At the start of every season, EA Sports releases the complete ratings list for the new FIFA game, with thousands of players across the world receiving a grade from 45 to 99.
During the season, many of these players perform better than their original rating, exceeding expectations and often their transfer value in real life. As a result, FIFA 18 will see many players receive improved stats to match their on-field counterparts who have had strong starts to the 2017-18 campaign.
Last season, a number of top players received stat boosts such as Eden Hazard, Gerard Pique and Paulo Dybala. But it is not just the high-rated players that receive upgrades; many lower talents also get bumped across every league in the game.
The upgrades have been trickled out by competition, but which players are getting them? Goal tells you all you need to know...
When are the Winter Upgrades happening?
The first three contained some of the big leagues, with the Premier League upgrades having arrived on February 23 while Serie A landed on February 25 and Ligue 1 two days later. These were then followed by La Liga, the Bundesliga and the rest of the world.
All the way. Here is the @premierleague #RatingsRefresh live now in packs → https://t.co/0tZDdCDgvj . Next league coming this Sunday. #FUT pic.twitter.com/JVPC34r4aK
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) February 23, 2018
Dybala, Handanović, Mertens + many more. Find out who is moving on up in → https://t.co/M4a2H5sscI #RatingsRefresh #FUT pic.twitter.com/K1TExS3ZZs
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) February 25, 2018
As well as getting new ratings and new clubs, some players will also receive position changes if they are deployed in a different area of the pitch than their original FIFA 18 card indicates. Marcus Rashford is one such player, with the Manchester United star moving from striker to left midfield as well as getting a +2 overall increase from 79 to 81.
Kevin De Bruyne is among the players who have received weak foot upgrades with the Manchester City midfielder's weak foot being increased to five stars. Some players also got a boost in their skill ratings, allowing them to perform a greater variety of skill moves in game, such as Real Madrid winger Lucas Vasquez and Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Which players will receive upgrades?
One of the best indicators of determining which players will receive upgrades is the current online seasons ratings database. These are the most recent live ratings for every single player in FIFA (even some lesser names that are not in FIFA Ultimate Team).
Another sign that a player was due to get an upgrade in previous versions of FIFA was if they had got multiple in-form versions in Team of the Week squads released during the season so far. Players who constantly played well during the first-half of the season were more likely to receive a boost to their basic edition in order to match their current level of ability.
Harry Kane's excellent scoring run to finish the calendar year saw him receive the Premier League Player of the Month award for December, which was his second time to win it this season, providing him with his fourth boosted card in the five months since FIFA 18 was released. As a result, he received an upgrade from 86 to 88.
The full list of FIFA 18 Premier League upgrades
David de Gea - GK - Manchester United - 90 → 91
Eden Hazard - LW - Chelsea - 90 → 91
Kevin De Bruyne - CAM - Manchester City 89 → 91
N'Golo Kante - CDM - Chelsea - 87 → 88
Christian Eriksen - CAM - Tottenham - 87 → 88
Paul Pogba - CM - Manchester United - 87 → 88
David Silva - CAM - Manchester City - 87 → 89
Harry Kane - ST - Tottenham - 86 → 88
Cesar Azpilicueta - CB - Chelsea - 85 → 86
Alvaro Morata - ST - Chelsea - 84 → 85
Nicolas Otamendi - CB - Manchester City - 83 → 85
Mohamed Salah - RW - Liverpool - 83 → 85
Nemanja Matic - CDM - Manchester United - 83 → 84
Kyle Walker - RB - Manchester City - 83 → 84
Roberto Firmino - ST - Liverpool 83 → 84
Ederson - GK - Manchester City - 83 → 84
Riyad Mahrez - RM - Leicester City - 83 → 84
Raheem Sterling - RW - Manchester City - 82 → 84
Leroy Sane - LW - Manchester City 82 → 84
Anthony Martia l - LM - Manchester United - 82 → 83
Heung-Min Son - LM - Tottenham Hotspur - 82 → 83
Gabriel Jesus - ST - Manchester City - 81 → 83
Marcus Rashford - LM - Manchester United - 79 → 81
Fernandinho - CDM - Manchester City - 82 → 85
Wilfried Zaha - RM - Crystal Palace - 81 → 82
Marcos Alonso - LWB - Chelsea - 81 → 82
Andreas Christensen - CB - Chelsea - 81 → 82
Sead Kolasinac - LWB - Arsenal 80 - → 81
John Stones - CB - Manchester City - 79 → 80
Phil Jones - CB - Manchester United - 79 → 81
Cenk Tosun - ST - Everton - 78 → 80
Jesse Lingard - CAM - Manchester United - 78 → 80
Ben Davies - LB - Tottenham Hotspur - 78 → 80
Aaron Mooy - CM - Huddersfield Town - 77 → 78
Eric Choupo-Moting - LM - Stoke City - 77 → 78
Jordan Pickford - GK - Everton - 77 → 79
Jurgen Locadia - ST - Brighton & Hove Albion - 76 → 77
Arthur Masuaku - LWB - West Ham United - 75 → 76
Andrew Robertson - LB - Liverpool 75 → 76
Christian Atsu - LM - Newcastle United - 75 → 76
Nathan Ake - CB - Bournemouth - 75 → 77
Ashley Young - LB - Manchester United - 75 → 77
Harry Maguire - CB - Leicester City - 75 → 79
Demarai Gray - LM - Leicester City - 74 → 75
Laurent Depoitre - ST - Huddersfield Town - 74 → 75
Alex Iwobi - LM - Arsenal - 74 → 76
Chris Wood - ST - Burnley - 74 → 76
Christopher Schindler - CB - Huddersfield Town - 73 → 75
Jamaal Lascelles - CB - Newcastle United - 73 → 76
Richarlison - LW - Watford - 73 → 76
Johann Gudmundsson - RM - Burnley - 73 → 76
James Tarkowski - CB - Burnley - 73 → 78
Harry Winks - CM - Tottenham Hotspur - 72 → 75
Moritz Bauer - RB - Stoke City - 70 → 75
Ruben Loftus-Cheek - CAM - Crystal Palace - 69 → 74
Ahmed Hegazi - CB - West Bromwich Albion - 68 → 75
Nick Pope - GK - Burnley - 68 → 75
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - ST - Everton - 65 → 71
Alexander Sorloth - ST - Crystal Palace - 69 → 71
Guido Carrillo - ST - Southampton - 74 → 75
The full list of FIFA 18 Serie A upgrades
Paulo Dybala - CAM - Juventus 88 → 89
Samir Handanovič - GK - Inter 87 → 88
Dries Mertens - CF - Napoli 86 → 87
Miralem Pjanić - CM - Juventus 85 → 86
Lorenzo Insigne - LW - Napoli 85 → 87
Medhi Benatia - CB - Juventus 84 → 85
Ivan Perišić - LM - Inter 84 → 86
Mauro Icardi - ST - Inter 84 → 86
Ciro Immobile - ST - Lazio 82 → 85
Mattia Perin - GK - Genoa 83 → 84
Stefan de Vrij - CB - Lazio 83 → 84
Andrea Consigli - GK - Sassuolo 82 → 83
Douglas Costa - LM - Juventus 82 → 83
Raúl Albiol - CB - Napoli 82 → 83
Juan Cuadrado - RM - Juventus 82 → 83
Sergej Milinković-Savić - CM - Lazio 80 → 83
Stephan El Shaarawy - LW - Roma 80 → 81
Allan - CM - Napoli 80 → 81
Aleksandar Kolarov - LB - Roma 79 → 81
Faouzi Ghoulam - LB - Napoli 79 → 80
Lucas Leiva - CDM - Lazio 79 → 80
Luis Alberto - CF - Lazio 77 → 80
Milan Škriniar - CB - Inter 74 → 80
Salvatore Sirigu - GK - Torino 79 → 80
Simone Verdi - RW - Bologna 78 → 79
Federico Chiesa - RW - Fiorentina 75 → 77
Lucas Torreira - CM - Sampdoria 75 → 77
Rômulo - RM - Hellas Verona 74 → 76
Mattia Caldara - CB - Atalanta 76 → 78
Thomas Strakosha - GK - Lazio 74 → 77
Federico Di Francesco - LW - Bologna 73 → 76
Antonín Barák - CM - Udinese 72 → 75
Nicolò Barella - CM - Cagliari 70 → 75
Patrick Cutrone - ST - Milan 65 → 71
Moise Kean - ST - Hellas Verona 64 → 70
Filippo Romagna - CM - Cagliari 63 → 68
The full list of FIFA 18 Ligue 1 upgrades
Edinson Cavani - ST - Paris Saint-Germain 87 → 88
Fabinho - CDM - AS Monaco 83 → 84
Thomas Lemar - LM - AS Monaco 83 → 84
Kylian Mbappé - ST - Paris Saint-Germain 83 → 84
Anthony Lopes - GK - Olympique Lyonnais 83 → 84
Marquinhos - CB - Paris Saint-Germain 83 → 84
Nabil Fekir - CAM - Olympique Lyonnais 82 → 84
Mario Balotelli - ST - OGC Nice 82 → 83
Florian Thauvin - RW - Olympique de Marseille 82 → 83
Luiz Gustavo - CDM - Olympique de Marseille 80 → 82
Adrien Rabiot - CM - Paris Saint-Germain 80 → 82
Malcom - RW - Girondins de Bordeaux 79 → 82
Marcelo - CB - Olympique Lyonnais 79 → 81
Mariano - ST - Olympique Lyonnais 76 → 80
Bertrand Traoré - RW - Olympique Lyonnais 78 → 79
Ciprian Tătăruşanu -GK - FC Nantes 77 → 79
Kenny Tete - RB - Olympique Lyonnais 77 → 79
Diego Carlos - CB - FC Nantes 76 → 79
Karl Toko-Ekambi - ST - Angers SCO 76 → 78
Presnel Kimpembe - CB - Paris Saint-Germain 76 → 78
Allan Saint-Maximin - LM - OGC Nice 75 → 77
Léo Dubois - RB - FC Nantes 75 → 77
Houssem Aouar - CM - Olympique Lyonnais 67 → 75
Giovani Lo Celso - CAM - Paris Saint-Germain 74 → 75
Mouctar Diakhaby - CB - Olympique Lyonnais 74 → 75
Alexander Djiku - CB - SM Caen 74 → 76
Thiago Mendes - CDM - LOSC Lille 74 → 76
Ivan Santini - ST - SM Caen 74 → 76
Jordan Amavi - LB - Olympique de Marseilles 74 → 77
Clinton Njie - ST - Olympique de Marseilles 73 → 75
Ronny Rodelin - ST - SM Caen 73 → 76
Youssef Ait Bennasser - CM - SM Caen 72 → 75
Mike Maignan - GK - LOSC Lille 72 → 75
Régis Gurtner - GK - Amiens SC 71 → 76
Ferland Mendy - LB - Olympique Lyonnais 68 → 74
Tomáš Koubek - GK - Stade Rennais 67 → 74
Adrien Tamèze - CDM - OGC Nice 65 → 70
Patrick Burner - RB - OGC Nice 63 → 68
Adama Mbengue - LB - SM Caen 62 → 69
The full list of FIFA 18 Bundesliga upgrades
Mats Hummels - CB - Bayern Munich - 88 → 89
Niklas Sule - CB - Bayern Munich - 83 → 84
Rune Jarstein - GK- Hertha Berlin - 80 → 83
Timo Werner - ST - RB Leipzig - 82→ 83
Oliver Baumann - GK - Hoffenheim - 82 → 83
Naldo - CB - Schalke - 82 → 84
Lukas Hradecky - GK - Eintracht Frankfurt- 81 → 83
Joshua Kimmich - RB - Bayern Munich - 81 → 84
Thorgan Hazard - LM- Borussia Monchengladbach - 80 → 82
Kingsley Coman - RM - Bayern Munich- 79 → 82
Matthias Ginter - CB - Borussia Monchengladbach - 78 → 79
Marcel Sabitzer - CAM - RB Leipzig - 78 → 81
Maximilian Philipp - LW - Borussia Dortmund - 78 → 79
Mark Uth - ST - Hoffenheim - 77 → 80
Charles Aranguiz - CM - Bayer Leverkusen - 77 → 80
Alfred Finnbogason - ST - Augsburg - 76 → 78
Peter Gulaci -GK - RB Leipzig - 76 → 79
Leon Bailey - LM - Bayer Leverkusen - 76 → 81
Marcel Halstenberg - LB - RB Leipzig - 75 → 78
Jean-Philippe Gbamin - CDM - Mainz - 75 → 78
Karim Rekik - CB - Hertha Berlin - 73 → 78
Denis Zakaria - CM - Borussia Monchengladbach - 72 → 77
The full list of FIFA 18 La Liga upgrades
Jonathan Viera - CM - UD Las Palmas 82 → 83
Rodri - CM - Villareal CF 70 → 77
Kepa - GK - Athletic Club de Bilbao 79 → 81
Šime Vrsaljko - RB - Atlético Madrid 79 → 80
Cristian Tello - RM - Real Betis 77 → 78
Andreas Pereira - LM - Valencia CF 77 → 79
Thomas Partey - CDM - Atlético Madrid 77 → 79
Cristhian Stuani - ST - Girona FC 76 → 78
Lucas Hernández - CB - Atlético Madrid 76 → 78
Carlos Soler - RM - Valencia CF 76 → 78
Iago Herrerín - GK - Athletic Club de Bilbao 76 → 78
Adrián Lopez - ST - RC Deportivo 75 → 78
Portu - ST - Girona FC 75 → 78
Mariano Barbosa - GK - Villareal CF 75 → 77
Juanmi - ST - Real Sociedad 75 → 77
Fabian Schär - CB - RC Deportivo 75 → 77
José Ángel - LB - SD Eibar 74 → 75
Jonathan Calleri - ST - UD Las Palmas 75 → 77
Toño Garcia - LB - Levante UD 74 → 75
Enis Bardhi - CAM - Levante UD 74 →.75
Sergio Postigo - CB - Levante UD 74 → 75
Pedro Alcalá - CB - Girona FC 74 → 76
Mikel Rico - CB - Athletic Club de Bilbao 74 → 76
Juanpe - CB - Girona FC 74 → 76
Enes Ünal - ST - Villareal CF 74 → 76
Iñigo Córdoba - LW - Athletic Club de Bilbao 70 → 75
Pione Sisto - LW - RC Celta de Vigo 74 → 77
Álex Granell - CM - Girona FC 73 → 75
Joaquin Correa - LM - Sevilla FC 73 → 76
Borja Garcia - CM - Girona FC 73 → 77
Mario Hermoso - CB - RCD Espanyol 72 → 75
Pere Pons - CM - Girona FC 72 → 76
Yassine Bounou - GK - Girona FC 71 → 75
Pablo Maffeo - RB - Girona FC 71 → 75
Antonio Lato - LB - Valencia CF 70 → 77
Álvaro Medrán - CM - Deportivo Alavés 74 → 75
Juan José Narváez - CM - Real Betis 63 → 68
Alejandro Mula - LM - Málaga CF 60 → 73
The full list of FIFA 18 Rest of the World upgrades
Fernando - CDM - Galatasary 77 → 79
Yimmi Chará - RM - CPD Junior FC 76 → 78
Andrê Almeida - RB - SL Benfica 76 → 78
Enner Valencia - ST - Tigres U.A.N.L. 76 → 78
Josef Martinez - ST - Atlanta United FC 76 → 78
Cristiano Piccini - RB - Sporting CP 76 → 78
Victor Vázquez - CM - Toronto FC 76 → 78
Avilés Hurtado - LW - Monterrey 75 → 78
Jozy Altidore - ST - Toronto FC 76 → 77
Nabil Dirar - RM - Fenerbahçe 76 → 77
Omar Kharbin - ST - Al Hilal 75 → 77
Alireza Jahanbakhsh - RW - AZ 75 → 77
Carlos Eduardo - CF - Al Hilal 75 → 77
Germán Conti - CB - CA Colón 75 → 77
Emanuel Mammana - CB - Zenit St. Petersburg 75 → 77
Hans Vanaken - CAM - Club Brugge 75 → 77
Soslan Dzhanaev - GK - Rubin Kazan 75 → 77
Zakaria Labyad - CAM -FC Utrecht 75 → 76
Mbaye Leye - ST - Eupen 74 → 75
Ike Opara - CB - Sporting KC 74 → 75
Serdar Aziz - CB - Galatasaray 74 → 75
Júnior Caiçara - RB - Medipol Başakşehir 74 → 75
Arouna Koné - ST - Sivasspor 74 → 75
Daniel Schwaab - CB - PSV 74 → 75
Jonas Svensson - RB - AZ 74 → 75
Jakob Johansson - CDM - AEK Athens 74 → 75
Salih Uçan - CM - FC Sion 74 → 75
Andrés Pérez - CDM - Deportivo Cali 74 → 75
Bobô - ST - Sydney FC 74 → 75
Edwin Cardona - CAM - CA Boca Juniors 74 → 75
Diego González - CM - Racing Club de Avellaneda 74 → 75
Tom Rogić - CAM - Celtic 74 → 75
Diego Vera - ST - CA Colón 74 → 75
Yusuf Yazici - CAM - Trabzonspor 74 → 75
Haris Seferović - ST - SL Benfica 74 → 75
Osama Hawsawi - CB - Al Hilal 74 → 75
Salman Al Faraj - CM - Al Hilal 74 → 75
Wilmar Barrios - CDM - CA Boca Juniors 74 → 75
Rúben Ribeiro - LW - Sporting CP 74 → 76
Sylvester Igboun - ST - FC Ufa 74 → 75
Sacha Kljestan - CAM - Orlando City SC 74 → 75
Kieran Tierney - LB - Celtic 74 → 75
James Forrest - RM - Celtic 74 → 75
Tolga Ciğerci - CDM - Galatasaray 74 → 75
Sofyan Amrabat - CM - Feyenoord 74 → 75
Emre Akbaba - CAM - Aytemiz Alanyaspor 74 → 75
Stefan Ristovski - RB - Sporting CP 74 → 76
Paulinho - CAM - FC Porto 74 → 75
Alaixys Roman - CDM - Olympiacos CFP 74 → 75
Ravel Morrison - CAM - Atlas 74 → 75
Danilo - CM - Braga 74 → 75
Ignacio Scocco - ST - CA River Plate 74 → 76
Haris Medunjanin - CM - Philadelphia Union 73 → 76
Héctor Villalba - RM - Atlanta United FC 74 → 76
Lee Jae Sung - COM - Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 74 → 76
Duško Tošić - CB - Beşiktaş 74 → 76
Viktor Vasin - CB - CSKA Moscow 74 → 77
Alexey Miranchuk - CAM - Lokomotiv Moscow 74 → 77
Daler Kuzyaev - CM - Zenit St. Petersburg 74 → 77
Alexandr Selikhov - GK - Spartak Moscow 74 → 78
Hany Mukhtar - CAM - Brøndby IF 73 → 75
Jo Hyeon Woo - GK - Daegu FC 71 → 75
Brandley Kuwas - RW - Heracles Almelo 73 → 75
Oussama Assaidi - LM - FC Twente 73 → 75
Cláudio Ramo s - GK - Tondela 71 → 75
Karim Ansarifard - ST - Olympiacos CFP 73 → 75
Justin Kluivert - LW - Ajax 73 → 75
Andre Blake - GK - Philadelphia Union 73 → 75
Roman Neustädter - CB - Fenerbahçe 73 → 75
Wout Weghorst - ST - AZ 73 → 75
Anthony Limbombe - LM - Club Brugge 73 → 75
Marvelous Nakamba - CDM - Club Brugge 73 → 76
Yu Kobayashi - ST - Kawasaki Frontale 73 → 76
Héldon - LM - Vitória Guimarães 73 → 76
Frenkie de Jong - CM - Ajax 72 → 75
Ryan Thomas - CM - PEC Zwolle 70 → 75
Alexander Sørloth - ST - FC Midtjylland 69 → 71
Sérgio Oliveira - CM - FC Porto 74 → 75
Ognjen Vranješ - CB - AEK Athens 69 → 76
Paulinho - ST - Braga 68 → 74
Ryota Morioka - CAM - Anderlecht 68 → 75
Néstor Araujo - CB - Santos Laguna 74 → 75
Miha Mevlja - CB - Zenit St. Petersburg 74 → 75
Lazaros Christodoulopoulos - LM - AEK Athens 74 → 75
Zainadine - CB - Maritimo 74 → 75
Cristian Benavente - CAM - Charleroi 67 → 72
Carlos López - ST - Wisla Kraków 69 → 74
Guus Til - CAM - AZ 67 → 72
Fabrício - ST - Portimonense 67 → 73
Shoya Nakajima - LW - Portimonense 67 → 74
Richard Windbichler - CB - Ulsan Hyundai 66 → 71
Alfredo Morelos - ST - Rangers 66 → 71
Michalis Bakakis - RB - AEK Athens 66 → 71
Kingsley Ehizibue - RB - PEC Zwolle 66 → 72
Christian Luyindama - CB - Standard Liège 66 → 73
Maximilan Wöber - CB - Ajax 66 → 73
Lucas Possignolo - CB - Portimonense 65 → 70
Alejandro Chumacero - CM - Puebla 65 → 70
Pedro Aquino - CDM - Lobos B.U.A.P. 65 → 70
Pape Abou Cissé - CB - Olympiacos CFP 65 → 70
Anton Zabolotnyy - ST - Zenit St. Petersburg 65 → 70
Davidson - LW - Chaves 65 → 71
Mayron George - ST - Lyngby BK 64 → 69
Alexis De Sart - CM - Sint-Truiden 64 → 69
Yang Han Been - GK - FC Seoul 63 → 70
Daniel De Silva - CAM - Central Coast Mariners 64 → 69
Clifford Aboagye - CM - Atlas 64 → 70
Nana Opoku Ampomah - LM - Waasland-Beveren 64 → 70
Jonathan Bolingi - ST - Excel Mouscron 64 → 70
Murilo Freitas - LW - Tondela 64 → 70
Philippe Sandler - CB - PEC Zwolle 64 → 70
Adrían Spörle - LB - CA Banfield 63 → 68
Mikhail Lysov - LB - Lokomotiv Moscow 63 → 68
Merlin Tandjigora - CDM - Belenenses 63 → 68
Lumor Agbenyenu - LB - Sporting CP 63 → 69
Carlos Cáceda - GK - Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz 63 → 69
Konstantinos Galanopoulos - CM - AEK Athens 63 → 69
Julian Quiñones - ST - Lobos B.U.A.P. 63 → 70
Oleg Danchenko - RM - Anzhi Makhachkala 63 → 70
Dráusio - CB - Marítimo 63 → 70
Dener - CM - Portimonense 63 → 71
Raphael Rossi - CB - Boavista 63 → 73
Choi Sung Keen - CM - Suwon Bluewings 62 → 67
Kang Hyeon Mu - GK - Pohang Steelers 62 → 68
Sadik Çiftpinar - CB - Yeni Malatyaspor 62 → 67
Stefan Marinović - GK - Vancouver Whitecaps 63 → 68
Aldo Arellano - CDM - Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 62 → 67
Gonzalo Montiel - CB - CA River Plate 62 → 67
Kik Pierie - CB - sc Heerenveen 62 → 68
Dario Maresic - CB - Sturm Graz 62 → 69
João Novais - CAM - Rio Ave 62 → 73
David von Ballmoos - GK - BSC Young Boys 60 → 67
Mehdi Bourabia - CM - Atiker Konyaspor 61 → 67
Will my current players be upgraded?
In Online Seasons, players are automatically receiving upgrades and downgrades on a regular basis to mirror their performances in the real world. New Career Mode games will also reflect the upgraded database, but existing games will not.
FIFA Ultimate Team is the most popular game mode and that is where upgrades can have the most effect. Any regular player in your club will not receive an upgrade, but special versions such as in-form Team of the Week players may receive upgrades if their basic card gets a boost.
All new players found in packs will be upgraded, but non-in-form players in your club will only increase if an upgraded player’s new overall rating equals or surpasses his existing first in-form’s rating. If a player has multiple in-forms, all these cards will be improved if they meet the criteria.