With just over one month left until FIFA 12 shoots its way into homes around the world, we take a look at the best cheap players you can buy to bolster your squad.
This guide is ideal for those who are playing as a lower division team in League One or League Two, or any other cash-strapped club. Why spend £70m on Messi in career mode when you can get Sharp for £3m?
Format is as follows: Name (rating out of 100), club – transfer fee in pounds
Goalkeepers (GK)
· Olivier Sorin (75), AJ Auxerre – £250,00
· Mario Cassano (66), Piacenza – £300,000
· Brad Friedel (80), Tottenham Hotspur – £50,000 after a few seasons
· Shay Given (80/84), Manchester City – £3m or so dropping to around £500,000 after a few seasons
· Guilherme (78), Lokomotiv Moskva – £5m/£6m
Centre-Backs (CB)
· Leigh Bromby (65), Leeds – £400,000
· Jody Craddock (71), Wolves – £200,000
· Emir Spahic (77), Montpellier – £2m
· Phil Jones (74), Blackburn Rovers – £5m
· Gary Cahill (78), Bolton Wanderers – £6m
· Christopher Samba (77), Blackburn Rovers – £6m/£8m
· Laurent Koscielny (78), Arsenal – £9m
Right-Backs (RB)
· Mattia Cassani (78), Palermo – £7m
Left-Backs (LB)
· Stephen Ward (65), Wolves – £700,000
· George McCartney (70), Leeds – £1m
· Paolo De Ceglie (74), Juventus – £5.5m
· Kieron Gibbs (76), Arsenal – £4.5m
Central Midfielders (CM)
· Edgar Barreto (72), Atalanta – £2.8m
Central Defensive Midfielders (CDM)
· Emmanuel Cascione (66), Pescara – £400,000
· Mauricio Isla (75), Udinese – £5m
Central Attacking Midfielders (CAM)
· Marco Verratti (60), Pescara – £1.5m
· Adel Taarabt (74), QPR – £5.5m
Right Winger (RW)
· M. Leckie (60), Adelaide United – £800,000
· David Odonkor (71), Real Betis – £1.5m
Left Winger (LW)
· Siphiwe Tshabalala (73), Kaiser Chiefs – £5m
Strikers (ST) and Centre-Forwards (CF)
· Charlie Austin (67), Swindon – £1m/£2m
· Connor Wickham (65), Ipswich Town – £1.5m
· Luc Castaignos (66), PSV – £1.8m
· Paul Gallagher (68), Leicester – £1m
· Billy Sharp (70), Doncaster Rovers – £3m
There are hundreds of players in FIFA 11 so if you spot any players with great potential at a low price, leave a comment below. We’ll check them out and might even add them to the list.
FIFA 12 is out on September 30th on all major home consoles.
Thanks to Neoseeker for some of the suggestions
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He has almost two decades of experience in journalism, and left Esports News UK in June 2025.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He also previously worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation.
