FIFA 23 Best Centre-Backs
Profiles on some of the best centre-backs you can sign on FIFA 23 Career Mode
We cover youth football. For all you FIFA players, we’ve picked out a few of our favourite young centre-backs that would be suitable signings on your FIFA 23 Career Mode saves. From Matthijs de Ligt to Tanguy Kouassi, these are some of the best young CBs in the game.
If you are looking for older players, we have you sorted too, with a collection of the ten highest overall centre-backs at the start of your save. Also, have a look through the rest of our website for more young players to sign.
OUR LISTS OF THE BEST FIFA 23 TALENTS
How do I develop centre-backs in FIFA 23 Career mode?
There are a few key methods to develop centre-backs in FIFA 23. Firstly, they need to play senior minutes and get good match ratings in matches. Obviously, this needs to be balanced with your need to win games but getting them on the field as much as possible is vital.
If you canโt give them minutes, then consider sending them on loan. However, when loaning players, ensure that you are sending them to a club where they will play senior minutes, or you risk further stunting their growth.
Next, focus on doing well in training drills and earning good ratings. Generally, you should be able to play through each drill a few times, do them well, and then you should be able to subsequently simulate the sessions and earn a similar grade. However, if your grades start to fall, you should take control of your drills again to boost your ratings back up.
Lastly, and very importantly, is your player development plan. Development plans determine what kind of skillset you want your player to develop for their role in your team.
For centre-backs, there are five development paths to choose from:
Balanced โ The all-round option that will see your centre-backs develop all their attributes with no real particular focus.
Stopper โ Developing your centre-back into a stopper will mould them into an aggressive defender that looks to stop attacks before they can even get started. This development plan aims to improve their sprint speed, acceleration, defensive work rate, ball control, defensive awareness, standing tackling, jumping, stamina, strength, and aggression.
Sweeper โ The good old-fashioned sweeper is the centre-back tasked with mopping up everything in behind, and so the development role focusses on all the relevant speed and defensive metrics required: defensive work rate, sprint speed, agility, reactions, slide tackling, defensive awareness, heading accuracy, interceptions, jumping, and stamina.
Ball Playing Defender โ Ball playing defenders are the unicorns of modern football โ good defensive players that can also kickstart attacks with their ability to play out from the back. In FIFA 23 career mode, the development plan for ball playing defenders will help them improve their weak foot, vision, long passing, short passing, balance, ball control, interceptions, defensive awareness, standing tackle, and stamina.
Defensive Centre Back โ The defensive centre-back development plan is quite similar to the sweeper, except minor changes to reflect a tendency to step into the defensive line rather than hold it. So a trade is made for defensive awareness, agility, interceptions and jumping, and instead there is a focus on acceleration, standing tackling, strength, and short passing.
Who are the best centre-backs in FIFA 23 Career mode?
| NAME | AGE | CLUB | OVERALL | POTENTIAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgil van Dijk | 31 | Liverpool | 90 | 90 |
| Rรบben Dias | 25 | Manchester City | 88 | 91 |
| Marquinhos | 28 | Paris Saint-Germain | 88 | 90 |
| Antonio Rรผdiger | 26 | Real Madrid | 87 | 88 |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | 27 | Chelsea FC | 87 | 87 |
| David Alaba | 37 | Real Madrid | 86 | 86 |
| Milan ล kriniar | 30 | Inter Milan | 86 | 87 |
| Thiago Silva | 35 | Chelsea FC | 86 | 86 |
| Aymeric Laporte | 28 | Manchester City | 86 | 87 |
| Matthijs de Ligt | 29 | Bayern Munich | 85 | 89 |
THE BEST YOUNG TALENTS IN FOOTBALL
We’ve split this section into three centre-backs that can start for your teams straight away, and three centre-backs that are good options for the future:
Alessandro Bastoni
- Club: Internazionale (ITA)
- Country: Italy
With Giorgio Chielliniโs senior international career coming to an end after Italy failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, next in line to the throne should be Alessandro Bastoni.
His stats in the game reflect the pedigree of the Internazionale defender, who has been a consistent performer for a few years now at a very high level in Serie A. Heโs not just a pure defender either, with respectable passing and dribbling stats that will be more than competent once he reaches (his potential) 90 overall.
- Overall: 84
- Potential: 90
Matthijs de Ligt
- Club: FC Bayern Mรผnchen (GER)
- Country: Netherlands
Matthijs de Ligt made another huge money move in the summer, this time leaving Juventus to join Bayern Mรผnchen. Thereโs a reason why at just 23, clubs have already accumulated around โฌ150 million on signing him: heโs good.
Decent pace and elite level defensive and physical attributes underpin De Ligtโs skillset, and with the potential to reach 89 overall, he is as good as it gets in terms of pure defenders in FIFA 23.
- Overall: 85
- Potential: 89
Joลกko Gvardiol
- Club: RB Leipzig (GER)
- Country: Croatia
Joลกko Gvardiol is a Scouted Football favourite for good reason. He is an all-action centre-back most comfortable on the left of a three in real life, but in FIFA, anything goes. Great pace for a centre back, elite physicals, and great technical quality will make him a fan favourite for lots of FIFA 23 players.
He can also play at left-back, though his technical skill will be tested here.If you can build up his dribbling on his way to his 90 overall potential, he can be not just a defensive monster, but an attacking one too.
- Overall: 81
- Potential: 89
THE BEST YOUNG TALENTS IN FOOTBALL
Tanguy Nianzou
- Club: Sevilla CF (ESP)
- Country: France
Tanguy Kouassi is on an interesting pathway, having first left Paris Saint-Germain to join Bayern Munich, and now having left Bayern to join Sevilla in search of first-team opportunities.
In FIFA 23, he is a physically gifted centre-back, though he lacks a little bit of pace, even for someone who is a 73 overall. Thatโs something you will hope he adds as he develops towards his 85 potential overall.
- Overall: 73
- Potential: 85
Levi Colwill
- Club: Chelsea, on loan at Brighton (ENG)
- Country: England
Levi Colwillโs name was on the lips of a lot of people this past summer, as he was the topic of big transfer rumours. In the end, he moved on loan from Chelsea to Brighton as he seeks to take the next step up after an amazing season in the Championship with Huddersfield Town in 2022/23.
Colwill has a solid, rounded set of attributes from which to build on in FIFA 23, with his physicality being his main strength. With 14 overall points to grow, he should grow into a strong, mobile centre-back with mid-level passing and dribbling.
- Overall: 70
- Potential: 84
Micky van de Ven
- Club: VfL Wolfsburg (NED)
- Country: Netherlands
Micky van de Ven has a very intriguing skillset in FIFA 23 Career Mode. Mainly itโs because he has 80 pace as a 69 rated player. With the potential to grow to an 84 overall, this pace stat could feasibly reach the 90s, which would make him rather dominant.
His other stats are somewhat lacklustre apart from his physical stats, but with the potential to be a 90 pace 6โ4โ centre-back, itโs worth putting time into developing Van de Ven.
- Overall: 69
- Potential: 84
Virgil van Dijk, Rรบben Dias, Marquinhos, Antonio Rรผdiger and Kalidou Koulibaly are the highest-reated centre-backs in FIFA 23 Career Mode.
Alessandro Bastoni and Joลกko Gvardiol have the potential to become two of the best centre-backs in your FIFA 23 Career Mode saves. Levi Colwill is one of the hidden centre-back gems too.
OUR LATEST PLAYER PROFILES
