EA's Tribute To Diego Maradona: How You Can Play the Argentinian Football Legend in FIFA 21

Diego Maradona, often regarded as one of the world's best professional football players, passed away last month in Tigre, Argentina. His death was felt around the world, with many of his sport's top players paying tribute including Lionel Messi and Pelé. ESPN FC's Twitter page also showed the Burj Khalifa light up the night sky with a tribute to Maradona with a caption reading "Touching the sky" followed by a sky blue heart mirroring the color of his team, S.S.C. Napoli.

Maradona's death at the age of 60 also allowed many to remember his particular genius with the football. His numbers and record back this up: 259 career goals in over 20 years of club play, 34 goals in 91 caps for the Argentina national team and nine World Cup goals.

The age-old debate of who was better, Maradona or Pelé, will rumble on and the duo of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have recently given their own takes. “He leaves us but he isn’t going anywhere, because Diego is eternal,” Messi said. For his part, Pelé feels only grief for the loss of what he calls a dear friend. "One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky," the Brazilian star said.

What remains eternal in the minds of football fans is his performance at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, which was tainted with controversy. In his team's quarterfinal match against England, he scored a goal with the use of his hand, a move that would normally incur a yellow card but was allowed because the referees did not have a clear view of the play. (Maradona would later describe that goal as being scored with the "hand of God.") Maradona and the Argentine team would go on to win against West Germany in the final.

Maradona in FIFA 21

Diego Maradona is also one of the top stars in FIFA 21, and was included recent versions as an Icon player alongside the likes of Pelé, Johan Cruyff and Lev Yashin.

After the legend's death, EA Sports paid tribute by giving out a Maradona tifo in FIFA 21, while his Icon card also spiked in price on the FIFA Ultimate Team transfer market as the number of people that wanted to play as him skyrocketed.

Maradona's legacy can be felt and seen in many forms of media including in this year's FIFA game. Even if you can't afford to buy the legend in the game's Ultimate Team mode—his card costs anywhere between 2 to 3 million coins—there are still ways to include the legend in your roster.

How to get Maradona in FIFA 21

Following the passing of Maradona, EA Sports added a new splash screen to FIFA 21 with the caption "Gracias Diego" as well as a moving message. Every FIFA Ultimate Team player was also given a free reward of a Maradona Tifo and Argentina's home and away kit.

You can get these items just by logging into the game on your console or by opening either the Web or Companion App. They will be automatically added as untradeable items in your inventory. To use the Maradona Tifo in the game, go to the Stadium section by holding the right stick upwards on the menu. Navigate to the Crowds section and you will be able to assign tifos to various sections of your stadium.

For those still wanting to get the game to honor their favorite football icon, you can get the game for all the major consoles including PS4, PS5, XBOX Series X, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch and PC.