FIFA 22 Best Defenders (CB, LB, RB, Wingback)

In this FIFA 22 Best Defenders guide, we'll show you a few football players at the top of their game when it comes to defensive playstyle

By Shayan Adnan

If you’re looking to find the FIFA 22’s Best Defenders for your team, then we’ve got you covered with this guide where we’ll be listing down the best CBs, RBs, and LBs that you can recruit for your team in FIFA 22.

FIFA 22 Best Defenders

When building your team in career mode, you should never cheap out on your defenders as they are the backbone of your team.

If your offense is on-point but the defense is subpar, you’ll get steamrolled once you start getting matched up against high-level teams.

So, to help you out with selecting the perfect defenders for your team, below we’ve listed down the best overall Defenders, defenders with the best Potential ratings, best CBs, RBs, and LBs that money can buy in FIFA 22.

For the tables, use the following key:

  • PO- Position
  • OVR- Overall Rating
  • POT- Potential Rating
  • VA- Market Value

FIFA 22 Best Defenders (Overall)

In FIFA 22, the best overall defender is none other than Virgil Van Dijk. For the second year in a row, he has taken the spot of the best defender in FIFA. His defending and Physical stats are top class, and with decent passing and pace, he takes the top spot.

In second place comes Sergio Ramos. Playing in a new team this year, he is the second-best defender in the game. Even at 35, he is still a beast of a defender, with high defending and physical stats.

Rounding out the podium is Manchester City’s Ruben Dias. He is a bit slower than Ramos and Van Dijk, but his defending and physical stats are still similar to them, which makes him the 3rd best defender in FIFA 22.

Below we have listed the best defenders based on the overall rating in FIFA 22.

 # Player Name Age Position Current Team Overall Rating Potential Overall Rating
1 Virgil van Dijk 29 CB Liverpool 89 89
2 Sergio Ramos 35 CB PSG 88 88
3 Ruben Dias 24 CB Manchester City 87 91
4 Trent Alexander-Arnold 22 RB Liverpool 87 92
5 Andrew Robertson 27 LB Liverpool 87 88
6 Marquinhos 27 CB PSG 87 90
7 Milan Skriniar 26 CB Inter Milan 86 88
8 Aymeric Laporte 27 CB Manchester City 86 89
9 Joao Cancelo 27 RB Manchester City 86 87
10 Raphael Varane 28 CB Manchester Utd 86 88
11 Kalidou Koulibaly 30 CB Napoli 86 86
12 Jordi Alba 32 LB Barcelona 86 86
13 Mats Hummels 32 CB Dortmund 86 86
14 Giorgio Chiellini 36 CB Juventus 86 86
15 Matthijs de Ligt 21 CB Juventus 85 90
16 Achraf Hakimi 22 RB PSG 85 88
17 Dani Carvajal 29 LB Real Madrid 85 85
18 Stefan de Vrij 29 CB Inter 85 85
19 Kyle Walker 31 RB Manchester City 85 85
20 Leonardo Bonucci 34 CB Juventus 85 85

FIFA 22 Highest Potential Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold sits atop the best RBs list as well as the defender with the highest potential rating. He has quickly risen to stardom due to his stellar performances. And starting with an overall rating of 87, he has a potential of 92, the highest of all defenders in the game.

Manchester City’s Ruben Dias comes in 2nd. He is really high defending and physical stats from the start. With an overall of 87, he has the potential of going all the way up to 91 overall.

De Ligt of Juventus takes 3rd place in this list. After standing out at Ajax, he transferred to Juventus and has still performed at a high level. He has the potential of going all the way to a 90 rating, from 85 starting overall.

Below we have listed the best Potential rating defenders in FIFA 22.

# Player Name Age Position Current Team Overall Rating Potential Overall Rating
1 Trent Alexander-Arnold 22 RB Liverpool 87 92
2 Ruben Dias 24 CB Man City 87 91
3 Matthijs de Ligt 21 CB Juventus 85 90
4 Theo Hernandez 23 LB Milan 84 90
5 Dayot Upamecano 22 CB Bayern 82 90
6 Marquinhos 27 CB PSG 87 90
7 Jules Kounde 22 CB Sevilla 83 89
8 Pau Torres 24 CB Villarreal 82 89
9 Eder Militao 23 CB Real Madrid 82 89
10 Alessandro Bastoni 22 CB Inter 80 89
11 Alphonso Davies 20 LB Bayern 82 89
12 Nuno Mendes 19 LB PSG 78 88
13 Edmond Tapsoba 22 CB Leverkusen 81 88
14 Achraf Hakimi 22 RB PSG 85 88
15 Milan Skriniar 26 CB Inter 86 88
16 Joe Gomez 24 CB Liverpool 82 88
17 Jose Maria Gimenez 26 CB Atletico Madrid 84 88
18 Josko Gvardiol 19 CB RB Leipzig 75 87
19 Marc Cucurella 22 LB Brighton 81 87
20 Cristian Romero 23 CB Spurs 82 87

FIFA 22 Best Defenders to Sign in First Season

Now coming to the next important part, which defenders should you sign for your team in the first season of FIFA 22 Career mode. The best method is to sign a high rated defender and a defender that has really high potential for the future.

For CBs, we suggest signing one of Ruben Dias, Van Dijk or de Ligt as the high-rated defenders. All these defenders are quite young and are already decently rated which will solidify your defense from the get-go.

Pair them with defenders like Lucas Klostermann, Maxence Lacroix or Lucas Verissimo. All these are fairly rated in the first season and have the potential to get ratings up to mid-80s overall.

Coming to LBs and RBs, try to sign Theo Hernandez, Alphonso Davies, Alexander Arnold, Achraf Hakimi and Joshua Kimmich as the higher-rated defender.

For potential stars, try to get one of Pervis Estupinan, Fabien Centonze or Dvyne Rensch. All of them have the potential to go up to 85 rated, making them a really good option as a rotation player in your squad to grow.

FIFA 22 Fastest Defenders

Coming to the fastest defenders in FIFA 22, Alphonso Davies of Bayern takes the crown. He has blazing fast pace of 96, making him the fastest defender and one of the fastest players in FIFA 22.

Coming in 2nd is Achraf Hakimi of PSG. He is not far behind Davies, with a pace of 95. Rounding out the podium is Theo Hernandez of AC Milan, with a pace of 93.

Below are the fastest defenders that you can get in career mode based on their pace.

# Player Name Pace Current Club Position
1 Alphonso Davies 96 Bayern Munich LB
2 Achraf Hakimi 95 PSG RB
3 Theo Hernandez 93 Milan  LB
4 Zaidu Sanusi 93 FC Porto  LB
5 Ferland Mendy 92 Real Madrid  LB
6 Kyle Walker 92 Manchester City  RB
7 Leonardo Spinazzola 92 Roma FC  LB
8 Jorge Sanchez 92 America  RB
9 Manuel Lazzari 91 SS Lazio  RWB
10 Ryan Fredericks 91 West Ham  RB
11 Paulo Otavio 91 VfL Wolfsburg  LB
12 Jeremiah St. Juste 91 FSV Mainz OS  CB
13 Juan Cuadrado 90 Juventus  RB
14 Yasser Al Shahrani 90 Al Hilal  LB
15 Youcef Atal 90  OGC Nice  CB
16 Joakim Moehle 89 Atalanta BC  CB
17 Adria Giner Pedrosa 89 RCD Espanyol  LB
18 Maxence Lacroix 88 VfL Wolfsburg  CB
19 Jérôme Roussillon 88 VfL Wolfsburg  LB
20 Kevin Mbabu 88 VfL Wolfsburg  RB

FIFA 22 Best CBs

The top spot on the best CBs list in FIFA 22 is earned by the talented Frenkie de Jong. If you have Frenkie on your team, you’ll notice that this player will always be in the right place at the right time.

Due to his great stats, he can catch up to almost any attacker and cheese the ball out of them.

With a great pace, dribbling, passing, build-up play, interceptions, and even shooting, Frenkie has every single quality that you’d want your defender to have.

Rúben Santos Gato Alves Dias takes up the second spot on this list. This 24-year-old is one of the fastest-growing players in recent times. When he got signed, a lot of people doubted he’d play well due to earlier underwhelming performances, but the man proved everyone wrong.

He’s improved so much that he’s now one of the best defenders in the football world and his FIFA 22 stats show exactly that. He’s a solid rock in defense and completely worth his price tag.

The third spot on the best CBs list is taken by none other than Marquinhos himself. Marquinhos is one of the most agile defenders you can get. He has great physical (81), pace (81), and even passing (75); making him an extremely versatile defender.

Below we have listed the 20 best Center backs in FIFA 22 based on their overall, potential ratings and value.

Rank Name Age Club OVR POT VA
1 Frenkie de Jong 24 FC Barcelona 87 92 €119.5M
2 Rúben Santos Gato Alves Dias 24 Manchester City 87 91 €102.5M
3 Marquinhos 27 Paris Saint-Germain 87 90 €90.5M
4 Dayot Upamecano 22 Bayern Munchen 82 90 €64M
5 Matthijs de Ligt 21 Juventus 85 90 €75M
6 Virgil van Dijk 30 Liverpool 89 89 €84.5M
7 Aymeric Laporte 27 Manchester City 86 89 €77M
8 Alessandro Bastoni 22 Inter 80 89 €44.5M
9 Éder Gabriel Militão 23 Real Madrid 82 89 €56.5M
10 Pau Francisco Torres 24 Villarreal CF 82 89 €56.5M
11 Jules Kounde 22 Sevilla FC 83 89 €53M
12 Sergio Ramos Garcia 35 Paris Saint-Germain 88 88 €24M
13 Raphael Varane 28 Manchester United 86 88 €68.5M
14 Fabinho 27 Liverpool 86 88 €73.5M
15 José María Giménez 26 Atletico de Madrid 84 88 €52M
16 Joe Gomez 24 Liverpool 82 88 €43.5M
17 Milan Skriniar 26 Inter 86 88 €74M
18 Edmond Tapsoba 22 Bayern 04 Leverkusen 81 88 €48.5M
19 Niklas Sule 25 Bayern Munchen 82 87 €40.5M
20 Presnel Kimpembe 25 Paris Saint-Germain 83 87 €45.5M

FIFA 22 Best RBs

Trent Alexander-Arnold sits atop the best RBs list and deservedly so. Trent came from humble beginnings just five years ago but has quickly risen to stardom due to his stellar performances.

His stats in FIFA have been improving at an incredible rate in the past few years, and now he’s become the best RB in the game. Furthermore, he’s even earned himself a Team of the Season card after some incredible performances in front of the Kop.

The Midfield Beast, Joshua Kimmich takes up the second spot. What he lacks in pace, he makes up with absolutely elite passing and ball control. As long as he’s in his position, he’ll be a nightmare for his opponents.

22-year-old Moroccan Achraf Hakimi earns himself the third spot on the list almost solely based on his immense speed. With an insane 95 pace, Achraf will be a headache for any opponent trying to get past him.

Below we have listed the 20 best Right Backs in FIFA 22 based on their overall and potential ratings and value.

Rank Name Age Club OVR POT VA
1 Trent Alexander-Arnold 22 Liverpool 87 92 €114M
2 Joshua Kimmich 26 Bayern Munchen 89 90 €108M
3 Achraf Hakimi 22 Paris Saint-Germain 85 88 €69.5M
4 Joao Cancelo 27 Manchester City 86 87 €71.5M
5 Niklas Sule 25 Bayern Munchen 82 87 €40.5M
6 Aaron Wan-Bissaka 23 Manchester United 83 87 €48.5M
7 Reece James 21 Chelsea 81 86 €37M
8 Jurrien Timber 20 Ajax 75 86 €11.5M
9 Kyle Walker 31 Manchester City 85 85 €39M
10 Carvajal 29 Real Madrid 85 85 €47.5M
11 Konrad Laimer 24 RB Leipzig 81 85 €33.5M
12 Takehiro Tomiyasu 22 Arsenal 75 85 €12M
13 Noussair Mazraoui 23 Ajax 80 85 €29.5M
14 Ridle Baku 23 VfL Wolfsburg 80 85 €32M
15 Mohamed Simakan 21 RB Leipzig 75 85 €12M
16 Jayden Bogle 20 Sheffield United 74 85 €9M
17 Sergino Dest 20 FC Barcelona 76 85 €15.5M
18 Devyne Rensch 18 Ajax 73 85 €7M
19 Jesús Navas Gonzále 35 Sevilla FC 84 84 €13M
20 Kieran Trippier 30 Atletico de Madrid 84 84 €36.5M

FIFA 22 Best LBs

Unsurprisingly, Theo Hernandez earns himself the top spot on the best LBs list. In the FIFA community, Theo has been in the debate for the best fallback in the game for a while.

Theo’s biggest strength is his whopping 93 pace, due to which he can run laps around practically any attacker in the game. Having such a speed demon work the defense on your team is an absolute blessing.

Alphonso Davies takes up the second spot on the best LBs list. This 20-year-old prodigy has taken the football world by storm in the past three years. When he started his professional career, people thought it’d take him a long time before he reached his full potential but that wasn’t the case at all.

In only three years, Alphonso is arguably the best LB in the world. In FIFA 22, he’s right behind Theo Hernandez with an 82 OVR and 89 POT. Valued at only €57M, Alphonso gives you an immense return on profit.

Taking up the third spot is Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson. This Scottish player is considered by many to be one of the best LBs ever produced by the country. He’s a very underrated player in the football world, but in FIFA 22, he gets the praise he deserves.

With an 87 OVR and 88 POT, Andrew brings a lot to the table. His pace, defending, and crossing are extremely impressive and he’s more than worth his €83.5M price tag.

Rank Name Age Club OVR POT VA
1 Theo Hernandez 23 Milan 84 90 €62.5M
2 Alphonso Davies 20 Bayern Munchen 82 89 €57M
3 Andrew Robertson 27 Liverpool 87 88 €83.5M
4 Bukayo Saka 19 Arsenal 80 88 €45.5M
5 Nuno Alexandre Tavares Mendes 19 Paris Saint-Germain 78 88 €29M
6 Joao Cancelo 27 Manchester City 86 87 €71.5M
7 Marc Cucurella Saseta 22 Brighton & Hove Albion 81 87 €41.5M
8 Josko Gvardiol 19 RB Leipzig 75 87 €12.5M
9 Jordi Alba Ramos 32 FC Barcelona 86 86 €47M
10 Luke Shaw 25 Manchester United 84 86 €48.5M
11 José Luís Gayà Peña 26 Valencia CF 83 86 €43.5M
12 Lucas Hernandez 25 Bayern Munchen 83 86 €44.5M
13 Kieran Tierney 24 Arsenal 80 86 €31M
14 Ferland Mendy 26 Real Madrid 83 86 €43.5M
15 Ben Chilwell 24 Chelsea 82 86 €40.5M
16 Renan Augusto Lodi dos Santos 23 Atletico de Madrid 81 86 €36.5M
17 Grimaldo 25 Benfica 82 85 €37M
18 Ben Godfrey 23 Everton 77 85 €22M
19 Oleksandr Zinchenko 24 Manchester City 80 85 €29.5M
20 Mario Hermoso Canseco 26 Atletico de Madrid 82 85 €35.5M

FIFA 22 Best LWBs

Below we have listed the best Left-Wing Backs in FIFA 22 based on their overall ratings and value.

Rank Name Age Club OVR
1 Leonardo Spinazzoloa 28 AC Roma 83
2 Jose Angel Esmoris Tasende 24 RB Leipzig 83
3 Ben Chilwell 24 Chelsea 82
4 Marcos Alonso 30 Chelsea 79
5 Federico Dimarco 24 Inter 76
6 Ruben Nascimento Vinagre 22 Sporting CP 76
7 Matt Ritchie 32 Newcastle United 74
8 Enda Stevens 31 Sheffield United 74
9 Ryan Sessegnon 21 Tottenham Hotspur 74

FIFA 22 Best RWBs

Below we have listed the best Right-Wing Backs in FIFA 22 based on their overall ratings and value.

Rank Name Age Club OVR
1 Reece James 21 Chelsea 81
2 Nordi Mukiele 24 RB Leipzig 81
3 Manuel Lazzari 28 Latium 81
4 Nelson Cabral Semedo 28 Wolverhampton Wanderers 79
5 Adam Marusic 29 Latium 79
6 Matteo Darmian 32 Inter 78
7 Joakim Maehle 24 Atlanta 74
8 Enda Stevens 31 Sheffield United 74
9 Ryan Sessegnon 21 Tottenham Hotspur 74
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About the Author
Shayan Adnan