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FPL Managers Lose Faith in Florian Wirtz But Gamers Praise His FC 26 Card

Fantasy Premier League, FC 26, Florian Wirtz, Liverpool

Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool for a then British transfer record fee of £116m. The German wunderkind was heavily regarded and considered to be Germany’s best player alongside Musiala. When he joined Liverpool, everyone expected him to be an instant goal machine. When FPL revealed his value to be £8.5m, fans were calling it severely underpriced and were expecting him to be £9.5m to £10.0m. FPL managers would comment saying “Wirtz will be the face of Premier League,” “He probably will get more points than Salah.”

The reality is quite different after getting an assist in their loss to Crystal Palace in the community shield, people believed in the hype. 6 games have gone so far with Wirtz unable to register a single goal and assist, he is one blank away from the infamous 007 tag.

This has led to many transfers out during the season, i had held him but on a wildcard have transferred him out. His price has now fallen to £8.2m which means he has lost £0.3m in value in just 5 Gameweeks a clear show of FPL managers losing faith in him.

Despite this downturn, his FC 26 card is, on the brighter side, one of the most ‘Meta’ cards in the game. Wirtz FC 26 rating is a phenomenal 89 overall rating, positioning him as one of the top playmakers in the game and the third highest rated player in the Liverpool squad, behind only Mohamed Salah (91) and Virgil van Dijk (90).

His FC 26 card boasts elite stats, particularly in the creative department: 91 Vision, 91 Short Passing, and 90 Dribbling. He is also equipped with top tier PlayStyle+ abilities like Incisive Pass+, Finesse Shot and Technical, making him a highly sought after, meta player in Ultimate Team.

Unlike his FPL price, his FC 26 card price has kept steady in the transfer market. We can see this graph from Futbin indicating his price has kept steady around the 275-300K price point.

The dramatic difference between Wirtz’s FPL and EA FC valuations highlights the fundamental difference between the two playerbases.

FPL is a game of immediate, tangible returns. Managers react instantly to missed chances, benchings, and dry spells. Wirtz’s slow start to his Premier League career means a fantasy manager cannot afford to wait for a return to form from an £8.2m player when cheaper or more explosive options exist.

EA FC 26, however, is a game of a very different playstyle where current performance holds no relevance to the player’s valuation. The players card and the power curve are what dictate prices.

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