The transfer market is where seasons are won between matchweeks. You can buy from every club in your league and from five other leagues, and the computer-run clubs negotiate rather than simply accepting whatever you offer. Here is how a deal comes together.
What a club thinks a player is worth
Every club starts from the player's market value, which depends on his rating, his age and his potential. It then adjusts for a few things.
- His role. A club will ask more for a player it considers crucial than for a squad player.
- His contract. A player with years left on his deal costs more than one whose contract is running down.
- Whether he is listed. A player the club has put on the transfer list is cheaper.
Making an offer
You make an offer and the club answers. If your offer is close to what it wants, it may accept straight away. Otherwise it comes back with a counter-offer, somewhere between your number and its own. Each round, it concedes a little less, and after a few rounds it gives its final answer.
Why lowball offers fail
There is a floor below which a club will not sell, whatever happens. Offer far below the player's value and the club takes offence. An insulting offer does not just fail: it makes the next round harder. Clubs are especially protective of their most important players and will not drop as far for them.
Agreeing the deal is only half of it
Once the clubs agree a fee, the player has to agree too. You offer him a role, a contract length and a weekly wage.
- The role is a promise about playing time: crucial, important, rotation, squad player or prospect.
- A good player will not accept a small role. Offer a star a squad player's role and he will ask for more.
- Older players want short contracts. A thirty-four-year-old will not sign for five years.
- Only young players can be signed as prospects.
The player tells you his wage demand. Meet it and he signs, as long as the wage fits inside your wage budget.
The wage budget
Every club has a weekly wage budget as well as a transfer budget. If a signing would take your total wage bill over the budget, the deal cannot go through. You can move money between the two: on the transfers page, a slider lets you trade transfer budget for wage budget. A week of wages is worth fifty-two times as much in transfers, either way.
Buying from another manager
When the player belongs to a friend, there is no computer working out a price: you make an offer and your friend decides. They can accept, refuse, or ignore you. Every friendship survives a rejected bid. Usually.
Selling players
It works the other way too. If one of your players is having a good season, computer clubs will come in for him, often above his market value, and clubs from abroad can bid as well. You are never forced to sell. You can also list a player to attract offers, or quick-sell him for half of what you paid.
Windows
Depending on the career settings, the market might be open all season or only in windows: pre-season to matchweek five, a few weeks around halfway, and the final stretch of the season. Offers still waiting when a window shuts simply lapse.
Finding the right player
The market lists every player you can buy, from your own league and the other five. You can sort by rating, value, age or potential, and filter by position and league. A few ways to use it well:
- Look abroad. Players from other leagues are often better value than the obvious names in your own division.
- Check potential, not just rating. A twenty-year-old rated a little lower today can be the better buy over two seasons.
- Free agents cost no fee at all, only wages. They are rarely stars, but they fill a gap cheaply.
- Compare like with like. Look at the attributes that matter for the position you need: pace and shooting for a winger, defending and physicality for a centre-back.
Signing a free agent rated eighty or above earns the Free Gem achievement, and signing a player for fifteen per cent or more below his asking price earns Haggler.
Quick tips
- Check a player's contract before bidding: a deal running out is cheaper.
- Never offer a star a small role.
- Watch your wage bill as closely as your transfer budget.
- Sell at the right time: a player in form is worth more than his number suggests.