It's that time of year!
FIFA 18's FUT Birthday bonuses have been revealed by Sony and EA Sports to celebrate its ninth birthday.
It's a huge event every year for FUT players, with new and exciting squad-building challenges and a special Birthday Squad included. Here's what has been revealed so far.
What is the FUT birthday week?
The FUT Birthday week celebrates, as the name suggests, the birthday of FIFA Ultimate Team. FUT first came into existence on March 19, 2009 for FIFA 09, and though EA tend to mark the anniversary a little later than that so as not to clash with their St Patrick's Day promotions, this year they have included the holiday in their celebrations!
"Even St. Patrick’s Day is included in this year’s massive celebrations! Get in on the Luck of the Irish with Weekly Objectives that reward special Irish player items with upgraded ratings that can be used to complete certain FUT Birthday SBCs," EA said.
When is the FUT birthday week?
EA Sports kicked off the Birthday week on March 16 and it will run until March 23.
What is the FUT Birthday Squad
The main attraction of the event is the FUT Birthday squad.
Each year, a new roster comprised of players who were popular in previous versions of the game is released.
"This year’s FUT Birthday squad is made up of players that dominated at different positions in previous versions of FUT, all of which will be available in packs as special player items for the entire event. These new items open up fresh and inventive ways of FUT squad-building, thanks to position changes and upgraded ratings.
FUT Birthday Squad 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo is again pick of the squad with a rating of 95, though Eden Hazard is close behind on 92. Gareth Bale (90), Marco Reus (90), and Javi Martinez (88) have also been included.
Other players included are Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria (87), Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta (88), and Sadio Mane (86) of Liverpool.
| FUT Birthday Squad | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 95 |
| Gareth Bale | 90 |
| Javi Martinez | 88 |
| Moussa Sissoko | 81 |
| Eden Hazard | 92 |
| Ángel Di María | 87 |
| César Azpilicueta | 88 |
| Keisuke Honda | 84 |
| Cheikhou Kouyaté | 81 |
| Kwadwo Asamoah | 83 |
| Marco Reus | 90 |
| Yannick Bolasie | 85 |
| Jordi Alba | 88 |
| André Schürrle | 83 |
| David Alaba | 87 |
| Danilo Pereira | 85 |
| Felipe Anderson | 83 |
| Julian Draxler | 86 |
| Alessandro Florenzi | 86 |
| Riyad Mahrez | 86 |
| Sead Kolašinac | 84 |
| Sadio Mane | 86 |
| Bruno Peres | 82 |
FUT Squad Building Challenges 2018
"You’ll discover all kinds of Squad Building Challenges (SBCs) available during FUT Birthday, including the next End of an Era SBC celebrating a top player that retired from professional football in the past year," the official EA statement reads.
"Speaking of retired stars, get ready to beef up your FUT squad with the next batch of Prime ICONS in FIFA 18, which will be released during the Birthday event. Not only available in packs, these items can also be obtained by completing SBCs."
The new Prime Icon cards can be obtained through card packs and through completing FUT Birthday SBCs.
Players will also be able to undertake Daily Birthday Wish SBCs to unlock value rewards.
"Themed Objectives that reward in-game kits and other club items that you can show off during FUT matches are also going to be available," EA continues. "As you dig into the festivities, you’ll find SBCs that are repeatable over the course of the event, as well as Daily Birthday Wish SBCs that offer high value rewards."
