Next becomes now as Future Stars dials young players up to their full potential
THE FUTURE IS HERE
Meet the young stars shining bright enough to light the road ahead—a new era, led by a new generation of Future Stars who play the game their way and show who they are every time they take the pitch. Each Future Star upgrade represents the potential these u23 players have to rise from wonderkid to world-class as their career progresses.
RELIVE THE BEGINNINGS OF GREATNESS WITH FUTURE STARS ICONS
Future Stars ICONs celebrate the early years of each player’s career as they introduced themselves to the world with wonder-strikes, unforgettable performances, and trophy lifts. Look out for their fresh faces in-game—each Future Star ICON features their younger starhead on the pitch for a nostalgic look back at who they were as they rose to stardom.
UPGRADE PROMISING PROSPECTS WITH EVOLUTIONS
This year, Future Stars Academy comes to life via Evolutions—a chance to nurture up-and-coming talent in your Club into Future Stars on the pitch. Look out for a handful of Evolutions throughout the Future Stars campaign.
WELCOME YOUNGER ICONS CELEBRATING THEIR EARLY YEARS AS FUTURE STARS
ICONs with younger starheads are hitting the pitch for the first time in EA SPORTS FC™ 24 representing the former Future Stars they were before becoming all-time greats.
ROBERTO BAGGIO
When Baggio picked up the ball at the halfway line in the 1990 World Cup against Czechoslovakia, the world saw a 23 year old creative midfielder from Caldogno. By the time he had weaved his way past the entire opposition and slotted home, they saw a Future Star. Baggio’s form sparked a run to the semi-final for his native Italy and earned him a then-world record transfer to Juventus—a move that kickstarted his journey to ICON status.
DAVID BECKHAM
David Beckham saw his Future Star moment before anyone else, a goalkeeper—some 50 yards away—standing off his line. His iconic lob from midfield made him an instant sensation and remains one of the greatest opening day Premier League goals ever scored. From that moment, Beckham’s career followed the trajectory of his unforgettable wonderstrike, rising above the competition to the loftiest goals in every far reach of football.
CARLES PUYOL
Ask any attacker—once Puyol got a solid hold, he never let go. Off the back of being named the La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2001, Puyol grabbed his opportunity in the Spain team and never looked back. His Future Stars moment—a memorable assist that inspired La Roja to the quarterfinals in 2002—solidified his place at the heart of their defense, a post he held for the next decade where he led his country to a European Championship and their first World Cup title.
GENNARO GATTUSO
Ferocious. Passionate. Unyielding. Gennaro Gattuso made his #6 position synonymous with “warrior”, fighting for every tackle and giving everything for the badge. This tenacity earned him the loving nickname Ringhio—Italian for “snarl”—and helped him battle with his beloved Milan to Champions League glory in the early stages of his career. From there, Gattuso turned triumph into tradition as Future Star became ICON, lifting trophy after trophy including a World Cup with Italy in 2006.
PAVEL NEDVĚD
At 23, Pavel Nedvěd had a head full of flowing blonde hair and a future full of potential. That year, the all-action Czech midfielder’s summer catapulted him into global view. His man of the match performance in the semi-final of Euro ‘96 inspired his nation to an unforgettable final appearance and motivated a huge career move to Italy where Nedvěd and his iconic locks played their way into the upper echelons of footballing lore.
FRANK RIJKAARD
In true Future Star ICON fashion, a 17-year-old Frank Rijkaard took the pitch on his debut and scored the winner. From that day on, Rijkaard continued to show his class and flexibility, an expert tackler with elite vision and endless versatility. By the time he lifted the European Championships with the Netherlands in 1988, Rijkaard was no longer just a Future Star from Ajax. He was an ICON in the making.
RIVALDO
Rivaldo went from Brazilian Future Star to budding Barcelona ICON in a few short years. After winning the Brazilian Serie A in his breakthrough season, he quickly added a Sao Pãolo State Championship to his growing trophy case, attracting major attention from around the world. And just like he did at the start of his career, Rivaldo hit the ground in Spain, scoring 21 in his debut season—a omen of things to come for the future Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner.
ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO
If you want the world to notice you, shine on the world’s stage. That’s exactly what Future Star Andriy Shevchenko did at 22, capping his UEFA Champions League campaign with three goals to win the competition’s golden boot and send his childhood Dynamo Kiev to a historic European semi-final. From there, goals became an expectation and trophies became a habit as the goal-machine scored his way to the top of Ukraine’s all time list, a Ballon d’Or, and the vaulted distinction of footballing ICON.
KELLY SMITH
The first time Kelly Smith was called up to England (for the 1995 World Cup squad) she couldn’t go—she had school. Later that year, just a few days after her 17th birthday, she made her debut. By 18, the Future Star was a full international and now a league winner, scoring a brace to lift Arsenal to a memorable title. There’s little that Smith failed to accomplish in her career, let alone in her teenage years, such was the prodigious talent of one of The Lionesses’ greatest ever strikers.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
Even for a young Zinedine Zidane, football looked easy. His 40 yard wonder-strike against Betis epitomised this effortless class—a 23 year old Future Star calmly producing a world-class moment from thin air. That season, his quality led Bordeaux to an unforgettable UEFA Cup Final, one of many that he’d star in on his trophy-laden journey to becoming “Zizou”—French royalty and bonafide footballing ICON.
ZICO
At 19, Zico was already showing signs of greatness over a dead ball. But the Future Star and free-kick specialist quickly earned a reputation for so much more, gliding past opponents and finding incisive passes that nobody else could see. Zico didn’t just epitomise the #10 shirt, he was a major part of crafting its legacy. And by the time he retired, there was nobody in the history of world football more dangerous from a dead ball than Zico, scoring 101 times in his storied career.
EMMANUEL PETIT
Despite what his name suggests, Emmanuel Petit was a footballing giant from the moment he made his debut. At 19, it only took the then-Future Star five months to go from first match to first final, helping Monaco to the brink of Coupe de France glory. His stalwart approach at the heart of midfield broke attacks before they even developed and led Petit to final after final, lifting some of the world’s most coveted trophies on his path to ICON status.
HERNÁN CRESPO
By 21, Hernán Crespo was already sitting proudly atop South American football. His brace clinched River Plate the Copa Libertadores title in 1996 and confirmed him as a Future Star and heir apparent to Argentina’s attack. Europe took notice and Crespo soon found himself in Italy where he hit the ground running, an ICON in the making scoring at every opportunity—and even when the opportunity seemed like it had gone.
PAOLO MALDINI
Paolo Maldini began the 87-88 Serie A campaign as a teenager. He finished as a league champion and bonafide Future Star. Even at 19, the world could see the player who would go on to become Italy’s defensive talisman and one of the greatest to ever play. From debut at 16 to his retirement 25 years later, Maldini stayed loyal to Milan, building an untouchable legacy as a center back who was a walking masterclass and inspiration to many of the ICONs who came next.
ROBERTO CARLOS
Although remembered for the swerving free-kick that nearly broke physics, Roberto Carlos’ career never changed course. A Future Star at 21, the marauding left back had already drawn a straight line towards greatness, lifting back to back Brazilian titles in 1994. That success only continued his trajectory upward, earning his defining move to Europe where he went down in history for club and country as a true revolutionary of his position.
RONALDINHO
Ronaldinho introduced his flavor of Jogo Bonito to the world in iconic fashion—in a World Cup quarterfinal in 2002. At the age of 22, and with a smile on his face, he inspired Brazil to victory with a clever assist and stunning game-winner from 40 yards. Not only did he lift the trophy a few days later, but he vaulted himself into football culture, a Future Star who would go on to be one of the most creative, joyful ICONs the world has ever known.
CLARENCE SEEDORF
A true superstar of the UEFA Champions League, Dutch international Clarence Seedorf is still the only player to ever win the world’s biggest club competition with three separate clubs. The beginning of this iconic legacy was also his Future Star moment, a youthful 19 year old lifting Europe’s most coveted trophy with his boyhood Ajax in 1995. This career-crowning achievement became a common occurrence for Seedorf, whose greatness led him to UCL glory every few years after that first title.
STEVEN GERRARD
On 16 May 2001, a local lad became a Liverpool legend. Steven Gerrard’s goal in the UEFA Cup final capped his iconic 12 month rise to Future Stardom—a 21-year-old FA Cup champion, Football League Cup winner, and PFA young Player of the Year. From there, Gerrard never looked back, fulfilling his potential to become one of the most important players in the history of Liverpool and a true Merseyside ICON.
WAYNE ROONEY
With a thunderous swing of his right foot, a 17-year-old Wayne Rooney became the Premier League’s youngest ever goal scorer. His effort crashed off the bottom of the crossbar and catapulted Rooney to global stardom. His prodigious talent led him to one of the most storied teams in English football, where the shimmer of a Future Star became a brilliant footballing ICON who created for his teammates, outworked his opponents, scored all types of goals, and won truly everything.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
The official UEFA EURO 2024™ experience included with EA SPORTS FC™ 24.
