Life is all about giving yourself a challenge, and it should be no different when playing Football Manager 2020. What clubs make the most sense for building without having money to spend?
Life is all about giving yourself a challenge, and it should be no different when playing Football Manager 2020. One thing about football is that the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ are quite easy to spot. However, some clubs are in a very poor financial position – but might have other reasons to manage them that can make the lack of money available something you can see past.
So, if you are looking to manage a club without large finances to throw around, where should you look to start out? What clubs make the most sense for building without having money to spend?
Sporting Clube de Portugal
As the third biggest club in Portugal, SCP are in a poor financial position and it’ll take a lot of selling of key talent to get the books balanced. This poses a real challenge, though; can you find the gems that their academy produces almost constantly to build a genuinely impressive sporting system?
Will you be able to look beyond the minimal budgets and create a team that can really make a big impression?
Brescia
Brescia are an interesting club; an Italian side that are by no means a giant but have some very interesting players. With Sandro Tonali and Mario Balotelli, you have a club that represents the future and the past of the Italian national side. They have very little money to throw around and a squad that is, Tonali aside, very much a B-tier club.
However, if you are looking for a fun Football Manager 2020 save in Calcio, they’ll pose a challenge for sure.
Glasgow Rangers
Glasgow Rangers are a major club in Scotland, but their liquidation in 2012 has left major rivals Celtic capable of dominating the Scottish scene. Celtic have a better squad, a deeper squad, and more money to play with as well as better coaching and scouting set-up. The catch is that your fans are some of the most expectant in the United Kingdom, and won’t accept second place for long.
Can you stop Celtic winning ten leagues in a row with a budget that won’t stretch too far?
RCD Mallorca
Sun and Spain sound like a great combination until you realise just how strapped for cash the island outfit are. Mallorca have had some great players in their history, but it’s a club that is very much not in a good position these days. Despite being back in the top flight, you’ll be lucky to have a budget at all in the first couple of seasons. A real challenge!
Birmingham City
The Blues are a relatively big club in England, based in the Second City of Birmingham and with deeply passionate support. Money isn’t exactly available, though, so you’ll need to do plenty of moving around and shifting to come up with a squad that is capable of what you intend to achieve.
Birmingham are a big club, but you’ll do well to build something here given the budgetary limits. Young Jude Bellingham is naturally your key player, but you’ll do well to keep hold of him for long. Definitely a long-term project.
Read more: Huge list of Football Manager challenges