Ronaldinho is set to headline EA FC 26’s Winter Wildcards content in more ways than one. Alongside a high-end pack version, a lower-rated “baby” Winter Wildcards Icon is expected to arrive as a Squad Building Challenge, giving more players a route into using one of Ultimate Team’s most coveted attackers.
How Ronaldinho fits into FC 26 Winter Wildcards
Winter Wildcards in FC 26 continues the December tradition of dropping a large batch of off-meta upgrades, position changes, and special SBC players into Ultimate Team. For this cycle, the promo is expected to feature a mix of current stars, heroes, and Icons, with names like Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Federico Valverde and others all linked to Team 1.
One of the key twists is that some headliners are expected to have two different Winter Wildcards versions. For Ronaldinho, leaks point to:
- A 94-rated Winter Wildcards Icon available in packs.
- An 87-rated Winter Wildcards Icon SBC, the “baby” version the community is focusing on.
This mirrors what FC 25 did with Icons during Winter Wildcards, where one variant outperformed the base card, and another sat below it overall but still offered a unique stat profile or PlayStyle mix.
Leaked Ronaldinho Winter Wildcards SBC stats and PlayStyles
The SBC version of Ronaldinho is expected to come in at 87 overall. That is significantly lower than his 93-rated base Icon and the rumored 94-rated Winter Wildcards pack card, but the individual stats and PlayStyles are tuned to keep him dangerous in the current meta.
| Attribute | Leaked rating |
|---|---|
| Pace | 88 |
| Shooting | 85 |
| Passing | 85 |
| Dribbling | 90 |
| Defending | 38 |
| Physicality | 78 |
For context, Ronaldinho’s standard 93 Icon is already one of the most skill-heavy attacking options in FC 26, built around elite dribbling and strong playmaking. Bringing that profile down to 87 overall, but keeping 90 dribbling and mid‑80s shooting and passing, still lands him firmly in “usable” territory for high-level Division Rivals and Champions.
The headline addition is a new PlayStyle+: Rapid+. His base Icon currently lacks any pace-boosting PlayStyle, so giving the SBC version Rapid+ would change how he feels on the ball and in transition. Rapid+ improves explosive movement and acceleration in straight lines and wider runs, helping compensate for any slight shortfall in raw pace compared with the very top-tier wingers in the game.
Community discussion has focused heavily on whether he will also receive premium passing PlayStyles such as Incisive Pass or high-value dribbling PlayStyles like Technical or Trickster. Those details are not confirmed, but the Rapid+ tag alone is a meaningful upgrade in how he fits modern wide and CAM roles.
Why a lower-rated Ronaldinho SBC still matters
Ronaldinho’s 93 Icon costs over four million coins on the FC 26 transfer market. That price point effectively removes him from consideration for most squads, especially in a year where fodder supply has been limited and high-rated cards hold value.
An SBC version with an 87 rating functions differently:
- Accessibility: Mid‑tier and even some budget squads gain a realistic path to fielding Ronaldinho within a few weeks of grinding, instead of having to save several million coins.
- Evolutions potential: An 87-rated Icon sits inside the rating limits of many Evolution programs. Community discussion has already flagged that as a selling point: owners will be able to feed this Ronaldinho into future Evolutions to add missing PlayStyles or stat boosts.
- Flexibility in squad building: As an Icon, he provides strong chemistry links while freeing up club coins for other positions that cannot be covered by Evolutions as easily.
For players who skipped SBC Icons in FC 25 and later regretted missing long-term Evolution paths, this Winter Wildcards Ronaldinho is being viewed as an early “project card” for the rest of the cycle.
Expected SBC cost and why estimates are so high
There is no official pricing, but the expected cost has become its own talking point. With the 93-rated Icon still sitting north of four million coins and an even stronger 94-rated Winter Wildcards version due in packs, the 87-rated SBC is not positioned as a budget option in absolute terms.
Reasonable estimates put the SBC in the 1.0 to 1.5 million coin range at current fodder prices. Several factors drive that projection:
- Brand value: Ronaldinho remains one of the most in-demand names in Ultimate Team. EA historically prices marquee Icons to reflect that demand, even when the overall rating is modest.
- Rapid+ premium: Pace-based PlayStyle+ tags carry significant on-pitch value this year. Cards that combine above‑average pace with a speed-focused PlayStyle+ rarely sit cheap for long.
- Fodder inflation: 88- and 89-rated cards have been trending upwards in price, partly because many players burn high-rated fodder on casino-style upgrade SBCs. That makes large Icon SBC bundles more expensive to complete.
- Evolution upside: An 87-rated Icon that can be upgraded multiple times via Evolutions has a baked‑in future value that tends to be reflected in the initial SBC requirements.
On community forums, estimates range from sub‑1 million optimists to projections around 1.5–2 million coins, with the main disagreement driven by how heavily EA decides to price the Rapid+ PlayStyle and long-term Evolution potential.
How this SBC compares to previous “baby” Icons
The structure will feel familiar to long‑time Ultimate Team players. FC 24 introduced a heavily used Winter Wildcards Gullit SBC at center-back, and that card stayed viable well into Team of the Season despite launching in December. There was also a cheaper flashback Cristiano Ronaldo in a previous cycle that sat well below his main Icon cards in rating, but still felt strong for the price.
Ronaldinho’s Winter Wildcards SBC sits in that same design space:
- Lower overall than his main Icon: 87 instead of 93 or 94.
- One standout PlayStyle+: Rapid+ to shift him into a slightly different role profile than the base card.
- Long build horizon: Expected to be live long enough that patient players can complete him through normal play and selective SBC grinding.
For club builders who skipped last year’s lower-rated Cruyff SBC and later regretted losing a season-long Evolution anchor, the appetite to complete Ronaldinho even at a high cost is noticeably stronger.
When Winter Wildcards Team 1 – and Ronaldinho – should arrive
Winter Wildcards Team 1 is expected to go live in FC 26 Ultimate Team once the Unbreakables promo ends. The target date being circulated is Friday, December 19, at the standard 6:00 PM UTC / 7:00 PM CET content drop time.
That timing lines up with the broader seasonal cadence:
- Season 3 rewards already include at least one Winter Wildcards item, confirming the promo’s presence.
- Winter Wildcards typically acts as the major December event leading into January’s Team of the Year promo.
- Re-releases of recent promo cards (Thunder Struck, Joga Bonito, Unbreakables) are expected alongside the new Wildcards, creating a very crowded pack pool.
Ronaldinho’s SBC is described as “coming during Winter Wildcards” rather than guaranteed on day one, but community expectations are that he will land early in Team 1’s life cycle to maximize engagement and give players the full promo window to work toward him.
How to prepare your club for a 1M+ Ronaldinho SBC
With a likely price north of a million coins in fodder value, walking into Winter Wildcards without a plan will make Ronaldinho hard to justify. Several prep steps help smooth the path.
1. Protect high-rated fodder instead of chasing casino SBCs.
Upgrade SBCs and random campaign packs are tempting, but they are also the main reason many clubs feel bare when a premium Icon drops. Holding back 87–89 rated cards and treating them as Ronaldinho tokens rather than lottery tickets gives you a clearer completion roadmap.
2. Stock mid‑range fodder in advance.
Club-stocking 83–86 rated cards during quieter market windows is still effective. Winter Wildcards historically pushes requirements across several ratings, so spreading your holdings rather than focusing only on 88+ fodder lowers the number of cards you need to buy at inflated prices once the SBC hits.
3. Save meaningful packs, not everything.
Small, low‑value packs are more useful for topping up club depth before the promo. Bigger packs from Division Rivals, Champions, and major objectives are worth saving for when Winter Wildcards Team 1 is live to give yourself additional fodder and a small chance of pulling one of the new cards.
4. Time the market around fodder spikes.
If Ronaldinho’s SBC launches with multiple high-rated squads, 88s and 89s will likely spike in price. Players with a trading mindset can sell into that spike and buy back later, or flip specific nations and leagues that fit common SBC templates.
If the leaks hold, Winter Wildcards in FC 26 will give Ultimate Team players three distinct Ronaldinho experiences: the ultra-premium 94-rated card in packs, the already-expensive 93 base Icon, and this 87-rated Rapid+ SBC as a longer-term project. For most clubs, the SBC will be the only realistic way to bring the Brazilian legend into the starting XI, and the combination of Icon chemistry, strong dribbling, and a speed-focused PlayStyle+ explains why so many are already reshaping their fodder plans around him.
