MARADONA will appear in eFootball following a dispute between his estate and FIFA creators, EA Sports.
Following his passing, EA Sports signed a licensing deal to include Maradona as one of the footballing legends in the FIFA series of games.
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He has appeared as a FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Icon in the FIFA series even following his death.
In FIFA 22, he was the highest-rated player in the entire game with a 97 rating, and was worth around £700 ($825) on the in-game transfer market.
This made him one of the most popular and profitable cards in the entire game, so fans were shocked to see he wasn’t returning to FIFA 23.
Players have been awaiting his return since the game launched in September, however, he hasn’t been included in any list of upcoming Icons.
This all came down to a dispute between EA Sports, and Maradona’s estate over the rights to his likeness.
Diego Maradona died in November 2020, shortly after the release of FIFA 21.
EA Sports signed a licensing agreement with an agent and former manager of the player, Stefano Ceci, to use Maradona’s likeness after his death.
However, the courts decided that Ceci did not hold the rights to his likeness and, therefore, could not sell the licence.
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When this licensing agreement was agreed to be invalid, it appears that Maradona’s estate were reluctant to renew the deal with EA Sports following the dispute.
The 1986 version of Maradona will now appear in FIFA 23’s competitor, the free-to-play eFootball.
The card is based on the World Cup final where Argentina famously beat England after scoring with a handball.
The eFootball version of FIFA’s FUT Icons, known as Big Time Players, will launch with two cards.
One is Maradona, who has a rating of 99, and the other is 2014’s Neymar, with a rating of 97.
Licensing agreements usually don’t mean that a player is restricted to appear in one game.
The majority of footballers in the top leagues will appear in both titles, having signed an agreement with the two companies.
For Maradona fans it appears that the only way to obtain The Hand of God is by playing eFootball.
Maradona launches in eFootball today (November 17) as the second season starts in-game.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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