Erling Haaland has been selected as the main front cover icon for FC24, the first EA Sports football game since the developer split from the famous FIFA brand.
The Manchester City icon has been unveiled as the main cover star for the standard edition of the game – just days after the Ultimate Edition Cover was mocked by fans for featuring over 30 famous stars from football past and present.
Developers EA Sports made the popular FIFA video games series, but after the end of their deal with football’s global governing body, they have created FC – a similar game with a new title.
Unveiling the honour, Haaland tweeted: ‘Every footballer dreams of this. Proud to be on the cover for the first season of a new era @EASPORTSFC #FC24’.
FC24 is released on September 29, on the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch platforms.
Erling Haaland tweeted his pride at being selected to be on the cover of EA Sports FC 24
It comes just days after the Ultimate Edition Cover reveal, which featured over 30 stars
EA FC 24 Ultimate Edition pre-orders will get seven days early access, starting from September 22, as well as a raft of other benefits.
Both versions come with dual entitlement – so PS5 users can play on their PS4, and there is cross-platform compatibility for Xbox fans too.
On Monday, the cover was launched for the Ultimate Edition of the forthcoming game – featuring over 30 of the game’s greats, past, present, and future.
It includes Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga icons, international superstars from throughout the decades in their famous national colours, and a raft of women’s players alongside their male counterparts.
Some fans questioned the rebrand and the graphics of the image, and the graphics revealed by Monday’s short teaser trailer.
Others hit out at the omission of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.
However, the appearance of Haaland on the cover cannot be called into question. He scored 52 goals in 53 games during an unreal debut season for Manchester City, as they won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Fans have questioned the absences of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe
Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games during his debut season playing for Manchester City