The world’s top football clubs have a lot of money to spend, but even the biggest, richest clubs have finite resources, so in FIFA 23’s Career mode it pays to have an eye for a bargain. The market value of a player is a balanced calculation based largely on their OVR and age, so you won’t find any players with unusually lower market value. But there are certain factors that make it more likely that you’ll be able to pay less than market value for a player.
Related: The best young players in FIFA 23 Career mode
How to find cheap players in FIFA 23
You’re more likely to be able to pay less than a player’s market value if one or more of the following factors applies:
- Their contract expires in less than a year
- They’re unhappy at their current club
- They’re transfer listed
- They have a long-term injury
The more of those factors apply, the less you’ll have to pay for the player. You can search for players who are transfer listed, or who have less than a year on their contract. You can’t search for unhappy or injured players, but you can see their health and happiness on their scout reports. One more way to pay a lot less than market value is to sign a free agent. Most of them are out of contract with good reason, but you’ll always find a few gems among the rough.
The best free agents in FIFA 23
At the start of the 22/23 season in FIFA 23 Career mode, the following decent players are all free agents.
Tomáš VaclÃk
Age: 33
Position: GK
OVR: 80
If you snap up this veteran Czech keeper before any other team does, then you’ll be saving yourself the £6 million you’d have to pay for him at market value.
Daniel Sundgren
Age: 31
Position: RWB/CB
OVR: 71
This experienced Swede wouldn’t be a worthwhile signing for any top club, but if you’re strapped for cash and your defense needs shoring up, you could do a lot worse.
Boualem Khoukhi
Age: 32
Position: CB/CDM
OVR: 71
This Qatari international is another cheap option if both your bank account and your defense are a bit leaky.
Loïc Négo
Age: 31
Position: RM/RB/CM
OVR: 72
This Hungarian international can play in a variety of positions, which is always useful when times are hard and budgets are slim.
Florin Tănase
Age: 27
Position: CF/ST/CM
OVR: 72
This versatile Romanian attacker is unusual among free agents in that he’s still quite young, so you’ll be able to get a lot of value out of him before he hits retirement age.
Akram Afif
Age: 25
Position: LW/CF/CAM
OVR: 76
Another Qatari international, and this one’s good enough to make the first team of a low-level top-flight club, or else would make a decent backup player at a better club. He’s relatively young too.
The best players with expiring contracts in FIFA 23
At the start of the 22/23 season in FIFA 23 Career mode, the following players have less than a year left on their contracts, which usually means you can pay less, or at least not much more, than their market value. These are great players, so they’re still not exactly cheap. If they’re out of your price range, try changing the contract to 0 – 1 in your scout instructions, and your scouts will offer you some more affordable options.
Karim Benzema
Age: 35
Position: CF/ST
OVR: 91
Even paying less than his market value, France and Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema is still going to cost you a lot, and he’s probably only got a season or two left in him. That said, he’s pretty much guaranteed to score dozens more goals during the short time before he retires.
Jan Oblak
Age: 29
Position: GK
OVR: 89
You’re going to have to be managing a top club to be able to afford Slovenian keeper Jan Oblak, but with his contract at Atlético Madrid expiring, you at least won’t have to pay way over his market value.
Toni Kroos
Age: 32
Position: CM
OVR: 88
Like his Real Madrid teammate Benzema, German international Toni Kroos is now part of the old guard at Real Madrid. A formidable presence at the heart of any team, though.
Iñigo MartÃnez
Age: 31
Position: CB
OVR: 82
The best defender with an expiring contract ought to be within the price range of most top-flight clubs. Martinez has spent his career playing for Spain, Real Sociedad, and Athletic Bilbao and has proven a solid back-line presence.
