TOTY Honourable Mention Mania: Last Chance Saloon for Blue Card Snubs in EA FC 25

It is the moment every Ultimate Team player lives for and dreads in equal measure—the final curtain call of the Team of the Year promo. By January 2025, the community had already ripped through millions of packs hunting for a glitchy Ronaldo or a trickster Vini Jr. But for a dedicated group of high-profile snubs, the party was not over. EA dropped the TOTY Honourable Mention squad, giving those who just missed the cut a shiny blue card to console their bruised egos. Consider it the silver lining for a year of absolute bangers on the virtual pitch.

🤔 What’s the Deal with These Cards, Bro?

Let’s break it down, no cap. Unlike the main TOTY squad, where the fans scream their lungs out in votes, the Honourable Mentions are a pure EA executive call. Think of it as a mix of raw voting data and pure 'meta' popularity. If you were the tragic No. 12 just outside the door, you get the nod. No salt, just a simple "GG, here’s a +15 stat boost and some extra PlayStyles." These items aren't quite as cracked as the genuine TOTY winners, but they’re more than enough sauce to fix your Weekend League record. They were actually released on Friday, January 24, 2025, hitting packs the same day as the 12th Man/Woman cards. It was a high-stakes battlefield for traders, lasting exactly one week before the whole promo faded away on January 31, 2025.

🚨 The Heavy Hitters: A Squad Full of 'What Ifs'

The list of candidates was stacked—heavier than a post-Christmas lunch. Basically, anyone nominated for the TOTY who didn't make the final XI was in the running. Here is the lowdown on the players everyone was sweating over.

🧤 Goalkeepers

• Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)

• Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund)

• Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig)

• Mike Maignan (AC Milan)

• Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao)

• Diogo Costa (Porto)

🛡️ Defenders

• Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)

• Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

• Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

• Marquinhos (PSG)

• Wilfred Singo (Monaco)

• Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

• Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)

• Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

• Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart)

• Theo Hernandez (AC Milan)

• Bremer (Juventus)

• Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli)

• Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan)

• Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)

• Miguel Gutierrez (Girona)

🎮 Midfielders

• Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

• Declan Rice (Arsenal)

• Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

• Vitinha (PSG)

• Mahdi Camara (Brest)

• Edon Zhegrova (Lille)

• Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

• Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen)

• Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) — A no-brainer for a boost!

• Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund)

• Xavi Simmons (RB Leipzig)

• Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan)

• Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta)

• Paulo Dybala (Roma)

• Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna)

• Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)

• Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)

• Pedri (Barcelona)

• Dani Olmo (Barcelona)

• Alex Baena (Villareal)

• Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad)

• Angel Di Maria (Benfica)

• Salem Aldawsari (Al Hilal)

• N'Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad)

⚽ Attackers

• Erling Haaland (Manchester City) — The biggest shock of the main vote.

• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

• Phil Foden (Manchester City)

• Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

• Heung Min Son (Spurs)

• Bradley Barcola (PSG)

• Jonathan David (Lille)

• Ousmane Dembele (PSG)

• Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon)

• Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

• Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt)

• Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)

• Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)

• Lois Openda (RB Leipzig)

• Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)

• Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)

• Adam Lookman (Atalanta)

• Christian Pulisic (AC Milan) — The LeBron James of soccer?

• Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)

• Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)

• Artem Dovbyk (Roma)

• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)

• Raphinha (Barcelona)

• Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

• Antoinne Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

• Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting Lisbon)

• Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) — The GOAT is never a bad pull.

• Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

🏆 Women’s Game Representing Hard

Let’s be real, the women’s cards in FC 25 were absolute beasts, and the Honourable Mentions weren't messing around either. A highlight here was Salma Paralluelo, who was actually the only confirmed HM card dropping as an SBC on January 20—an early W for La Liga hybrids.

🧤 Goalkeepers

• Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC)

• Merle Frohms (Wolfsburg)

• Lola Gallardo (Atletico Madrid)

• Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride)

🛡️ Defenders

• Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)

• Katie McCabe (Arsenal)

• Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)

• Ellie Carpenter (Lyon)

• Selma Bacha (Lyon)

• Jade Le Guilly (PSG)

• Giulia Gwinn (Bayern Munich)

• Sara Doorsoun (Eintracht Frankfurt)

• Glodís Perla Viggosdottir (Bayern Munich)

• Lisa Karl (Freiburg)

• Nerea Nevado (Athletic Bilbao)

• Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)

• Kaleigh Kurtz (North Carolina Courage)

• Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave)

• Emily Sams (Orlando Pride)

🎮 Midfielders

• Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)

• Sjoeke Nusken (Chelsea)

• Jill Roord (Manchester City)

• Grace Clinton (Manchester United)

• Lindsey Horan (Lyon)

• Grace Geyoro (PSG)

• Clara Mateo (Paris FC)

• Gaetane Thiney (Paris FC)

• Klara Buhl (Bayern Munich)

• Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich)

• Svenja Huth (Wolfsburg)

• Laura Freigang (Eintracht Frankfurt)

• Natasha Kowalski (SGS Essen)

• Vilde Boe Risa (Atletico Madrid)

• Sandie Toletti (Real Madrid)

• Karen Araya (Madrid CF)

• Laura Perez (Granada)

• Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current)

• Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit)

• Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)

• Rose Lavelle (NY/NJ Gothams)

• Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)

• Marta (Orlando Pride)

⚽ Attackers

• Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)

• Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)

• Mariona (Arsenal)

• Mayra Ramirez (Chelsea)

• Tabitha Chawinga (PSG)

• Kadidiatou Diani (Lyon)

• Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG)

• Melchie Dumornay (Lyon)

• Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)

• Lea Schuller (Bayern Munich)

• Vanessa Fudalla (RB Leipzig)

• Kristin Kogel (Bayer Leverkusen)

• Ewa Pajor (Barcelona)

• Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona) – The confirmed SBC queen!

• Alba Redondo (Real Madrid)

• Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid)

• Nerea Eizagirre (Real Sociedad)

• Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride)

• Asisat Oshoala (Bay FC)

🔮 The Final Verdict on the Blue Wave

While these Honourable Mention cards didn’t quite break the game logic like a TOTY Mbappé or a Prime Icon, they were undoubtedly the glue for building a sweaty meta squad heading into the spring. If you managed to pack one, give yourself a pat on the back and flex on the Discord servers. If the pack luck gods were being stingy, well, there's always the next big crash on the transfer market. At the very least, it gave players a proper excuse to grind menus one last time before the TOTY madness officially closed its doors. GG, EA. Maybe next season some of these snubs finally get their main trophy.