Football Manager 2023: The 20 best teams to manage in FM23
William Harris What is the best team to manage in Football Manager 2023? There is no straightforward answer.
Some like taking over a known giant and enjoying a smooth journey to glory. For others, the best challenges in FM23 are when you build a team from the ground up and go through painstaking years of climbing up the leagues. Whatever your preference is, we’ve got a team for you.
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Before deciding which save to embark upon, it’s important to know every side’s transfer budget, wage budget, difficulty rating and a top tip for each of the club’s listed. The focus here was to profile the best European sides to take charge of. Our picks for the best non-European clubs to choose for your next save will be released soon.
So, here is The Athletic’s list of the 20 best teams to manage on Football Manager 2023.
Transfer budget: £20.6million
Wage budget: £500k/week
Difficulty rating: 1/5
In real life, Manchester United are not considered a title contender. But in FM23, bringing a league title back to Old Trafford for the first time since 2013 shouldn’t be too difficult.
United’s squad is strong, but a little top-heavy in that they have plenty of options up front but holes to fill elsewhere in the squad. With the right signings, a title challenge is not out of the question in year one.
Top tip: Harry Maguire can be sold for around £20million, which would double your starting transfer budget, while Fred is also out of contract in 2023. Prioritise their departures to help raise more funds.
Transfer budget: £8.6million
Wage budget: £61k/week
Difficulty rating: 1/5
Dortmund have two of the best young players in FM23 on their books in Jude Bellingham and Youssoufa Moukoko. For that reason alone, managing them makes this one of the easier challenges.
Bayern Munich’s dominance is well-documented, but in real life the cracks are beginning to show. Where Bayern falter, Dortmund can capitalise — even if they did just lose Erling Haaland.
Top tip: Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, once on the books of Manchester City, has immense potential, so make sure you either involve him in your first team or loan him out.
Transfer budget: £14.7million
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Wage budget: £11k/week
Difficulty rating: 1/5
Inter have got a solid core of players to build around in Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar, Hakan Calhanoglu and Lautaro Martinez, but they also have an ageing squad.
The challenge here is bringing some youthful energy to the club. Inter don’t have too many top youngsters outside of Valentin Carboni, a 17-year-old with the potential to become of the game’s better right-wingers.
Top tip: Denzel Dumfries often has suitors at the start of most saves. Selling him could raise an additional £18million straight out of the gate.
Sporting Lisbon
Transfer budget: £3.9million
Wage budget: £25k/week
Difficulty rating: 2/5
Sporting have an abundance of talented youngsters on their books in FM23. Of that group, Rodrigo Ribeiro, Goncalo Inacio and Guilherme Santos are the pick of the bunch.
You’ll have to see off the prospect of Benfica and Porto in the league, but given that you have so many high-growth players to work with, this is the ideal save for people who aren’t interested in making too many transfers and want to build a dynasty from within.
Top tip: Dario Essugo has a lot of potential but is some way off being first-team ready. Loan him out for a season or two and bring him back into the fold once his attributes improve.
Atletico Madrid
Transfer budget: £218k
Wage budget: £4.6k/week
Difficulty rating: 2/5
Despite not having much of a transfer budget to work with, Atletico are still favoured to finish in the top three at the very least at the start of any new save.
To help bridge that gap between Real Madrid and Barcelona, you’ll have to sell players. Ten members of Atletico’s squad are aged 28 or older, so aim to replace that group sooner rather than later.
Top tip: Selling Alvaro Morata, who is out of contract in 2023, will significantly raise an otherwise non-existent transfer budget.
Transfer budget: £200k
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Wage budget: £40k/week
Difficulty rating: 2/5
Watford don’t have much of a transfer budget but you could easily raise £25-30million by selling the club’s best player. Letting go of Ismaila Sarr isn’t such a big blow because of the presence of Yaser Asprilla and Joao Pedro, with both forwards offering high-growth potential.
Regardless of what you choose to do with Sarr, it should be a straightforward journey back to the Premier League, which is where the real challenge lies.
Top tip: At the start of a game save in FM23, Watford have two assistant managers — but there’s an argument to be made that both are replaceable.
Monaco
Transfer budget: £17.2million
Wage budget: £0k/week
Difficulty rating: 2/5
Dethroning Paris Saint-Germain seems like an enormous ask for any side in Ligue 1. Monaco are well-placed to build a team that could eventually see them become French champions, even if it doesn’t happen in the first season.
They have a young side and a few decent players in Myron Boadu and Vanderson who could be building blocks for years to come. But you’ll need to be savvy with who you sign if you are to mount a realistic title challenge.
Top tip: Utilise the skills of Paul Mitchell, the club’s technical director, as his ability to scout young players with high potential is among the best in the game.
Transfer budget: £4.31million
Wage budget: £78k/week
Difficulty rating: 2/5
Frankfurt qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League in 2021-22, but in FM23 they are predicted to finish sixth.
Securing a top-four spot is not beyond the realms of possibility, but it won’t be a walk in the park, as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen all have stronger squads on paper.
Top tip: Daichi Kamada is out of contract in 2023 and could fetch a reasonable return if you cashed in instead of renewing his deal.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Transfer budget: £70million
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Wage budget: £193k/week
Difficulty rating: 3/5
With the second-largest starting transfer budget in the Premier League and a core of talented young players, Brighton are one of the more intriguing teams to manage in FM23.
You already have four players — Alexis Mac Allister, Tariq Lamptey, Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez — who are capable of becoming long-term building blocks and enough of a transfer budget to fill the remaining gaps in the squad to build an exciting team.
Top tip: Adam Lallana, Joel Veltman and Leandro Trossard are all out of contract in 2023. If you don’t plan on extending their deals, look to sell them as soon as possible.
Valencia
Transfer budget: £1.7million
Wage budget: £-19k/week
Difficulty rating: 3/5
Valencia have the infrastructure of a big club but quite often don’t have the results to match.
They have a few interesting players to work with like Yunus Musah, Jesus Vazquez and Edinson Cavani, but bringing a first league title back to the Mestalla since 2004 will require a season or two of squad replenishment.
Top tip: Giorgi Mamardashvili is one of the club’s best young players but has a minimum release clause of just £24.5million. Sign him to a new contract that has a substantially larger minimum release clause as soon as possible.
FC Nordsjaelland
Transfer budget: £4.9million
Wage budget: £10k
Difficulty rating: 3/5
The two Danish clubs predicted to finish higher than Nordsjaelland, Kobenhavn and Midtjylland, have larger transfer budgets, but what Nordsjaelland lack in finances, they make up for with high-growth players.
Andreas Schjelderup is one of the best young prospects in the game but the left-winger is only under contract until 2024, while Mohamed Diomande and Oliver Villadsen are also starlets who begin each save in FM23 on the radar of bigger European sides.
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Top tip: What you do with Schjelderup will define your season. His agent often says that you need to improve the squad for him to renew his contract, and the longer you keep him on your books, the more his transfer value will rise. Aim to keep him at the club until January 2023 at the very least.
Nottingham Forest
Transfer budget: £1.5million
Wage budget: £25k/week
Difficulty rating: 3/5
After spending more than £130million on transfers, Forest don’t have much of a transfer budget to work with in FM23, so you’ll have to make do with the squad you’ve got.
Avoiding relegation won’t be easy, but it’s also not an impossible task. Look to build the team around Brennan Johnson, one of FM23’s better wonderkids, while giving Taiwo Awoniyi as much playing as time as possible.
Top tip: If you want to raise money, look to sell Ryan Yates, Sam Surridge and Joe Worrall. Between those three players, you could raise at least £8million to sign one or two more.
Sparta Rotterdam
Transfer budget: £323k
Wage budget: £0/week
Difficulty rating: 4/5
Sparta Rotterdam’s board expect you to sign players who are based in Holland and you won’t have much of a transfer budget to work with to fulfil that mission.
Working in your favour is the fact you’ll play in the Eredivisie straight away, so look to sign players on the fringes at bigger sides like PSV and Ajax.
Top tip: Jorn Triep is the best youngster at the club, so it’s worth promoting him from the under-18s side and weaving him into your first-team plans straight away.
Venezia
Transfer budget: £2.4million
Wage budget: £0/week
Difficulty rating: 4/5
More famously known for their stylish kits, Venezia have an interesting transfer policy which you’ll have to adhere to in FM23.
The board wants you to sign American players, but a rule was introduced after Italy’s failure at the 2010 World Cup that meant clubs in Serie B can’t sign non-European players from abroad. How you navigate that challenge will define your tenure in Venice.
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Top tip: Venezia have one of the best midfield partnerships in Serie B. USMNT international Gianluca Busio and Michael Cuisance, who nearly joined Leeds in October 2020, are strong enough to build your team around as you aim to secure promotion.
Transfer budget: £1million
Wage budget: £15k/week
Difficulty rating: 4/5
In one of my recent saves, Sunderland gained promotion to the Premier League in season one but were relegated straight away after recording the lowest points total in the history of the Premier League in season two.
The plus side is that they have a stadium with a capacity of 49,000 and can, in theory, attract decent players if you can get them back to the Premier league.
Top tip: Look to upgrade your fitness coach and goalkeeping coach sooner rather than later as the two you start with are not the strongest.
SK Sturm Graz
Transfer budget: £1.3million
Wage budget: £4.7k
Difficulty rating: 4/5
Team A has a transfer budget of around £6million, Team B begins each FM23 save with around one-fifth of that amount. Team A has a squad littered with wonderkids, Team B only has three players with the potential to be ranked as four-and-a-half stars overall.
Team A is Red Bull Salzburg and Team B is Sturm Graz. Sturm Graz can offer new signings the chance to qualify for the Champions League group stages but face a tall task in usurping a dominant Salzburg side, which is where you come in.
Top tip: Consider signing Gaston Ramirez or Gary Cahill, as both are free agents who can make an impact in your first team and fall within your starting wage budget.
Brianza
Transfer budget: £5.6million
Wage budget: £0/week
Difficulty rating: 5/5
Brianza, otherwise known as Monza, owned by Silvio Berlusconi, secured promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history last season.
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In FM23, they don’t have many highly rated youngsters, they have no wage budget and the club’s board and supporters will expect you to sign Italian players, which limits your options in the transfer market.
Top tip: Aim to include Samuele Vignato in your first team to help increase his value. He is the club’s best youngster and offers the greatest resale potential later on down the line.
FC Borgo
Transfer budget: £0
Wage budget: £32/week
Difficulty rating: 5/5
FC Borgo, a semi-professional club in the third tier of French football, have virtually no money to spend. Their stadium only has a capacity of 2000 (with a seating capacity of just 650) and they’re predicted to finish bottom of the league.
The ultimate end goal is eventually to win Ligue 1, but that will take some serious dedication as this is a save that will keep you occupied for a good few seasons.
Top tip: Wilfried Zahibo and Arnaud Tattevin are two of your best players. Resist selling them because it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to afford anyone with a comparable level of ability.
Elgin City
Transfer budget: £5k
Wage budget: £558/week
Difficulty rating: 5/5
Scottish sides face a tough task in trying to make their mark in European competitions, so why not make that quest 10 times harder by managing a side who are a few promotions away from even being able to qualify for the Champions League?
Elgin City are predicted to finish towards the bottom of Scottish League Two and the board expect you to play entertaining football. Parking the bus and hoping to win games on the counter-attack isn’t an option here.
Top tip: The club doesn’t have any wingers on their books and their best player, Ross Draper, is 33 years old and lacks speed, so you’ll have to get creative with your formation and aim to play three at the back.
Wrexham
Transfer budget: £250k
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Wage budget: £9k/week
Difficulty rating: 5/5
Welcome to Wrexham, a documentary series on Disney+, has seen a non-League club from Wales gain an international following thanks to its celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Because of their new-found popularity, you’ll be expected to sign high-reputation players and win promotion to League Two in your first season. This has the makings of a rags-to-riches save as you bid to take Wrexham from obscurity to the top of the English football pyramid in FM23.
Top tip: Utilise the skill set of Les Reed, the club’s technical director, as he has the best attributes of anyone on your backroom team.
