FIFA 20 Winter Upgrades: When will the ratings refresh happen and which players will be upgraded?

At the start of the season, every player was given a unique rating in FIFA 20 based on their recent form.

As the 2019-20 campaign progressed, it was clear that some players had been underrated, while others have had a breakout season making their initial rating redundant.

In order to make sure each player in the FIFA 20 database is properly rated, EA Sports update player ratings throughout the season in the live database for online seasons.

FIFA Ultimate Team does not have dynamic ratings like this, but each February, a Ratings Refresh takes place, where upgraded cards are released into packs.

Contents

1. When are the FIFA Ultimate Team winter upgrades happening?
2. Which players will receive FIFA Ultimate Team upgrades?
3. Will my current players be upgraded?
4. Will players also be downgraded?

When are the FIFA Ultimate Team winter upgrades happening?

During the January transfer window, EA Sports will release new versions of players at their new clubs. This takes place throughout the month of January and into February once all the deals are completed.

The Ratings Refresh takes place once the transfer window is closed and usually kicks off in mid-February.

In FIFA 19, the first batch of winter upgrades was released on Friday, February 15, 2019. As a result, it is predicted that the FIFA 20 winter upgrades will begin on Friday, February 14, 2020.

As well as ratings increases, some players may also receive boosts to their weak foot and skill stats, while other players may benefit from position changes to reflect their real-life positions. Raheem Sterling is likely to receive a position change from his original right-wing spot to left-wing in the Ratings Refresh.

The ratings refresh usually occurs in batches, with each of Europe’s top five leagues released separately as well as another update for players from the rest of the world.

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Which players will receive FIFA Ultimate Team upgrades?

The latest live database for Career Mode and Online Seasons is a good indicator for which players will receive upgrades during the Ratings Refresh.

The following players have all been upgraded in the live database, so there is a very good chance they will receive a boost in FIFA Ultimate Team in February.

Player	Club	Old Rating	Upgraded Rating
Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	90	91
Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	89	90
Alisson	Liverpool	89	90
Sergio Aguero	Man City	89	90
Sadio Mane	Liverpool	88	90
Raheem Sterling	Man City	88	89
Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	87	88
Casemiro	Real Madrid	87	88
Roberto Firmino	Liverpool	86	88
Angel Di Maria	PSG	86	87
Ciro Immobile	Lazio	86	87
Clement Lenglet	Barcelona	85	86
Raphael Varane	Real Madrid	85	86
Andrew Robertson	Liverpool	85	86
Romelu Lukaku	Inter	85	86
Mauro Icardi	PSG	85	86
Hakim Ziyech	Ajax	85	86
Timo Werner	RB Leipzig	83	86
Arthur	Barcelona	84	85
Luis Alberto	Lazio	84	85
Pizzi	Benfica	84	85
Trent Alexander-Arnold	Liverpool	83	85
Jamie Vardy	Leicester	82	85
Lucas Moura	Spurs	83	84
Idrissa Gueye	PSG	83	84
Wissam Ben Yedder	Monaco	83	84
Ricardo Pereira	Leicester	82	84
Wilfred Ndidi	Leicester	81	84
Thomas Partey	Atletico Madrid	82	83
Quincy Promes	Ajax	82	83
Lautaro Martinez	Inter	81	83
Marcel Sabitzer	RB Leipzig	81	82
Dimitri Payet	Marseille	81	82
Marcos Acuna	Sporting CP	81	82
Ruben Dias	Benfica	80	82
Raul Jimenez	Wolves	80	82
Moussa Dembele	Lyon	80	81
Chris Smalling	Roma	80	81
Mario Hermoso	Atletico Madrid	80	81
Juan Bernat	PSG	80	81
Moussa Marega	Porto	80	81
James Maddison	Leicester	79	81
Richarlison	Everton	79	81
Fabian Schar	Newcastle	79	80
Achraf Hakimi	Borussia Dortmund	79	80
Agustin Marchesin	Portp	78	80
Jordan Veretout	Roma	78	79
Renan Lodi	Atletico Madrid	77	79
Marcus Thuram	Borussia Monchengladbach	75	79
Scott McTominay	Man Utd	77	78
Dayot Upamecano	RB Leipzig	77	78
Reguilon	Atletico Madrid	77	78
Luiz Felipe	Lazio	77	78
Patrick Herrmann	Borussia Monchengladbach	77	78
Konrad Laimer	RB Leipzig	77	78
Stefano Sensi	Inter	77	78
Tammy Abraham	Chelsea	76	78
Amine Harit	Schalke	76	78
Caglar Soyuncu	Leicester	74	78
Erling Haaland	Borussia Dortmund	73	78
Kieran Tierney	Arsenal	76	77
Rodrygo	Real Madrid	76	77
Phil Foden	Man City	76	77
Goncalo Paciencia	Eintracht Frankfurt	76	77
Theo Hernandez	AC Milan	76	77
Gianluca Mancini	Roma	76	77
Franco Cervi	Benfica	76	77
Mason Mount	Chelsea	75	77
John McGinn	Aston Villa	75	77
Matteo Guendouzi	Arsenal	75	77
Islam Slimani	Monaco	74	77
Nicolo Zaniolo	Roma	74	77
Merih Demiral	Juventus	74	77
Paulo Gazzaniga	Spurs	75	76
Alexander Nubel	Schalke	75	76
Jetro Willems	Newcastle	75	76
Suat Serdar	Schalke	75	76
Takumi Minamoto	Liverpool	75	76
Dodi Lukebakio	Hertha BSC	75	76
Bouna Sarr	Marseille	75	76
Moussa Diaby	Bayer Leverkusen	74	76
Enda Stevens	Sheff Utd	74	76
Emiliano Buendia	Norwich	74	76
John Egan	Sheff Utd	74	76
Tim Krul	Norwich	73	76
Fiyako Tomori	Chelsea	72	76
Daniel James	Man Utd	72	76
Adama Traore	Wolves	74	75
Philip Billing	Bournemouth	74	75
Moussa Djenepo	Southampton	74	75
Djibril Sow	Eintracht Frankfurt	74	75
Diego Rico	Bournemouth	74	75
Jack O’Connell	Sheff Utd	74	75
Giovanni Di Lorenzo	Napoli	73	75
Hwang Hee Chan	Red Bull Salzburg	71	75
Daichi Kamada	Eintracht Frankfurt	73	74
Lys Mousset	Sheff Utd	71	74
Mohamed Ihattaren	PSV	68	74
Alphonso Davies	Bayern Munich	72	73
Cody Gakpo	PSV	72	73
Dan Burn	Brighton	71	73
Laszlo Benes	Borussia Monchengladbach	70	73
Carles Perez	Barcelona	67	73
Ruben Vinagre	Wolves	70	72
Aaron Ramsdale	Bournemouth	68	72
Gabriel Martinelli	Arsenal	68	72
Todd Cantwell	Norwich	68	72
Mason Greenwood	Man Utd	67	70
John Lundstram	Sheff Utd	67	70
Aaron Connolly	Brighton	64	65
Neco Williams	Liverpool	60	62

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Will my current players be upgraded?

Only special versions of players in your club are eligible for an upgrade. Regular gold, silver or bronze cards will not be automatically upgraded.

If a player’s new rating exceeds or equals the rating of their special versions (Team of the Week, Team of the Group Stage, etc.), then these special cards will receive an automatic boost.

For example, Sadio Mane’s initial card had an 88 rating, but he is now rated 89 in the live FIFA database. A new 89-rated basic version will be added to packs in February, but anyone who has the original 88-rated version will not receive an upgrade. His 89- and 90-rated Team of the Week in-form cards will both get +1 overall, while his Player of the Month card should also be boosted from 91 to 92.

Headliners cards will also receive a boost if their base cards and special versions are also increased. This should see players like Headline Robert Lewandowski get an increase from 93 overall to 94, while all his in-form editions will also get an overall increase.

All new players found in packs will be upgraded but the lower-rated original cards will still be available to be bought and sold on the transfer market.

Will players also be downgraded?

The dynamic nature of the FIFA 20 database means that player ratings also go down as well as up. Players who were excellent in the past but have not been playing to the same ability often see their overall scores decreased during the season.

Some players who have also been benched or missed game time also see their scores go down and this is sometimes reflected in FIFA Ultimate Team as well as Career Mode and Online Seasons. In recent updates, players like Edinson Cavani, Hector Bellerin and James Rodriguez have seen their overall ratings decrease.

However, in the last few years, EA Sports have not released new updated cards into Ultimate Team for these downgrades, unless the player has moved during the transfer window. The Ratings Refresh now usually only applies to upgraded players.

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