FIFA 21 Career Mode: Best Contract Expiry Signings in 2023 (Third Season)

In Career Mode, one of the best and most cost-effective ways of bringing in a new superstar has long been to make a contract expiry signing.

It’s a very different story in FIFA 21, with the usual method of capitalising on a contract expiry having been changed a great deal in Career Mode, as explained on our 2021 Contract Expiry Signings post.

Having covered the first and second season of potential contract expiry signings, we now turn to the players with expiring contracts in 2023, for the third season of Career Mode.

Contents hide

1. Jan Oblak, Atlético Madrid (91 OVR)

2. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (91 OVR)

3. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich (91 OVR)

4. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool (90 OVR)

5. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool (90 OVR)

6. All the best FIFA 21 contract expiry signings in 2023 (third season)

Jan Oblak, Atlético Madrid (91 OVR)

Best Position: GK
First Season Age: 27
Wage: £110,000
Overall Rating: 91
Best Attributes: 92 Goalkeeper Handling, 90 Goalkeeper Reflexes, 90 Goalkeeper Positioning

Embodying Atlético Madrid’s tough-to-beat persona, Jan Oblak has put up a stellar stat line for the Metropolitano Stadium residents, keeping 141 clean sheets while only allowing 177 against by this 260^th game.

Last season, Oblak allowed a mere 27 goals in 38 La Liga games while keeping 17 clean sheets. Through his first three games of this season, the Slovenian shot-stopper only conceded one goal, being pivotal to the team coming away with something from their 0-0 draws against SD Huesca and Villarreal.

Oblak comes into FIFA 21 as the best goalkeeper in the game thanks to his 91 OVR, and yet, there’s much more to come: the 27-year-old has a potential rating of 93.

As he approaches the prime physical age for a goalkeeper, you can only imagine that Oblak’s overall rating will increase, making him an even better potential third season contract expiry signing.

Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City (91 OVR)

Best Position: CAM, CM
First Season Age: 29
Wage: £330,000
Overall Rating: 91
Best Attributes: 94 Short Passing, 94 Vision, 94 Crossing

Perhaps the finest playmaker in the Premier League, and one of the best passers of the ball in the world, Kevin De Bruyne continues to pull the strings for Manchester City in the middle of the park.

The Etihad Stadium residents didn’t enjoy the best of starts to the 2020/21 campaign, with De Bruyne only managing one goal and an assist through his first five games.

The Belgian plays as well in FIFA 21 as he does in real life, with his 94 short passing, 93 long passing, 92 ball control, 94 crossing, and 91 long shots making him very user-friendly.

He’ll be in his early-30s, but De Bruyne will still be among the highest-rated players in Career Mode by the time he can become a signing after his potential contract expiry in 2023.

Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich (91 OVR)

Best Position: ST
First Season Age: 31
Wage: £220,000
Overall Rating: 91
Best Attributes: 94 Attacking Positioning, 94 Finishing, 93 Reactions

After scoring 55 goals and ten assists in 47 games last season, en route to winning the Bundesliga and Champions League, Robert Lewandowski is once again establishing himself as one of the most potent strikers in the world.

The Polish sharpshooter scored five goals and two assists in his first few games of the Bundesliga campaign, only being kept off of the score sheet in the 4-1 loss to TSG Hoffenheim because he started on the bench.

If you’ve got the ball at Lewandowski’s feet in the box on FIFA 21, it’s more difficult to miss than to score, with his 94 finishing, 85 dribbling, 88 ball control, 94 positioning, 89 shot power, and 93 reactions making him one of the best STs in the game.

He’ll be in his mid-30s by the time his contract is set to expire, but Lewandowski is certainly a player you should look for as a potential contract expiry signing in the third season of Career Mode.

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool (90 OVR)

Best Position: RW
First Season Age: 28
Wage: £220,000
Overall Rating: 90
Best Attributes: 94 Acceleration, 92 Sprint Speed, 92 Reactions

Having helped pull Liverpool to their first-ever Premier League title with 19 goals and ten assists, Mohamed Salah didn’t waste any time at the start of this campaign.

Through the first five games of the season, the Egyptian speedster put up six goals – three of which came in the form of an opening game hattrick.

With pace still being one of the deciding factors of FIFA 21 prowess, Salah presents himself as one of the best players in the game, offering 94 acceleration, 92 sprint speed, and 91 agility.

Salah, along with Sadio Mané, is a potential contract expiry signing in the third season of Career Mode, with his deal coming to a close in 2023 to potentially make him easier and cheaper to acquire.

Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool (90 OVR)

Best Position: CB
First Season Age: 28
Wage: £185,000
Overall Rating: 90
Best Attributes: 93 Standing Tackle, 93 Defensive Awareness, 92 Strength

Having finished second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or vote by a mere seven points, there’s been very little doubt that Virgil van Dijk is the best centre back in the world right now.

The towering Dutchman is known for his dominance along the backline, in the air, and in opposition boxes. At the start of this season, though, it’d be fair that we saw several uncharacteristic stutters from Van Dijk.

Liverpool’s rock in defence is due to become a potential 2023 contract expiry signing in FIFA 21, at which point, Van Dijk may even carry a 91 overall rating, should he grow into his 91 POT.

He’s one of the best CB players to get in Career Mode, thanks to his 93 defensive awareness, 93 standing tackle, 86 sliding tackle, 90 interceptions, 92 strength, 87 heading accuracy, and 90 jumping.

All the best FIFA 21 contract expiry signings in 2023 (third season)

Here are all of the best potential 2023 contract expiry signings in FIFA 21 Career Mode, including their potential ratings and current wages.

Name	Positions	Age (2020)	Overall	Potential	Team	Value	Wage
Jan Oblak	GK	27	91	93	Atlético Madrid	£108 million	£110,000
Kevin De Bruyne	CAM, CM	29	91	91	Manchester City	£116 million	£330,000
Robert Lewandowski	ST	31	91	91	Bayern Munich	£100 million	£220,000
Mohamed Salah	RW	28	90	90	Liverpool	£108.5 million	£220,000
Sadio Mané	LW	28	90	90	Liverpool	£108.5 million	£220,000
Virgil van Dijk	CB	28	90	91	Liverpool	£99 million	£185,000
Casemiro	CDM	28	89	89	Real Madrid	£81.5 million	£280,000
Manuel Neuer	GK	34	89	89	Bayern Munich	£16 million	£115,000
N’Golo Kanté	CDM, CM	29	88	88	Chelsea	£70 million	£175,000
Joshua Kimmich	CDM, RB	25	88	90	Bayern Munich	£92.5 million	£130,000
Raheem Sterling	LW, RW	25	88	90	Manchester City	£103 million	£250,000
Kalidou Koulibaly	CB	29	88	88	SSC Napoli	£69 million	£270,000
Toni Kroos	CM	30	88	88	Real Madrid	£78.5 million	£280,000
Jadon Sancho	RM, LM, CAM	20	87	93	Borussia Dortmund	£111.5 million	£73,000
Fabinho	CDM	26	87	89	Liverpool	£79.5 million	£140,000
Roberto Firmino	CF	28	87	87	Liverpool	£73.5 million	£170,000
Heung-Min Son	LM, CF	27	87	87	Tottenham Hotspur	£72 million	£155,000
Keylor Navas	GK	33	87	87	Paris Saint-Germain	£23.5 million	£98,000
Sergio Busquets	CDM	31	87	87	FC Barcelona	£47.5 million	£210,000
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang	ST, LW	31	87	87	Arsenal	£60.5 million	£155,000
Jamie Vardy	ST	33	86	86	Leicester City	£39 million	£140,000
David de Gea	GK	29	86	86	Manchester United	£42 million	£135,000
Thomas Müller	CAM, RM, RW	30	86	86	Bayern Munich	£59 million	£115,000
Jordan Henderson	CDM, CM	30	86	86	Liverpool	£51 million	£125,000
Yann Sommer	CK	31	86	86	Borussia Mönchengladbach	£32.5 million	£49,500
Milan Škriniar	CB	25	85	89	Inter	£60.5 million	£115,000
Marcus Rashford	LM, ST	22	85	91	Manchester United	£78 million	£135,000
Clément Lenglet	CB	25	85	89	FC Barcelona	£60.5 million	£175,000
Ricardo Pereira	RB	26	85	87	Leicester City	£55 million	£110,000
Serge Gnabry	RM, LM, RW	24	85	87	Bayern Munich	£61 million	£100,000
Riyad Mahrez	RW, RM	29	85	85	Manchester City	£47.5 million	£190,000
Bernd Leno	GK	28	85	87	Arsenal	£41.5 million	£94,000
Alex Sandro	LB, LM	29	85	85	Piemonte Calcio (Juventus)	£42.5 million	£105,000
Marco Reus	CAM, CF	31	85	85	Borussia Dortmund	£40 million	£84,000
Péter Gulácsi	GK	30	85	85	RB Leipzig	£32.5 million	£59,000

If you’re lucky, some of these highly-rated players won’t sign new deals before the end of the third season on Career Mode, making them prime players to target as contract expiry signings.

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