on the idea, but his boss at the time Ronny Delia....was, well, less so. In fact, he described any such rumour as 'stupid'.
Nonetheless, Carvalho could be a very shrewd silver card addition.
8. Stefan Maierhofer - 94 Strength
Team: Admira Wacker
Position: Striker
Overall Rating: 63
Remember him, Wolves fans? As well as featuring for Wolves, he also had spells with Millwall and Bristol City among many, many others.
The 6ft 6in 38-year-old really isn't the quickest, in fact he's actually the slowest player on this list.
But the former Bayern Munich player (yep, them as well) is a target man, capable of fending off challenges with ease before making his way into the box and attacking a cross.
7. Tomas Petrasek - 94 Strength
Team: Raków Częstochowa
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 67
Petrasek keeps hold of his 94 strength rating - although he may not be best pleased with his passing stats.
Sure, they've gone up two, but 37? Really?
6. Obbi Oulare - 94 Strength
Team: Standard Liege
Position: Striker
Overall Rating: 71
Son of Stoke City legend Souleymane Oulare, Obbi is now with Standard Liege.
The centre-forward was actually on Watford's books for four years before departing last summer. But during this time, he only made...three appearances.
5. Armando Méndez - 95 Strength
Team: Nacional de Montevideo
Position: Right-Back
Overall Rating: 70
Here's a brief rundown of how much Mendez can lift in the gym:
- 125kg on bench press.
- Chin ups with an additional 40kg attached to him.
- 188kg on squats.
They call him the Hulk at Nacional for a reason, y'know.
4. Romelu Lukaku - 95 Strength
Team: Inter
Position: Striker
Overall Rating: 85
What more does Romelu Lukaku have to do to prove to the footballing world that he is a genuine world class striker?
The answer: absolutely nothing.
Despite what some may think, the Belgium international is one of the most complete forwards around and his importance to his team goes so much further than just scoring goals.
Saying that, however, his record in front of goal isn't bad though, is it?
3. Aleksandar Vukotic - 95 Strength
Team: Waasland-Beveren
Position: Centre-Back
Overall Rating: 68
To be perfectly honest, at first glance, Vukotic's FIFA 21 card hardly screams 'world class centre-back'.
31 pace, 46 dribbling, 49 passing and only 79 physicality. But the 6ft 7in defender has actually been a dominant presence at the back for Waasland-Beveren during his time with the club - so much so that he has attracted interest from Celtic.
Strong in the tackle and all the strength in the world, Vukotic is a no-nonsense defender.
2. Daryl Dike - 96 Strength
Team: Orlando City
Position: Striker
Overall Rating: 61
Dike has been written off in the past for his size, but he has proven his critics wrong in his early career thus far. Standing at 6ft 2in and weighing over 100kg, he is a real target man up front - but equally, he works tirelessly off the ball to close down opponents and force mistakes.
Still only 20, the Orlando City man has made a fine start to the new MLS season - bagging three goals in six games. He has the physicality to compete and dominate just about any opponent in world football, but his overall game is also continuing to improve drastically.
Oh, and his cousin is also a certain Emmanuel Emenike
Perhaps Dike could one day follow in the footsteps of Emenike by making the switch to Europe.
1. Adebayo Akinfenwa - 97 Strength
Team: Wycombe Wanderers
Position: Striker
Overall Rating: 65
It just had to be him, didn't it?
Akinfenwa has retained his 97 (how is that even possible?) strength rating for FIFA 21. Sure, he's only got 42 pace, but that really doesn't matter when you are that physically imposing.
The striker netted ten times last season to help Wycombe gain promotion to the Championship - even getting a call from a certain Jurgen Klopp after the play-off final, with the Liverpool boss wanting to congratulate him.
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