The foundation of your team in FIFA 23 always starts with the centre-backs. Thankfully, we’ve found all the best CB in FIFA 23 right now!
Without a strong pair of CBs your opponent will run circles around you in FIFA 23. Players that can defend and recover the ball are vital.
Especially with the changes that HyperMotion 2 in FIFA 23 has brought that highlights the Physical and Defense stats on defenders.
Here are the best centre-backs in FIFA 23 for all the top leagues and for any budget you may have.
Top 10 Meta CB in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team
10. Raphaël Varane
Varane has high stats in Pace, Defending, and Physicality. This makes his ability to stop a counter-attack top-notch.
He is a great Premier League player card, but his ability to link up with French players really raises his usability in FIFA 23.
| Overall | 84 |
| Nation | France |
| League | Premier League |
| Club | Manchester United |
| Pace | 81 |
| Shooting | 49 |
| Passing | 64 |
| Dribbling | 66 |
| Defending | 85 |
| Physicality | 80 |
9. Kalidou Koulibaly
Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the most sturdy defenders in all of FIFA 23. He can stand his ground and cover a large area relatively quickly.
| Overall | 87 |
| Nation | Senegal |
| League | Premier League |
| Club | Chelsea |
| Pace | 82 |
| Shooting | 33 |
| Passing | 59 |
| Dribbling | 68 |
| Defending | 88 |
| Physicality | 85 |
8. Marquinhos (TOTW)
The Marquinhos In-Form cards for the Team of the Week boost his stats and brings him up to an 89. This makes him one of the highest rated center-backs in the game.
He can also link up with Ligue 1 and Brazilian players, which gives gamers a large pool of talent to work with.
| Overall | 89 |
| Nation | Brazil |
| League | Ligue 1 |
| Club | PSG |
| Pace | 80 |
| Shooting | 57 |
| Passing | 76 |
| Dribbling | 76 |
| Defending | 90 |
| Physicality | 82 |
7. Milan Škriniar
Milan Škriniar is one of the most prolific defenders in Serie A.
If you are building any type of team with Serie A players, then having Škriniar on your side will ensure you have a reliable back line to hold off, even the likes of Haaland.
| Overall | 86 |
| Nation | Slovakia |
| League | Serie A |
| Club | Inter |
| Pace | 78 |
| Shooting | 41 |
| Passing | 57 |
| Dribbling | 69 |
| Defending | 88 |
| Physicality | 86 |
6. Ronald Araujo
Ronald Araujo is one of the best budget players in all of FIFA 23 Ultimate Team. Currently, his price hasn’t exceeded 10k coins, which makes him a high-value target for any starter team.
When paired up with the right Chemistry Style to help boost his passing and dribbling, Araujo can also be a huge help in pushing up possession in the popular 5-2-2-1 formation.
| Overall | 83 |
| Nation | Uruguay |
| League | La Liga |
| Club | FC Barcelona |
| Pace | 77 |
| Shooting | 51 |
| Passing | 65 |
| Dribbling | 61 |
| Defending | 83 |
| Physicality | 83 |
5. Virgil van Dijk
Virgil Van Dijk is the highest-rated base card for any CB in FUT 23. But he’s relatively hard to find, which is why he isn’t any higher on the list.
If you’re looking to add him to your team, you’ll need to really save up coins or sacrifice other high-rated players from other positions.
| Overall | 90 |
| Nation | Netherlands |
| League | Premier League |
| Club | Liverpool |
| Pace | 81 |
| Shooting | 60 |
| Passing | 71 |
| Dribbling | 72 |
| Defending | 91 |
| Physicality | 86 |
4. Jules Koundé
Jules Koundé is one of FC Barcelona’s newest signings, which means that we could potentially see a Ones to Watch card in the near future.
But for now, his pace card is already one of the quickest CB in the game and will quickly shut down any high-pace ST your opponents may have.
| Overall | 84 |
| Nation | France |
| League | La Liga |
| Club | FC Barcelona |
| Pace | 84 |
| Shooting | 45 |
| Passing | 64 |
| Dribbling | 74 |
| Defending | 85 |
| Physicality | 78 |
3. Fikayo Tomori
Fikayo Tomori helped AC Milan win the Serie A title last season with AC Milan, so it only makes sense that his player reflects how well he can put a stop to any attack.
Tomori has a pace of 86 in FIFA 23. This means he can quickly catch any player that gets a follow-through ball and stop the most dangerous of plays.
| Overall | 84 |
| Nation | England |
| League | Serie A |
| Club | AC Milan |
| Pace | 86 |
| Shooting | 40 |
| Passing | 60 |
| Dribbling | 66 |
| Defending | 86 |
| Physicality | 81 |
2. William Saliba (TOTW)
William Saliba’s Team of the Week card has quickly grown to be one of the favorites of FIFA 23 gamers. He links well with Premier League and French players.
This means you could base your attack off Premier League players and keep your backline solid with Saliba, Varane, and Koundé without suffering for it in Chemistry Points.
| Overall | 83 |
| Nation | France |
| League | Premier League |
| Club | Arsenal |
| Pace | 80 |
| Shooting | 43 |
| Passing | 71 |
| Dribbling | 75 |
| Defending | 84 |
| Physicality | 82 |
1. Antonio Rüdiger
Rüdiger is by far the best CB in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team. His ability to stop follow-through passes, return to defense, and just overall command of the box is undeniable.
He’s also one of the players with a Ones to Watch promo card, which means that his reign at #1 is only just beginning.
| Overall | 87 |
| Nation | Germany |
| League | La Liga |
| Club | Real Madrid |
| Pace | 82 |
| Shooting | 53 |
| Passing | 71 |
| Dribbling | 67 |
| Defending | 86 |
| Physicality | 85 |
This top ten list does not include any FUT Icon and FUT Hero cards due to how difficult they are to obtain for your FIFA 23 Ultimate Team.
All of these players perform well in any of the current meta formations in FUT 23, and will add depth to your play style.
Best CB For Every Top League in FIFA 23
Premier League
- Best Starter CB
- Raphaël Varane – Manchester United
- Best Overall CB
- William Saliba (TOTW) – Arsenal
La Liga
- Best Starter CB
- Ronald Araujo – FC Barcelona
- Best Overall CB
- Antonio Rüdiger – Real Madrid
Serie A
- Best Starter CB
- Min Jae Kim – Napoli
- Best Overall CB
- Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan
Ligue 1
- Best Starter CB
- Presnel Kimpembe – PSG
- Best Overall CB
- Marquinhos (TOTW) – PSG
Bundesliga
- Best Starter CB
- Lukas Klostermann – RP Leipzig
- Best Overall CB
- Matthijs de Ligt – Bayern Munich
Once you have the best possible CB for your team in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team, then you’ll want to add a Chemistry Style to your defender to boost their stats further.
Best CB For Every Top Nation in FIFA 23
Here are the best centre-backs for each of the most popular nations in FIFA 23:
- Spain
- Pau Torres – VIllareal CF
- England
- Fikayo Tomori – AC Milan
- Portugal
- Rúben Dias – Manchester City
- Brazil
- Marquinhos (TOTW) – PSG
- France
- Jules Koundé – FC Barcelona
- Netherlands
- Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool
- Germany
- Antonio Rüdiger – Real Madrid
- Argentina
- Lisandro Martínez – Manchester United
- Belgium
- Toby Alderweireld – Royal Antwerp FC
- Italy
- Alessandro Bastoni – Inter Milan
Best Promo Card CB in FIFA 23
Promo cards weren’t included in the top 10 because they are incredibly difficult to find or just highly expensive.
But they are usually the absolutely best cards in the game. If you ever manage to get a promo card in your packs, it’s definitely worth building your team around them.
- FUT Icon
- FUT Hero
- Ones to Watch
