The most anticipated event in the Ultimate Team calendar is finally upon us. Last night, prominent community leaker FUT Sheriff released the full list of nominees for the FC 26 Men’s Team of the Year (TOTY) on Twitter.
While the inclusion of superstars like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland is expected, this year’s list has sparked immediate debate within the community regarding EA Sports’ positional classifications. To fit more high-profile stars into the voting ballot, several players traditionally considered pure attackers have been shifted into the Midfielder category – a move likely designed to drive engagement and pack sales by allowing gamers to vote for a “super-team” of forwards.
One glaring omission from the list is PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi. Despite a strong season in Ligue 1, the Moroccan international has been excluded from the nominees entirely. This decision is widely believed to be due to factors outside of the game, specifically his ongoing legal situation in France, which likely prompted EA to distance the brand from the player for this specific campaign.
Below is the complete breakdown of the leaked nominees, categorized by their in-game voting position. You can vote for your picks here.
⚠️ The “Attacker-Midfielder” Shift
Before diving into the lists, it is crucial to note the strategic positional changes EA has seemingly applied this year.
Players who operate primarily as wingers or forwards – specifically Mohamed Salah, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Vinícius Jr. (though Vini remains a Forward in the leak) – often blur the lines. However, in this voting ballot, the following heavy hitters have been classified as Midfielders (RM/LM) rather than Forwards:
- Mohamed Salah
- Lamine Yamal
- Raphinha
- Nico Williams
- Luis Díaz
This allows users to vote for a front three of Mbappé, Haaland, and Vinícius Jr., while also selecting Salah, Bellingham, and Yamal in the midfield slots, creating a ballot stacked with offensive firepower.
🧤 Goalkeepers
The list of shot-stoppers features the usual elite suspects, with Thibaut Courtois and Alisson Becker leading the charge.
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) – 89 OVR
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City) – 89 OVR
- Alisson (Liverpool) – 89 OVR
- Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid) – 88 OVR
- David Raya (Arsenal) – 87 OVR
- Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) – 84 OVR
- Mile Svilar (Roma) – 82 OVR
🛡️ Defenders
The defensive nominees are dominated by Premier League center-backs, with Virgil van Dijk and the Arsenal duo of Gabriel and Saliba taking top billing. Interestingly, Jeremie Frimpong (often a RWB) is missing from this specific image, while Grimaldo has been moved to the Midfielders category (see below), leaving the defender list focused heavily on center-backs and traditional full-backs.
- Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – 90 OVR
- Gabriel (Arsenal) – 88 OVR
- William Saliba (Arsenal) – 88 OVR
- Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich) – 87 OVR
- Alessandro Bastoni (Inter) – 87 OVR
- Marquinhos (PSG) – 87 OVR
- Jules Koundé (Barcelona) – 87 OVR
- Willian Pacho (PSG) – 86 OVR
- Nuno Mendes (PSG) – 86 OVR
- Nico Schlotterbeck (Dortmund) – 85 OVR
- Marc Cucurella (Chelsea) – 84 OVR
- Denzel Dumfries (Inter) – 84 OVR
- Marcos Llorente (Atlético Madrid) – 84 OVR
- Amir Rrahmani (Napoli) – 83 OVR
- Micky van de Ven (Tottenham) – 82 OVR
- Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace) – 82 OVR
- Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid) – 82 OVR
- Maximilian Mittelstädt (Stuttgart) – 82 OVR
- David Raum (RB Leipzig) – 82 OVR
- Andrei Rațiu (Rayo Vallecano) – 79 OVR
👟 Midfielders
This is the most controversial and stacked category. As noted, it includes traditional wingers (Salah, Yamal, Raphinha) alongside box-to-box midfielders (Bellingham, Valverde). Alejandro Grimaldo, a defender by trade, also appears here as a Left Midfielder.
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 91 OVR
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) – 90 OVR
- Pedri (Barcelona) – 89 OVR
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) – 89 OVR
- Raphinha (Barcelona) – 89 OVR
- Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) – 89 OVR
- Vitinha (PSG) – 89 OVR
- Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) – 89 OVR
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) – 88 OVR
- Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 87 OVR
- Declan Rice (Arsenal) – 87 OVR
- Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) – 87 OVR
- Moisés Caicedo (Chelsea) – 87 OVR
- Nicolò Barella (Inter) – 87 OVR
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) – 86 OVR
- Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle) – 86 OVR
- Nico Williams (Athletic Club) – 86 OVR
- Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool) – 85 OVR
- Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich) – 85 OVR
- Scott McTominay (Napoli) – 85 OVR
- Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen) – 84 OVR
- Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli) – 84 OVR
- Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart) – 83 OVR
- Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Marseille) – 82 OVR
- Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal) – 82 OVR
- Ritsu Doan (Freiburg) – 82 OVR
- Felix Nmecha (Dortmund) – 82 OVR
- Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna) – 82 OVR
- André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Napoli) – 82 OVR
- Corentin Tolisso (Lyon) – 81 OVR
- Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco) – 80 OVR
- Evander (Portland Timbers) – 79 OVR
- Nico Paz (Como) – 79 OVR
- Kenan Yıldız (Juventus) – 79 OVR
⚽ Forwards
Despite the midfield migration, the forward line remains incredibly competitive. Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland headline the list, with legends like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo still making the cut.
- Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid) – 91 OVR
- Erling Haaland (Man City) – 90 OVR
- Ousmane Dembélé (PSG) – 90 OVR
- Vinícius Jr. (Real Madrid) – 89 OVR
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) – 89 OVR
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) – 88 OVR
- Lautaro Martínez (Inter) – 88 OVR
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG) – 87 OVR
- Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal) – 87 OVR
- Serhou Guirassy (Dortmund) – 87 OVR
- Julián Álvarez (Atlético Madrid) – 87 OVR
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) – 86 OVR
- Désiré Doué (PSG) – 85 OVR
- Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) – 85 OVR
- Heung-Min Son (Los Angeles FC) – 85 OVR
- Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United) – 85 OVR
- Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) – 85 OVR
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) – 85 OVR
- Romelu Lukaku (Napoli) – 84 OVR
- Bradley Barcola (PSG) – 84 OVR
- Christian Pulisic (Milan) – 84 OVR
- Moise Kean (Fiorentina) – 83 OVR
- Ayoze Pérez (Villarreal) – 83 OVR
- Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace) – 82 OVR
- Antony (Real Betis) – 81 OVR
- Emanuel Emegha (Strasbourg) – 78 OVR
- Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC) – 77 OVR
What’s Next?
As of this leak, the Women’s TOTY nominees have not yet surfaced. Voting is expected to open tonight at 19.00 CET on the official EA Sports FC website.
