There have been several footballers who've seen multiple appearances in the FIFA series of games. Starting in all the way back in 1993/1994, some players have even played first-team football for that entire period — like Gianluigi Buffon, the Italian shot-stopper, who currently plays for Parma.
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Thanks to the introduction of the Legends mechanic with FIFA 16, which are now known as Icons, this meant that many older players would once again return to the series. Here are some of the soccer players who have appeared most in the FIFA games.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon is one of the oldest footballers in the world currently still playing at a professional level. At the age of 43, he still stops shots for Parma in Serie A.
His Ultimate Team appearances date back to FIFA 10, although he was in every previous title's career mode dating all the way back to FIFA 95, as he didn't quite make the cut for the first game, FIFA 94, because he joined Parma when the game was already released. This puts him right at the top of the list for the player who has appeared in the most FIFA games.
Zlatan Ibrahimovich
Zlatan Ibrahimovich has been playing forever, it seems. His card has been present in FIFA Ultimate Team since 2010, but Ibra goes back even further than that.
Currently, a player for Inter Milan, Zlatan started his senior career all the way back in 1994, which means he was available in some of the earliest FIFA games via career mode, particularly for Ajax, and then Juventus.
David Villa
David Villa may not be in FIFA 21, but he was in every FIFA game dating back to the early 2000s. He started his professional career at Sporting Gijon in 2000 and first appeared in FIFA Ultimate Team in 2010.
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It's likely that we'll see a future Icon card of Villa now that he has retired from professional football. He ended his career with Vissel Kobe in Japan. Although you won't be able to use Villa in FIFA 22's rumored online career mode, you will hopefully see him as an Icon.
Willy Caballero
Willy Caballero, currently a sub goalkeeper for Chelsea, has been playing professional football since 2001, where he began his career with Boca Juniors.
Since then, he has played for both Manchester City and Chelsea, although with few appearances for either club. He had his longest run of games with Elche between 2004-2011, featured in FIFA 12 Ultimate Team and beyond, and did feature in the Argentine National team which means he was available in some of the early noughties FIFAs, too.
Rivaldo
Rivaldo was one of the top-rated players in the earliest FIFA games, first appearing in the top 10 at number three in FIFA 00. However, Rivaldo started his professional career in 1991 and only retired in 2015, making him one of the longest-running FIFA players.
Thanks to the introduction of various Icon cards in modern FIFA games, Rivaldo has made an appearance in FIFA 19, FIFA 20, and FIFA 21, although his last appearance before that was in FIFA 12.
Ronaldo Nizario
Ronaldo began his career many decades ago but has remained one of the most popular FIFA players in history, more recently thanks to his incredible set of Icon cards available in the past three games.
Others might remember him from the Road to the World Cup FIFA 1998, where he made the Brazilian team a hell to play against. He made his final FIFA appearance as a regular player in FIFA 11's Ultimate Team but was a staple of career modes for many years previous to that.
Didier Drogba
Drogba has had one of the longest stints in FIFA games thanks to his prevalence at club level with Chelsea and his long-standing place in the Ivory Coast national team, where he played for 12 years between 2002 and 2014.
He began his career with Le Mans in 1998, although he is best known for his success with Chelsea, helping them to a Champions League win with that goal. Drogba has been a regular appearance in both FIFA career mode and FIFA Ultimate Team, with the recent additions being Icon cards.
Lionel Messi
Although he is not the oldest player in FIFA, it seems unfair not to mention Lionel Messi. He began his professional career with Barcelona in 2003, where until just recently, he spent his career.
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He has been a part of every FIFA game since, often the highest-rated player in those games, and is widely considered one of the greatest football players to ever live. The number of Icon cards this man is destined to receive more than justifies his spot on this list.
Cristiano Ronaldo
To keep this list fair and fine, we also have to mention Cristiano Ronaldo. He began his professional football career in 2002, a year later signing for Manchester United which would be where he formed his class goal-scoring reputation.
He then spent 292 games with Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018 and made regular appearances during these years in FIFA games, mostly in World Cup modes, Career Mode, and later, FIFA Ultimate Team. Like Messi, Ronaldo is considered one of the greatest ever, and his future stockpile of Icon cards will justify his presence on this list.
Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard began his career with West Ham in 1995 and played professional football until 2016, ending his career with New York City in the MLS.
He appeared in literally dozens of FIFA games, either for the England national team, as a player in Ultimate Team (both as a regular card and as an Icon) and even as a manager for Chelsea for a short-lived period between 2019 and 2021.
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