Brighton & Hove Albion winger Kaoru Mitoma has been one of the biggest breakout stars in the Premier League over the last year or so, but EA Sports FC 24 leave a lot to be desired.
Having done a thesis on dribbling while studying in university back in Japan, Mitoma has been one of the most exciting wingers to watch over the past campaign, tormenting defenders with his speed, and accuracy in the final third.
The 26-year-old, who is criminally underpaid, has become a beloved figure among fans for maintaining a humble attitude despite his rapid rise to prominence.
The 26-year-old was one of the Premier League’s most explosive wingers last season, contributing in 12 goals (seven goals, five assists) to help Brighton secure European football for the first time in their history.
What is Mitoma’s rating in FC 24?
With that being said, it doesn’t really look like EA Sports are as hyped about the Japanese international. Ahead of the launch of FC 24 later this month, the official player ratings for Brighton were revealed – with Mitoma being invited by the creators to have a look at his official player rating card.
After being given a 77 rating in FIFA 23, it has been revealed that Mitoma will have a starting rating card of 80 in FC 24, a +3 from the previous edition. This feels quite low especially considering the impressive season that the Japanese winger had.
He is actually the joint-second highest Japanese player in the game, with the highest-rated one being Daichi Kamada. Even so, this appears to be a classic case of EA rating a player well below what they really deserve. Considering that Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho got a +7 on his rating from FIFA 23, Mitoma definitely deserved more than a +3.
Fans fume at Mitoma being robbed by EA
Some of the traits in his FC 24 card also don’t really make much sense. One particular one that fans seem to be really annoyed about is how Mitoma only got an 84-pace rating, despite actually being really quick with his movement – as seen in his epic goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers last month in the Premier League.
His 74 passing trait probably deserved to be higher too, because Mitoma is actually a really creative player – able to set up big chances with his pinpoint crosses and smart passes through the defensive line.
Fans are infuriated by how EA appears to have robbed the Brighton winger by giving him a very average rating which doesn’t seem to reward his heroics in the Premier League last season. The developers are being thrashed for underrating Japanese footballers as a whole, especially after the admirable work they did at the 2022 Qatar World Cup by eliminating Germany from the group stages, defeating Spain and reaching the Round of 16.
Mitoma himself appeared to be a little bit surprised at his FC 24 rating card in the reveal video, but he’s unlikely to take it to heart.
If not anything else, his low rating is likely to further motivate the 26-year-old to keep improving his goal numbers and do even better to ensure EA is forced to make him one of the Premier League’s highest-rated players in the next game.