FIFA 22 end of year stats: Who is the game’s most popular player and team?

FIFA is one of the most popular series in the world of video gaming.

In the first week of FIFA 22, the newest game was the most popular release when it comes to the retail charts.

There are a host of different modes that users can play, ranging from the activity-filled Ultimate Team mode, career mode and Pro Clubs.

Let’s take a look at FIFA’s end of year stats for 2021, and analyse the most popular teams and players.

FIFA end of year stats

The Athletic‘s Bill Shea posted a tweet on December 17 showing end of year stats for FIFA based on five key measures – the player that scored the most goals, most popular team and match-up, and the amount of goals scored and games played.

On the first metric, it is perhaps no surprise to see Kylian Mbappe lead the way. The Paris Saint-Germain user is one of the most coveted players on the game, due to his pace, movement and finishing abilities.

The most popular team is Mbappe’s PSG. Many players of FIFA’s Seasons mode recoil in fear every time they see their opponent lining up as the French giants.

Most opponents that go toe to toe with PSG tend to choose Liverpool. That is the most popular matchup of 2021 on FIFA. In real life, the two sides haven’t faced off since the group stage of the 2018/19 Champions League, when PSG won both games.

Finally, we come to goals scored and games played. At the time of the tweet, 9.7 billion games have been played, whilst 22.3 billion goals have been scored. That is a lot of nets that have been busted.

Why are PSG so popular?

PSG FIFA stats
Image Credit: Getty

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have an incredible array of attacking talent. No other team on FIFA is able to match the strikeforce of Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar.

But they also have an exceptionally strong spine to the side as well. Marco Verratti and Georginio Wijnaldum give a good mixture of slick passing, high energy and defensive excellence in midfield. Sergio Ramos is one of the best defenders in the game, whilst Achraf Hakimi offers plenty of pace down the right flank.

In reserve, there’s also Argentinian icon Angel Di Maria, as well as the well-rounded midfielder Julian Draxler. Then there are two fearsome stoppers – one of whom features prominently on the next list.

Which players have been used most often on FIFA 22 Ultimate Team?

Gianluigi Donnarumma FIFA
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According to Futbin, PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has been the most used player on FIFA 22 Ultimate Team at the time of writing. He has been guarding players’ goals on over 16 million occasions.

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is in second place. The Frenchman has been one of the most sought-after midfielders on the game for several years. However, he currently costs nearly 200k if you want to add him to your team via the market. That is unless you have been lucky enough to pack him, of course.

Also in the top five are Ferland Mendy and Vinicius Junior (both Real Madrid) and Achraf Hakimi (PSG).

Featured Image Credit: Getty