EA Sports FC 26 snubs Lamine Yamal from 'Future Stars' promo - but there's a reason
Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal misses out on EA Sports FC 26's 'Future Stars' promotion despite his meteoric rise, with EA's decision explained.
EA Sports has unveiled its latest ‘Future Stars’ promotion for FC 26, but Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal is nowhere to be seen - leaving many gamers scratching their heads about the Spanish sensation’s absence.
Why Ultimate Team promotions matter
For the uninitiated, Ultimate Team is the bread and butter of EA’s football franchise. It’s where millions of players worldwide build their dream squads by:
- Completing objectives to earn coins and special cards
- Trading smartly in the transfer market
- Opening packs (the controversial money-spinner) to land rare players
These special promotions are absolutely crucial for serious players. When EA drops themed events with boosted cards, the entire community goes into overdrive trying to pack these enhanced versions - they’re more powerful in-game and fetch serious coins on the market.
The Yamal mystery solved
Lamine’s absence is particularly puzzling considering he was also left out of the recent Team of the Year (TOTY) promo, despite being one of football’s genuine breakout stars. Several of his Barcelona teammates made that cut, including Pedri, Raphinha and Koundé.
So why the continued snub? The answer’s actually quite straightforward:
Lamine already featured in last year’s Future Stars promotion in FC25. EA typically doesn’t include players in consecutive years of the same promo. More tellingly, at just 16, Yamal has arguably already outgrown the ‘Future Star’ label - he’s already the real deal, ain’t he?
Who made the cut instead?
According to leakers, this year’s Future Stars lineup includes some proper ballers:
- Woltemade (Premier League sensation)
- Rodrigo Mora
- Doué
- Valentín Barco
- Estevao
- Adam Wharton
Spanish football isn’t completely left out in the cold though. The promo features Vitor Reis, Atlético Madrid Femenino’s Luany, and Álvaro Carreras among others.
For Barça fans feeling hard done by, perhaps it’s a backhanded compliment - your boy’s already graduated from ‘future’ to ‘current’ star faster than you can say “he’s gonna cost a Bobby Moore”.