FIFA 23 Base Icons guide with the best Max 86 Icon Upgrade SBC rewards

FIFA 23 Base Icons are generating much more buzz this season than in previous years, for two reasons. The first is a mid-October FIFA 23 SBC which saw a Base Icon with a maximum OVR of 86 as its reward. The second is gameplay: with speed toned down and time on the ball increased, these baby versions of yesteryear favourites feel more playable than they have done for some time. Below we profile the fastest and most lengthy, before taking you through the complete FIFA 23 Base Icons list.

FIFA 23 Max 86 Icon Upgrade SBC reward options

FIFA 23 Base Icons made a din on social media just after release thanks to the Max 86 Icon Upgrade SBC. As the title suggests, it sees you completing a Squad Building Challenges set in exchange for a Base Icon with a maximum overall rating of 86. Below are the ten ‘best’ pulls, according to their transfer market value on Tuesday, October 18. You have until 6pm on Thursday, October 20 to get it completed – so move swiftly. Need affordable 84-88 cards to help? Then use our FIFA 23 cheapest rated guide.

FIFA 23 lengthy Base Icons

Do any Base Icons qualify as lengthy players? Most certainly. Although you may well be wondering exactly that these players are. Basically, every footballer in the game now utilises one of three acceleration styles, and lengthy is the one which has been proclaimed as meta in FIFA 23. For a more detailed explanation jump over to our FIFA 23 lengthy players guide.

20 of those on the Base Icons list qualify as lengthy players. There are seven centre-backs, the highest rated of which are Alessandro Nesta (Italy, 88) and Marcel Desailly (France, 87). Just one other defender qualifies as lengthy: World Cup winner Carles Puyol (Spain, 86). Four CDMs and four CMs are given lengthy status, among them Xabi Alonso (Spain, 87), Patrick Vieira (CM, 86), and Michael Essien (CDM, 85). Four strikers also score lengthy status. They are Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, 87), Alan Shearer (England, 87), David Trezeguet (France, 86) and Christian Vieri (ST, 86).

For a complete list of every legend in this year's game, check out GR's FIFA 23 Icons guide.

Fastest FIFA 23 Base Icons

Speed isn’t everything in this year’s FIFA, but that hasn’t stopped the community scrambling to add the quickest players. Legends of the turf are no exception. 19 FIFA 23 Base Icons have a pace rating of 90 or above, as you can see from the table below, which tracks the speediest ten. More interested in current-day sweat merchants? You need our FIFA 23 fastest players guide.

All FIFA 23 Base Icons list

Below is the list of all 98 Base Icons, and their in-game OVR. See how they compare to the current crop of greats using GR’s FIFA 23 ratings guide.

• Pele (CF, Brazil) - 91

• Zinedine Zidane (CM, France) - 91

• Garrincha (RW, Brazil) - 90

• Ronaldo (ST, Brazil) - 90

• Eusebio (CF, Portugal) - 89

• Ferenc Puskas (CF, Hungary) - 89

• Johan Cruyff (CF, Netherlands) - 89

• Lev Yashin (GK, Russia) - 89

• Marco van Basten (ST, Netherlands) - 89

• Roberto Baggio (CF, Italy) - 89

• Ronaldinho (CAM, Brazil) - 89

• Gerd Muller (ST, Germany) - 89

• Alessandro Nesta (CB, Italy) - 88

• Andrea Pirlo (CM, Italy) - 88

• Eric Cantona (CF, France) - 88

• Franco Baresi (CB, Italy) - 88

• George Best (RW, Northern Ireland) - 88

• Lothar Matthaus (CB, Germany) - 88

• Luis Figo (CAM, Portugal) - 88

• Paolo Maldini (LB, Italy) - 88

• Xavi (CM, Spain) - 88

• Jairzinho (RW, Brazil) - 88

• Alan Shearer (ST, England) - 87

• Alessandro Del Piero (CF, Italy) - 87

• Bastian Schweinsteiger (LM, Germany) - 87

• Bobby Moore (CB, England) - 87

• Carlos Alberto (CB, Brazil) - 87

• David Beckham (CM, England) - 87

• Dennis Bergkamp (CF, Netherlands) - 87

• Didier Drogba (ST, Ivory Coast) - 87

• Edwin van der Sar (GK, Netherlands) - 87

• Emilio Butragueno (ST, Spain) - 87

• Fabio Cannavaro (CB, Italy) - 87

• Gary Lineker (ST, England) - 87

• Hristo Stoichkov (ST, Bulgaria) - 87

• Hugo Sanchez (ST, Mexico) - 87

• Ian Rush (ST, Wales) - 87

• Javier Zanetti (LB, Argentina) - 87

• Juan Roman Riquelme (CAM, Argentina) - 87

• Kenny Dalglish (ST, Scotland) - 87

• Marcel Desailly (CB, France) - 87

• Miroslav Klose (ST, Germany) - 87

• Paul Scholes (CM, England) - 87

• Phillip Lahm (LB, Germany) - 87

• Kaka (CAM, Brazil) - 87

• Rivaldo (CAM, Brazil) - 87

• Samuel Eto’o (ST, Cameroon) - 87

• Socrates (CAM, Brazil) - 87

• Thierry Henry (LW, France) - 87

• Robin van Persie (ST, Netherlands) - 87

• Xabi Alonso (CDM, Spain) - 87

• Andriy Shevchenko (ST, Ukraine) - 86

• Carles Puyol (RB, Spain) - 86

• Christian Vieri (ST, Italy) - 86

• David Trezeguet (ST, France) - 86

• Fernando Hierro (CB, Spain) - 86

• Frank Lampard (CM, England) - 86

• Frank Rijkaard (CDM, Netherlands) - 86

• Gianluca Zambrotta (RWB, Italy) - 86

• Henrik Larsson (ST, Sweden) - 86

• John Barnes (CAM, England) - 86

• Juan Sebastian Veron (CM, Argentina) - 86

• Michael Ballack (CM, Germany) - 86

• Michael Owen (ST, England) - 86

• Patrick Kluivert (ST, Netherlands) - 86

• Patrick Vieira (CM, France) - 86

• Pavel Nedved (LM, Czech Republic) - 86

• Peter Schmeichel (GK, Denmark) - 86

• Petr Cech (GK, Czech Republic) - 86

• Raul (CF, Spain) - 86

• Roberto Carlos (LB, Brazil) - 86

• Roy Keane (CM, Ireland) - 86

• Ruud Gullit (CM, Netherlands) - 86

• Ruud van Nistelrooy (ST, Netherlands) - 86

• Steven Gerrard (CDM, England) - 86

• Wayne Rooney (CAM, England) - 86

• Ashley Cole (LB, England) - 85

• Clarence Seedorf (CM, Netherlands) - 85

• Claude Makelele (RM, France) - 85

• Davor Suker (ST, Croatia) - 85

• Emmanuel Petit (LB, France) - 85

• Fernando Torres (ST, Spain) - 85

• Gennaro Gattuso (CM, Italy) - 85

• Gheorghe Hagi (CAM, Romania) - 85

• Gianfranco Zola (CF, Italy) - 85

• Hernan Crespo (ST, Argentina) - 85

• Ian Wright (ST, England) - 85

• Jari Litmanen (CF, Finland) - 85

• Lauren Blanc (CAM, France) - 85

• Luis Hernandez (ST, Mexico) - 85

• Michael Essien (CDM, Ghana) - 85

• Michael Laudrup (CF, Denmark) - 85

• Nemanja Vidic (CB, Serbia) - 85

• Rio Ferdinand (CB, England) - 85

• Robert Pires (CAM, France) - 85

• Ronald Koeman (CB, Netherlands) - 85

• Rui Costa (CAM, Portugal) - 85

• Sol Campbell (CB, England) - 85