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Yes but honestly not that important in my opinion - if you load all of Spain and the main European leagues you are getting everyone relevant anyway

Obviously a bit dependent on computer speed! I generally run all the top European leagues (the more you have active the more competitive European competition is), with most of them view only below the top division (I shoot for about 8-10 counties) Medium database size, plus I run some south American leagues also. Ultimately the more you can run the better. Id never recommend using a small number of leagues and a large database... Makes the transfer market too quiet

Their personality is really important - they need high professionalism in particular, ambition too and determination also (but professionalism is most important for development). If they don't have the right hidden attributes/personality they will struggle. Mentoring and a good overall squad personality will help improve this. If they have the right personality then you need good facilities and coaching - focus on training until they're legitimately ready for first team football, but from 18 onwards they NEED game time, and the game time needs to be at an appropriate level to challenge them.

2033-34 Update - Athletic Club vs Real Madrid For the second edition of FM in a row I have a ludicrous rivalry with Real Madrid. For those who didn't follow, or don't remember, in FM23 my rivalry with Real Madrid got to a point where they didn't lose a league game for 2.5 years, and we still shared the La Liga titles over that period - it was epic. We are heading back that way again this year. Our season started with a tough run of La Liga games: Real Sociedad (A), Barcelona (H), Real Madrid (A) - we beat Real Sociedad but then Barcelona grabbed a 1-1 draw at San Mames (a sign of things to come from them as them embarked on a really strong season), and we then lost our first tie of the season against Real Madrid 2-1. A tough loss after they beat us in the CL final and Club World Cup QF at the tail end of last season. After that we hit our stride - a run of 12 consecutive wins scoring plenty of goals made me very optimistic for the season, however Real Madrid were more than matching us stride for stride - by the time we reached the halfway point of the season Real Madrid had won 17, lost 1. While we were only 2 points behind. We then faced Real in the Supercopa final, a chance to get revenge for the recent final losses.... but no - a 3-1 defeat made me feel pretty down about our chances of overhauling them in any competition this season. We then lost again in La Liga to Barcelona to fall 5 points behind Real and I was fearing the worst. But then things changed, starting with a 5-0 battering of Real Sociedad at San Mames, and a 4-0 beating of Osasuna. January was busy with cup ties - a win over Valencia in the Copa Del Rey quarter final gave us a favourable semi final tie against Valladolid, which we won comfortably. In the other semi final, Real Madrid of course - beating Getafe 15-1 on aggregate (lol) - another final showdown awaited us in April. February and March brought win after win in the league, and a tough draw in the Champions League round of 16 against Arsenal. While we continued to win, so did Real Madrid and the gap at the top of the table remained the same. I noticed also at this stage Barcelona were not going away - having played a few more games, they were still right in the mix although we would go ahead by winning our games in hand. Our match up with Arsenal was a repeat of last seasons CL semi final. We put in a wonderful performance at The Emirates to win 3-2, after being 2-0 down, and then finished the job with a 2-0 victory at San Mames...the 3-2 away was the one that really convinced me we were one of the best teams in Europe, as coming back from 2-0 down away from home against a top side like that is no easy feat. We continued to win in the league throughout March, with a Champions League quarter final vs PSG and Copa Del Rey final in April to look ahead to. This season was either going to be the banishing of a lot of ghosts, or the death of this save for me - having lost to PSG in our first Champions League final a few years ago, drawing them in the QF was a big deal. We played the first leg at home and took a deserved 2-0 lead thanks to a couple of late goals from Nico Williams - one of the biggest strengths we had this season was our quality off the bench. We went to Parc Des Princes and played really well, taking a 2-1 victory and seeing off PSG in wonderful fashion. Next up - a Copa Del Rey final against Madrid. I was conscious that they'd already beaten us in the Supercopa final, we had them here in this one, and they'd also won their Champions League quarter final. Combined with neither team slipping up in the league this felt like it was heading towards a real showdown. We needed to start landing some blows and we did, 2mins into the final Julen Aguirre gave us a 1-0 lead, and we never looked back - in fact we suffocated them. They ended the game with them having 3 shots on goal, 1 on target. A 1-0 win and we were Copa Del Rey champions again. We smelt blood in the water - Real had some fixture congestion and after a first leg win against Napoli in the CL SF, they had to go to Elche two days later with a tired team... they lost 1-0... was this it? Were they about the crumble? Well not in the Champions League anyway as they saw off Napoli to book their place in the final. However that took it's toll, as they then lost away at Valencia in the next game - suddenely we'd gone from 5 points back to being right on them (despite a draw we had vs Alaves, and our next game... Real Madrid at San Mames. Barcelona were still there too - they'd won every league game since the start of Feb, but were still a few points behind due to the unreal form of us and Real. We had also comfortably dispatched Porto in our Champions League semi final too by now - apart from a bit of a scare in the first 30mins of the second leg this felt never in doubt - we won 3-0 at San Mames, but they scored 2mins into the second leg and could/should have scored again in the first 30mins, but we held on and then turned the tide, winning 3-1 and 6-1 on aggregate. Once again we lost Julen Agirrezabala to injury in early May - the Champions League final was 3 weeks away and he was borderline to make it. Our next best keeper? A 2* player in Carlos Etxeberria rated as a 'good Liga 2 player' (albeit with a solid attribute spread and high consistency rating). To be fair, Agirrezabala is only 2.5 stars so it's not much of a downgrade - we're still struggling for keepers. At this stage in the league: Barcelona - P36, won 30, draw 5, lost 1 - 95 points Athletic Club - P34, won 30, draw 2, lost 2 - 92 points Real Madrid - P34, won 30, lost 4 - 90 points Real Madrid at San Mames was our chance to twist the knife, and we did. We really did. A 5-1 BATTERING, and Real Madrid were shook - they also lost Vini Jr and Endrick to injury late in the game. We then beat Betis 6-2, a 1-0 win against Espanyol followed, and a 2-0 win against Valencia on the final day saw us take the title. Barcelona kept winning, and they draw 2-2 with Real on the final day to secure 2nd spot - a big improvement from them this season. That made it Athletic Club 2 (La Liga, Copa Del Rey) - 1 Real Madrid (Supercopa). With a Champions League final to come. A really competitive title race - hard to believe Real Madrid came third with 97 points haha. Carlos Etxeberria did well in goal over that period - he's a reliable back up. The Champions League final, to be played in Kyiv was to be the final showdown, could we put Real Madrid to the sword and comprehensively see them off this season, or would they take another final from us and continue our CL final dissapointments? They were missing Endrick still but Vini Jr was fit enough for the bench, surely this was our chance? Julen Agirrezabala was back in full training the day before the game - aside from some tired legs we were good to go - quite a few of the team were getting jaded, but so were Real. We kick off and there's an early highlight... a corner to Athletic Club - delivered by Jon Ibanez to the back post and Eneko Cordoba is there to head home, 1-0 3 minutes in! Is this going to be another battering?? Sadly not - Real Madrid kept it tight and equalised in the 42nd minute. We had been the better side but this game could definitely go either way, and after losing the previous year final on penalties I was still a bit traumatised. A positive team talk at half time and we were back in the ascendancy in the second half - and then a penalty! Jon Ibanez steps up to take and hammers it home to restore our 1 goal lead in the 54th minute. We kept Real Madrid largely subdued and managed to see the game out, with one scary moment leading to a great save from Agirrezabala. And we did it, Champions of Europe! After two lost finals, we finally did it! And we deserved it too, the best team in Europe this season. A treble! The trophy cabinet so far: Champions League - 2034 (runners up 2033, 2031) La Liga - 2026, 2029, 2032, 2033, 2034 Copa Del Rey - 2024, 2030, 2034 Supercopa - 2026, 2027, 2029, 2030, 2031 The Players: A few specific shout outs first of all: I've shouted out Juan Etxabe and Aitor Gorrotxategi in recent posts, however these 3 deserve some love - our key players. Squad wise we've trimmed a bit for the 34/35 season. We allowed Mikel Guruzeta (a wonderful servant) to depart for 46 million - with the emergence of Aitor Aketxe in midfield, and a young left back coming through to cover Cordoba at left back we didn't have much need for Guruzeta anymore. I really like this guy, but it was time to allow him to move - he just lacked the height I wanted in midfield. I was happy to keep him as back up to Cordoba and loan out our left back prospect, but he was going to get unsettled and I couldn't be bothered to deal with it. We then let young prospect Jorge Murillo depart - he looked like he could be a key midfielder for us, but he just never kicked on, and a broken leg hampered his progress. A good loan last season nearly convinced me to keep him, but it felt clear he was not going to displace our current midfielders, and he was another short one like Guruzeta - he moved to Napoli on a cut price deal. We then let Isaac Gomez go - he looked a really good prospect, and in any other save he'd be part of the squad, but our ludicrous forward talents meant we didn't need him as back up. He's moved to Aston Villa. Finally we let go of Gaizka Alboniga-Menor for 44million to Tottenham. A another great servant for us, but again just no room for him. I have retrained Jon Castro to play defensive midfield as a DLP to give us another space for young attacking mids in the squad, and he's our first choice in that position. We have Ibon Marin as back up - he has some issues but is just really effective in our system, and younger also, so he stays. The squad (with some embedded screen shots for players not recently featured): GK - Alberto Etxabe, Julen Agirrezabala, Carlos Etxeberria (Iker Zubillaga out on loan) Clearly this is a problem position. My plan this year was to give Julen/Carlos a rotation - Julen is reliable as is Carlos, and Carlos will benefit from the minutes to maximise his potential - I don't think he gets much better at this stage. Alberto would represent the B team and be third choice. However an early season 6 week injury for Julen convinced me to just throw caution to the wind and throw Alberto in - he looks tidy and I hope he improves quickly. I feel like Alberto with Zubillaga and Carlos backing him up is our long term solution. RB - Unax Urrutia, Alex Etxebarria Two fantastic options here, Alex is a bit more defensive in his approach, Unax is a standout wing back (he came through our academy as a winger and I retrained him) CB - Aitor Etxebarria, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Saenz (Sergio Goti out on loan) Aitor and Josu are our first choice pairing - weak in the air but strong on the ground. Jose Jimenez and Carlos are better in the air, so we do use them to mitigate teams with big aerial threats as best we can. LB - Eneko Cordoba, Ander Santos Eneko Cordoba is a world class full back and will be our main man for a long time - Ander Santos looks a very capable prospect who will be his back up. DM (DLP (S)) - Jon Castro, Ibon Marin Jon Castro is an AM retrained to play DM. I identified two key issues with our defensive midfield - 1) We needed a superb ball player in there to play out from the back and get a key pass through to the front 4 - when we played two midfielders not so strong on the ball we struggled against top teams who pressed super high. Jon Castro is our man who can pass and dribble through anything to play the ball out from the back successfully. Marin is very good on the ball also and a very tidy DLP. The second issue was height.. DM (DM(D)) - Aitor Aketxe, Javi Aitor Aketxe has become our functional midfield partner for Castro - well rounded and decent on the ball, but TALL. Javi is good defensively but is prone to being caught in possession and doesn't offer much aerial support for defending in the air. AM - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Xabi Aizpurua Not a lot to be said here - Gorrotxategi is quality (no longer inconsistent, yay), and Aizpurua has been an incredibly effective second choice, with room for him to grow. RW (IW) - Jon Ibanez, Ismael Lafuente Ibanez is super important for us - he plays as an IW but with more risky, direct passing selected. He's a creator with an eye for goal also. Ismael Lafuente - see below. LW (IF) - Julen Aguirre, Jon Martin Julen Aguirre is a natural first choice inside forward a world class player. Jon Martin is a top tier player also, and is basically our first off the bench if we need to turn a game around - he's consistent and loves big matches. CF (AF) - Juan Etxabe, Nico Williams (Inaki Goti out on loan) Etxabe leads the line, Nico Williams (a bit like Martin) can fill in multiple positions across the front line. Next season Nico will leave on a free at 33 years old, and Inaki will be a more natural advanced forward back up. We also have to introduce potentially the best prospect we've had - Ismael Lafuente - he's improved a decent amount but he was already a 2* player when he arrived to Eibar on intake day, so he came in with a very high current ability immediately - he's skipped the B team largely and come straight into the first team squad for the most part, albeit he will play a few B team games this season so I can share game time around for our top players. You can find screens of our other new players embedded above. As mentioned previously the big issue we had with this squad came down to: 1) After Simon declined, a lack of goalkeeper quality 2) Centre backs who were good but not great, with limited aerial ability 3) Defensive mids who were good but not great, with limited aerial ability. We couldn't easily resolve 1, but Julen Agirrezabala is at least a very reliable option. For 2 and 3, Josu Blasco and Aitor Etxeberria weren't suddenly going to get a few inches taller, but they have improved as players and offer a very solid centre back pairing. In defensive midfield, this is where we've made the biggest improvement - retraining Jon Castro to be our DLP has been a masterstroke - having that type of ball playing quality working the ball out of defense is so important to our system. We then needed to pair him with someone who has a bit of height, but also decent ball playing abilities - Javi did not progress really at all from about 19 years of age, and he's another small guy. Aitor Aketxe has been a key influence, even if he's not the best overall player - he just has the right attributes for what we needed. I've had a few weeks off work and will be slowing down with the updates now

1) ensure release clause is insanely high 2) reject offers 3) in the resolution chat with the player, tell them how influential they are and hope they are happy with that. If unhappy, dismiss them/tell them it's not happening. Alternatively tell them a fee that's acceptable if you think it could be unachievable for the buyer but it's more risk. 4) continue rejecting offers 5) if squad come to you backing up the player, or team leaders, tell them you don't want to weaken the team. If they disagree, then you agree to disagree and end the conversation. 6) wait for transfer window to close and interest to subside. 7) once interest is gone, if required/possible renew contract. Don't let contract go within 24 months of expiry

Yeah newgan facepack

I can't speak on the wider database, but I have Volker Kersting... model citizen with good stats. Personality is super important, and I think their preferred formation can impact too, alongside their stats

Yeah so much talent in the forward areas, and wing backs are good but all the key defensive areas are awful haha

2032/33 Update - Another Champions League Final La Liga - Winners! 99 points, Real Madrid on 97 Copa Del Rey - Lost in final to Barcelona Supercopa - Lost in final to Real Madrid Champions League - See below.... Club World Cup - Lost in QF to Real Madrid So this team is finally starting to come together - we have some balance issues in terms of a lack of true world class quality at GK, CB and DM, however there's other stuff starting to come through for us. For years this team has suffered from two main areas - 1) A lack of height and size/strength in the air and 2) Inconsistency and a fear of big matches. We've been able to flat track bully La Liga and win a good number of cups, but especially in the Champions League eventually our inconsistency hits us and we take a battering off someone at a key moment. I'm starting to see some of these areas sort themselves out now. Juan Etxabe is now the main man leading the line - he is a god as far as I'm concerned, one of those rare FM players that is just remarkably effective. In Juan Etxabe we have an incredibly consistent advanced forward who can score every type of goal... 18 off the ball and 18 finishing, 16 pace/acceleration, 16 flair, 16 jumping reach... whereever you put the ball for this guy, to feet, the head etc, he can score, and does... frequently. He's ultra consistent and enjoys big matches. Prior to this we had Aitor Gorrotxategi leading the line. Now I love Aitor Gorrotxategi... he is a wonderful man who does a lot of charity work. Unfortunately he's always been inconsistent (per attribute, you can see above). However his consistency that used to be really terrible has improved a bit with age and he is now only fairly inconsistent... he's also developed a love for big matches which is handy. Now he is a physical monster but in a slightly different way to Etxabe - he lacks in height and can't lead the line in such a complete way as Etxabe does, but he does have great vision and good passing instead. When he was up front, too often he would drop 6.2-6.4 ratings and miss chances when I really needed him to come up big for the team. In our system now, I've been able to deploy him as an AM(A) offset from Etxabe, this allows Gorrotxategi to use his physical abilities and rounded game to influence, without being the main person required to score goals. His improvements in consistency are showing and he is getting better and better. Alongside them up front, we have Julen Aguirre, a world class inside forward, and Jon Ibanez who is a bit slower and plays more of a creator role, with some great back ups to boot. Etxabe is the key though, an aerial presence we so desperately needed. Behind them we lack the quality - a range of CB and DM options who are good La Liga players - mainly good on the ground but poor in the air (our starting CBs have 11 and 13 jumping reach). We need some size badly - a big physical CB would be the dream, but alas we do not have this at the moment, so we go with what we have. To win the Champions League with our team over the last 5 years or so I'd say would have been difficult, requiring a bit of luck. We had one season where we reached the final but got pumped by PSG, but otherwise always dropped a stinker at some point. We had too many young players who were inconsistent, or older players who disliked big matches. This is changing now - our initial newgen options are now 25 years old, and with that comes improved consistency. Our newer newgens coming through like Etxabe are mentally stronger and more consistent, and I finally feel like we're getting to a place where we should be thinking about a Champions League each season as the goal. That brings us to this season. A La Liga win (just) over Real Madrid was a great reward, however they beat us in the Supercopa final and we lost the Copa Del Rey final to Barcelona. This meant the domestic trophies were shared between the big 3 - no real complaints here - Real Madrid in particular are so strong. In the Champions League a superb group stage saw us finish 2nd and qualify straight into the last 16. We then had chance to exact revenge against Napoli who knocked us out last year - a first leg away saw us go down 1-0 thanks to a Khvaraskelia worldie - neither team created much in that one. We then battered them at San Mames but struggled to score, Alboniga-Menor opened the scoring just after half time to level the tie, and in the 87th minute Jon Martin scored the winner to avoid extra time. Following that we were drawn against Milan in the last 8 - a 3-1 victory at home in the first leg made me feel fairly comfortable going into the second leg, however we got absolutely battered at their place - we lost 1-0 to sneak through 3-2 on aggregate but honestly it should have been more... we could have lost this game badly. We then took on Arsenal in the semi final, again at home in the first leg. We won 1-0 at home thanks to Etxabe, and it could have been more, but ultimately I was happy to take a lead into the second leg. At The Emirates we took a very early lead thanks to a banger from Gorrotxategi in the 2nd minute, from there it was a fairly even game, but they came back into it with a goal on the stroke of half time to make it 1-1 on the night, they then added a second in the 77th minute to level the tie. Extra time was back and forth, unfortunately Julen Agirrezabala went off with a season ending injury in the 90th minute, leaving us with 18 year old third choice keeper Iker Zubillaga in goal as our other option was also injured already). We stayed strong and took the game to penalities. Up step Iker Zubillaga - the 18 year old is our least exciting of 3 young goalkeeper prospects I desperately need to develop, but that didn't stop him from saving 4 penalities in a row to win the shootout! Unreal! The final was vs our domestic rivals Real Madrid - they're an unbelievable team...usually neutral grounds they get the better of us, but we beat them at San Mames, so while having a familiar foe was somewhat comforting, I also know how difficult it is to beat them in cup finals at neutral grounds. We start the game really well and take an early lead via an Etxabe header - however the were the better side generally in the game and got an equaliser only 10minutes later via a long range effort. While they did have the slight edge on us in the game it wasn't one sided, and we hit the post in the 115th minute, and then had one blocked on the line 2 minutes later! They also had their chances but just couldn't convert...it went to penalities. The hero of the semi final Zubillaga was not in goal for this one, and in hindsight I wish I'd brought him on - we sadly lost the penalty shootout 4-3... absolutely gutted. While it was a very dissapointing season in that we lost 3 cup finals, we did at least pip Real Madrid to the league title. Overall I'm far more optimistic about this team, I feel like the transition to our newgens has now fully completed and we are mostly through the inconsistency phase. We have a solid group of players who can win stuff now, hopefully that Champions League title isn't far away as this is the longest it's taken me in an Athletic save for sure. In transfer news, this season we said goodbye to: Oihan Sancet - 400 league appearances What a legend! Sad to say goodbye to Oihan but it was time, I think next season may be the last for Nico Williams potentially. We welcome a few new newgens also to the team - Aitor Etxabe, Xabi Aizpurua, Alex Etxeberria and Carlos Etxeberria (I won't picture Carlos as he's a 2* back up keeper). GK - Julen Agirrezabala, Carlos Etxeberria, Iker Zubillaga RB - Unax Urrutia, Alex Etxeberria LB - Eneko Cordoba, Mikel Guruzeta CB - Aitor Etxeberria, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Saenz DM - Gaizka Alboniga-Menor, Ibon Marin, Aitor Etxabe, Javi RW - Jon Ibanez, Jon Castro LW - Julen Aguirre, Jon Martin AM - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Xabi Aizpurua CF - Juan Etxabe, Nico Williams In reality the front 4 are fairly interchangeable when rotating, Nico Williams for example fills in everywhere and Gorrotxategi would go into CF if Etxabe was injured. Now, those new newgens: His heading is poor, but with 15 jumping reach he offers something we really lack - a bit of height. I can see him being quite important for us in a DM role. Xabi Aizpurua looks to have a lot of potential, and has done well in his first team appearances this season. He lacks a bit physically but that could improve. Alex Etxeberria has come on leaps and bounds and is now a great back up for Urrutia at right back, allowing Nico Williams to move further up the pitch again. Goalkeeper wise, we're hanging on with Julen Agirrezabala, but I have a great prospect in the youth team playing for the B team this season. Hopefully next year he'll be ready.

Big Update! September 2032 My last update was the 29/30 season, so I've since done two further seasons and a summer transfer window, sitting now in September 2032. 30/31 Competitions: La Liga - 2nd, 86 points (Real Madrid winners) Copa Del Rey - Lost in QF to Real Betis Supercopa - Winners! Champions League - Lost in final to PSG Ahh our first Champions League final, and we sadly lost 3-1 to PSG. I said previously we probably needed a favourable draw to get to the final, and we did have one this one, however couldn't beat PSG in the final. It's a shame as we've played PSG previously and done really well, so I had high hopes, but we simply weren't good enough. A Supercopa win kept the trophy count rising though. 31/32 Competions: La Liga - 1st, 98 points Copa Del Rey - Lost in QF to Real Madrid Supercopa - Lost in SF to Real Madid Champions League - Lost in QF to Napoli Back on top of the league, but Real had the better of us in the cups. A really disappointing QF lost to Napoli, in the first leg at their stadium in the first half we managed to concede 3 goals and 2 penalties (both saved), and they still only racked up 1.85xG haha. We battered them in the second leg but only scored 2, and missed chances in the first leg also. We really should have made the semi Looking ahead in September 2032: We've had some squad turnover this summer with some legends leaving the club... I'd like to applaud: Unai Simon - 548 league appearances Dani Vivian - 442 league appearances Hugo Guillamon - 250 league appearances Aimar - 220 league appearances This summer really felt like the end of an era. Unai Simon at 35, I was hoping would manage another year or two but he had declined pretty badly, he was still ok but his performances in the second half of last season showed some signs of decline. I elected to take the opportunity to bring back Julen Agirrezabala as a stop gap while I brought a couple youth prospects through. I said previously we had an issue with GK's in my save - we finally have 2 semi decent newgens who I think are going to be good La Liga level in the future, one is my back up this season (probably the worst of the two, but at 18 he's closer to stepping in), while the other is only 16 and is in the U19s still. Agirrezabala was always very capable when he was with us before, so was a no brainer. I had to pay over the odds to get him back, but at this point in my save money is no object. I still have Sancet, but again decline is setting in, this may well be his last season with us and is now a squad rotation option. We nearly lost Nico Williams, but after some haggling I was able to renew his contract with 9 months to spare. Current Squad: GK - Julen Agirrezabala, Iker Alvarez, Iker Zubillaga RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Mikel Guruzeta CB - Josu Blasco, Aitor Etxebarria, Jose Jimenez, Carlos Saenz DM - Alboniga-Menor, Javi, Jorge Murillo, Iban Marin RW - Jon Martin, Isaac Gomez LW - Julen Aguirre, Jon Ibanez AM - Jon Castro, Oihan Sancet CF - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Juan Etxabe *The three highlighted players were academy products of (all others are either original squad members or our academy players): Cordoba - Arenas Club Carlos Saenz - Osasuna Julen Aguirre - Real Sociedad Julen Aguirre and Cordoba are standout first XI players of course, but Carlos Saenz is fourth choice and may well be replaced like for like with a player from our academy later this season, so only 2 players purchased from outside the club. This is both a real positive for our academy production, but also shows our poor Osasuna and Sociedad intakes have been! *A note attached to a player denotes either a lack of consistency or issue with big matches, usually not both (I think one player has both). Consistency is always an issue with academy players, but it does improve over time, so just gotta give those kids time! As you can see, Eneko Cordoba is an absolute monster, and Julen Aguirre who I originally brought in thinking he would be a rotation option has just bloomed so well. Juan Etxabe is one I am very excited about, he's coming on leaps and bounds and could be the type of striker to fire us to Champions League glory. We are however a little lop-sided in terms of all of our strength being up front, wings and full backs - the core spine of the team (GK, CB, DM) is perhaps serviceable at best. Josu Blasco is a solid centre back, as is Alboniga-Menor in a DLP role, but we don't have a world class option in that defensive spine in any of the positions. I think going bold with our 4-2-4 is the best play, just to try to utilise our attacking players as best we can. I think next season with Sancet's likely departure, we will see Nico Williams moved back up into the attacking midfield area, as I have a good young RB ready to come in as deputy, and Unax Urrutia is ready to be first choice. Jon Martin will shift into the AM role when needed as a result, allowing Nico to play on the right wing, but my front 4 all rotate positions fairly regularly depending on need. The Trophy Cabinet so far: La Liga - 2026, 2029, 2032 Copa Del Rey - 2024, 2030 Supercopa - 2026, 2027, 2029, 2030, 2031 Overall I'm pleased with this. It's perhaps one of the weaker records I've had over the years at this stage of my Athletic saves, however given how ridiculous Real Madrid are I feel like it's a pretty respectable record. I really want that European trophy, but we've not had the quality just yet to do it.

Hey @Daveincid, firstly hope you're feeling better! I wanted to see if you had any thoughts on the games implementation of the profit and sustainability rules within the Premier League? Is this something you've tweaked with your financial changes? With the Jan transfer window so quiet due to teams supposedly running so tight on profit and sustainability rules, do you feel the game accurately represents this?

Thank you! I've got another season update I should do, but I'm halfway through the next season after so may just do two years at once at this point. Staff wise I stay flexible, I always look out for Basque staff but I'm happy to take the best available option to be honest.

Season Review 2029/30 La Liga - 2nd, 93 points Supercopa - Winners Copa Del Rey - Winners Champions League - Lost in QF to Man City So close to the league title, but a domestic cup double is a pretty good result overall. In the league we were ahead with 3 games to go, but two draws in our final 3 games meant we lost to Real Madrid by 4 points - they did deserve it overall though, scoring 125 goals they certainly dwarfed our stats, and our closely fought games eventually came to bite us at the end. In the Champions League we lost again, outclassed by Man City. The loss to Man City and ludricous riches we have in terms of young attacking talent has prompted a tactical shift for the 30/31 season. We've kept some of the same overall ideas within this system, but moved things a touch wider in the attack, opting for an offset 4-2-3-1 (which basically plays like a 4-2-4 a lot of the time). We needed to find easier ways to get all of our attacking players into the team! GK - Simon, Alvaro Fernandez, Iker Alvarez RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Gaizka Alboniga-Menor CB - Dani Vivian, Josu Blasco, Jose Jimenez, Aitor Etxeberria DM - Hugo Guillamon, Javi, Ibon Marin, Mikel Guruzeta RW - Jon Martin, Isaac Gomez LW - Jon Ibanez, Julen Aguirre AM - Oihan Sancet, Jon Castro CF - Aitor Gorrotxategi, Juan Etxabe You may notice a few familiar names who have been moved on - Unai Vencedor was allowed to leave to accommodate having one less central midfielder spot in the squad, while Aimar was also sent on loan for a year to be reviewed in the summer...this was a tough call as he has been exceptional for us over the years, but Sancet is a better player and Jon Castro is younger and arguably better (albeit doesn't always show it output wise). This allowed us to welcome Isaac Gomez and Juan Etxabe to the first team! We also brought Aitor Etxeberria up from the B team, while Carlos Saenz was sent on loan. Seemingly excellent potential here for Etxabe, he will be back up to Aitor Gorrotxategi this year. Meanwhile Isaac Gomez (who appears to be a Jon Ibanez clone) also comes in, he is providing cover for Jon Martin at right wing. Aitor Etxeberria is my third and final new academy addition - an excellent defender, albeit not a tall one, he comes in at centre back this season and is honestly immediately in consideration to start. Vivian will need to be phased out in the next year or two as he starts to decline, so I'm very comfortable now with my options in this area. Where I am not so comfortable however is GK - Simon is starting to show signs of decline at 33, but he probably has 2 seasons left at the top level I think. Alvaro Fernandez is one year younger, so he won't be far behind. Unfortunately there hasn't been a single good Basque GK come through since my save started, which poses a real issue. As it stands, once Simon declines too much, we are going to be down to some very average options in goal. I may purchase Julen Agirrezabala back as a stop gap as he's a couple of years younger, but there's a HUGE issue with not a single Basque goalkeeper out there worth looking at, there's barely any who are even La Liga standard. I have one in my youth ranks (17 years old) who might be a decent La Liga keeper eventually, but he's far from a Simon replacement. This could spell major trouble for my save. In other news, we're now regularly fielding a team of entirely Athletic Club academy graduates, not a single purchased Basque player which is awesome.

Season Review - 2028/29 After taking December off (too busy with work and then family stuff over Christmas) I am back! La Liga - 1st, 88 points (quite a bit down on previous years) Copa Del Rey - Lost in SF to Barcelona Supercopa - WINNERS Champions League - Lost in SF to Man City Overall a pretty good year, we won the league thanks largely to Real not quite maximising their own season - 88 points isn't an amazing total, albeit not too shabby. We also won the Supercopa which was a nice bonus, and got conclusively beaten by a much better Man City side in the Champions League semi final. We are well into a phase now of being good enough to compete, but probably an outside shout to win the Champions League - we'd need the right run in the knockouts to have a chance I think. For anyone interested, my experiment moving Nico Williams to right back has been pretty successful His cuts inside from both wings trait is quite interesting on a wing back. Transfers We said goodbye to a few familiar faces this year, Aihen Munoz was allowed to depart thanks to the emergence of Eneko Cordoba, and a bit of depth in midfield meant retraining one of our CM's into left back to provide cover there. We also said goodbye to Igor Zubeldia - he did a great job for us over a few years, but again just too much depth with newgens coming through now. We also big farewell to Julen Jon Guerrero who didn't look like he would make it for us, as well as Gorka Merino (one of our hot prospects) - his development stalled and there were better options out there. We also moved on Mikel Rojo, an excellent centre forward who has been part of our team for a few years, however again just too much depth coming through to keep everyone. The departure of Gorka Merino was pushed on by the arrival of a young talent from Real Sociedad, Julen Aguirre. We paid 32million (GBP) for him. He looks an excellent prospect with some potential and some fun attributes - he's not the ideal fit for my system but that's kinda why I went for him, I wanted a different option to use within our system who may help in certain scenarios. Squad Probably the biggest highlight of this save is having 3 French Basque players in the squad, and they're all amazing! We've also shuffled things around this summer with Unax Urrutia coming into the first team as a right back, meaning Josu Blasco has been shifted from RB to CB, allowing Javi to move into a half back role which is a better fit for him i think. GK - Simon, Agirrezabala, Iker Alvarez RB - Nico Williams, Unax Urrutia LB - Eneko Cordoba, Mikel Guruzeta CB - Dani Vivian, Josu Blasco, Carlos Saenz, Jose Jimenez DM (Half Back) - Javi, Vencedor DM (DMS) - Hugo Guillamin, Ibon Marin CM (DLP) - Sancet, Alboniga-Menor AM (AMS) - Aimar, Jon Castro CF (DLFS) - Jon Ibanez, Julen Aguirre CF (PFA) - Jon Martin, Aitor Gorrotxategi I thought given the break this was a nice time to update on development of these guys, as I normally post screenshots when they first come into the squad, so apologies for the length post with more images here: First up, new signing Julen Aguirre. I like his attributes for a kinda off-type DLF or AM - his passing needs some work, but his pace, flair, first touch, composure all make for an interesting player in the space between the opposition defence and midfield. He's obviously not a playmaker, but I'm looking for something different. Next up Jose Jimenez, our new option at CB - I love this guys attribute spread for a CB and he will get plenty of minutes this season, I expect him to be with us for a long time. He's one of those guys who always had fairly average potential, but just kept improving and improving and now looks like he's going to be class. Eneko Cordoba is one of my real success stories - an incredible wing back for us. We paid a lot of money for him when his attributes needed a lot of work - if you look at him on my previous screenshot to see how much he's improved... wow, totally worth the outlay. Ibon Marin is a tidy defensive midfielder with some quality on the ball - he can play in the DM role or the DLP role for us which is great. One of our French Basque players I had doubts about Josu Blasco simply because he felt like one of those classic full back newgens... he's kind of a good right back, kind of a centre back but not really excellent at either (unless you want a pure defensive full back). I've now moved him to CB and I have to say he's really excellent there - his attribute spread, aside from slightly low jumping reach is brilliant. Carlos Saenz - I really like this guy as a CB, good attributes, just hasn't quite kicked on in the way I hoped. None the less, an excellent option at the back. It's been a long time now since Javi came into the side, or it feels that way. His move from CB to DM is definitely the right one. My concern with Javi is that he's had elite player potential for a long time but his rate of development is very slow, despite being a key starter for us. I think he will likely top out some way below the potential he has but will still be an awesome option for us... hopefully I'm wrong and he takes some big leaps forward! In contrast to Javi, Jon Ibanez just keeps improving, and improving, and improving. He's now our first choice DLF and has pushed another hot prospect, Aitor Gorrotxategi out of the team. We have SO much strength in terms of forwards coming through which is awesome. Jon Martin has been a top top player for us in recent seasons playing as both a DLF and PF. He's lost his place in the first choice XI due to Jon Ibanez but he's still a very hot prospect. He is rotating with Jon Martin for the PF role and I anticipate he will be world class in the future. Another French Basque, Mikel Guruzeta is being retrained as a left back. There's a real lack of left backs out there and we've got depth in midfield, Guruzeta is very capable as a left back so out there he goes! At one point Jon Castro and Gorka Merino were giving me headaches in terms of how I'd fit all my AM's in the team. However both have seen their potential drop off a bit, Gorka Merino significantly so... a bit less so for Castro who is still a magnificent AM, but not quite perhaps the world class potential he once had. Hopefully my future star right back. Converted from an attacking midfielder he will hopefully be a long term staple in our side.

Sorry for the slow reply on this! It's very difficult to do honestly - from my understanding the best way is to set up detailed scouting filters searching for players by place of birth, and then including every named location within Ayrshire, as well as filters based on what club they were developed at... honestly a bit convoluted and you'll always have to deal with scouts being useful and pulling in reports on all players.

2027/28 Season Review La Liga - 3rd (90 points), 1 less point than last year. Copa Del Rey - Lost in QF to Sevilla Supercopa - Lost in SF to Valencia Champions League - Lost in SF to Bayern Another good season, probably fairly reflective of where we are at this stage and also how Real/Barca are getting on. We finished 3rd on 90 point this season, Barca in 2nd on 91 points and Real 1st again on 99 points (with 109 goals scored!) - at the moment Real are perhaps just too good for us over the course of a season and they look set to continue being excellent for a long time... I look at their starting 11 and they have Endrick, Rodrygo and Vini Jr up front, with Camavinga, Tchouameni and Bellingham behind - they've then added two excellent young CBs... they're just considerably better than us. Barca are also excellent but more on our level perhaps than Real - their individuals are better but the AI squad management probably pulls them down to our level. They too have a good young squad though so will be competitive for some time. I'm happy about that as I hope the AI squad building 'improvements' will help them longer term, and SI have said this is an area they're hoping to improve with a patch also. We probably could have gotten a few more points in the league, not enough to catch Real Madrid but could have been closer for sure - we rotated a lot to prioritise our best Champions League run so far. The Champions League has treated us well in the last two years, reaching the QF and then the SF this year - both times we've finished in the top 8 and have looked capable of competing with the top teams. This time around we beat Milan in the round of 16 with a 4-1 scoreline, in the QF we then took on Porto and overcame a 0-2 defeat in the first leg to win 4-2 AET on aggregate. In the semi final we took on Bayern and were comfortably second best - we had enough chances that we could have made a fist of it, but overall quality told and we made too many mistakes and missed too many chances. In the other competitions we had defeats to Sevilla and Valencia while rotating our squad - we're still not quite strong enough in terms of depth. On the transfer front we are continuing to churn our squad and bring our talented youngsters through - we've been very fortunate with some excellent intakes in the initial years. This summer has seen us move on Jesus Areso and Dani Rodriguez - the former was a solid RB option but wasn't taking us forwards, and the latter has been great for us but we're becoming swamped in attacking talent - 50 million in the bank there (mostly Dani Rodriguez). We have more money than we know what to do with now so I've agreed with the board to purchase our stadium. Squad GK - Unai Simon, Julen Agirrezabala, Iker Alvarez RB - Nico Williams, Josu Blasco LB - Eneko Cordoba, Aihen Munoz CB (x2) - Dani Vivian, Javi, Carlos Saenz, Igor Zubeldia DM (x2) - Unai Vencedor, Hugo Guillamon, Gaizka Alboniga-Menor, Mikel Guruzeta CM - Oihan Sancet, Jon Castro AM - Aimar, Gorka Merino CF (x2) - Jon Martin, Mikel Rojo, Aitor Gorrotxategi, Jon Ibanez Ok so if you've read through that list you're probably wondering what on earth Nico Williams is doing at RIGHT BACK. Well quite simply he's pretty good at it! My full backs are very attacking in their role, so while his tackling of 8 leaves a bit to be desired, his marking of 11, positioning of 14, concentration of 13, anticipation of 14, work rate of 15 and 13 decisions are very decent in terms of his defensive capabilities. As my system is a 4-2-2-2 with no wingers, I've been using Nico as a forward, but he's just not as effective as he should be given his ability level, and with the level of youngsters I have coming through I decided it would be a fun experiment to convert him into a wing back. I have one excellent academy prospect at RB who is in the B team this year, and then Josu Blasco I feel will never suit my system that well despite him being pretty good, so my plan is to use Nico there, bring in my prospect next year as back up/rotation and redeploy Blasco elsewhere, or sell him depending on how things go. In my last update I showed Josu Blasco, Eneko Cordoba, Javi, Saenz, Guruzeta, Castro and Gorka Merino - all have taken decent steps forward this year. Javi is turning into a world class CB gradually, but I think eventually he will become a DM, while Eneko Cordoba's improvement has shown that the investment in him was money well spent. This year I get to show you two new newgens who have entered by squad - welcoem Aitor Gorrotxategi and Jon Ibanez into the forward line - I LOVE these guys. First up is Aitor Gorrotxategi - a pressing forward on my system, excellent physicals and wonderful attribute spread for a forward. He has huge potential and is one of those players I expect to be world class. Secondly Jon Ibanez. My coaches have consistently given him slightly less potential but his attributes have been pretty insane ever since he joined as an academy player. I think his modest pace/acceleration harm his CA/PA, but as a DLF on support his other attributes more than make up for it - ideal player for my system. Although Jon Martin will take some ousting given his development, I can see Jon Ibanez and Gorrotxategi being my forward line for a decade.

I've not had that issue this year so far, but I did have that problem last year. What I've done this year is basically extend everyone I possibly could (most players have 2 year extension clauses at game start) on low wages. Once you get a year or so in I find wage demands go crazy, and everyone wants too much. At that stage I just don't renew those guys and move them on, then I sign every below average youth intake player I can on youth contracts to add depth. I get two years in the B team out of most of my good youngsters without having to register them for the B team. As soon as they reach registration age they're either in the first team, out on loan or in the B team if I have salary cap space.

Thanks Pavi and @MasterFolke also, appreciate the kind words. I think the thread is great because the community gets behind it and everyone who enjoys the Athletic save and contributes here are super passionate about it, much like how the Athletic community approaches the club in real life.

Yeah personally I’ve always found there’s enough quality newgens out there to keep improving the squad rather than worsening, at least over the first 5 years. Athletic realistically have 3-4 players who are good enough for a top 16 Champions League starting XI - Vivian, Simon, Nico Williams and Sancet. Others you will be gradually trying to upgrade anyway. The challenge can be if there’s a specific position or two where your existing players at the start of the save are older and replacements are thin on the ground - then if you don’t get good newgens super quickly in those positions you can be scrambling - the full back positions are the obvious area this year. That can require some flexibility tactically, but you can usually get by with either players who simply aren’t quite as good or retraining.

@MattyC78 we’ve been given a wing play tag as well, I wouldn’t describe my tactic as being a wing play tactic though, I think perhaps something in the match engine. Not complaining though I think the match engine is excellent generally speaking. Not perfect but this is an enjoyable variation of it

2026/2026 Review - Here come the youngsters! La Liga - 2nd (93 points) Copa Del Rey - Lost in 4th round to Eibar Supercopa - Winners! Champions League - Lost in QF to Barcelona An interesting season, we played well but just lost out in the key moments. We kept up with Real Madrid during the season but eventually fell away and they finished 6 points clear - a deserving title win for them on 99 points. I was delighted to draw Barcelona in the Champions League as we'd been very good against them in the league, however going 2-0 down and having a man sent off at home in the first leg, within 15 minutes of the start, certainly ended our Champions League campaign. We did however manage to win the Supercopa for some silverware! The big focus this season was again some squad turnover, and we're definitely well into the transition away from the current Athletic players. 2026/27 saw us bring over 90mil GBP in sales - Serrano for 5.5, Alvaro Fernandez for 9.75, Paredes for 4.8, Alex Berenguer for 11, Yeray for 22.5, Imanol for 8.75, Gorosabel for 17.25 and finally Inaki Williams for 15.25. A few slightly unexpected names on this list, but it was time to get some of our youngsters up into the first team - the big ones here beign Yeray, Gorosabel and Williams. Gorosabel was perhaps the toughest call as he's only 30 and is perfect for our system, Inaki was fairly simple - we have a heap of newgens coming through that I need room for, and Inaki had one year left, a huge wage and physical decline was kicking in. Yeray I was happy to hold, but again an opportunity for a decent transfer fee alongside a very, very good newgen. On the transfers in front, nothing major, just youngsters with lower fees and a back up keeper. Eneko Cordoba at left back was my biggest addition - a newgen from Arenas Club who had already moved to Koln - disappointed I missed him initially so I had to pay a bit of a premium to bring him in, but an attacking left back was much needed and he looks great. Squad: GK - Simon, Agirrezabala, Iker Alvarez RB - Jesus Areso, Josu Blasco LB - Aihen Munoz, Eneko Cordoba CB - Dani Vivian, Igor Zubeldia, Javi, Carlos Saenz DM - Unai Vencedor, Mikel Guruzeta, Hugo Guillamon, Gaizka Alboniga-Menor CM - Oihan Sancet, Jon Castro AM - Aimar, Gorka Merino CF - Nico Williams, Dani Rodriguez, Jon Martin, Mikel Rojo Let me formally introduce the first batch of youth! First up Josu Blasco - a right back come centre back - I'm using him as a right back due to the combination of his 11 crossing, 14 stamina and 10 jumping reach. Not perfect for my system but currently the best solution I have - I'm trying to get his technical abilities up. I have another winger in the youth team I am retraining as a wing back, so that's exciting. Javi - I really like this guy. He probably is best placed to be a DM, and he may well shift there longer term as my younger CB options become first team ready, but right now he's being utilised as a centre back, and he's an exceptional one. Obviously not the strongest in the air but so well rounded at 18 - already a 50/50 shout for a starting position with Zubeldia. I paid some cash to bring Eneko Cordoba in and he looks like it'll be a wise investment. Attacking full backs are so hard to find, he's a real gem and should be a long term option for us at left back. The development of Jon Martin here is what prompted the departure of Inaki Williams. He's not the perfect forward but he's an excellent option. We have some real gems coming through up front, so his continued development will impact his long term position at the club. Jon Castro has just snuck into the first team this summer, more of an attacking midfielder but I am training him to play as a DLP(S) in central midfield, this just gives me better balance with other youngsters coming through. First game of the new season he scored a winner in the last seconds! When he's not driving for Ferrari he's a slightly chunky looking Basque defender apparently. Carlos here is a very well rounded centre back who is coming into the first team this season as 4th choice. Mikel Guruzeta, a man who has loyalty only to aggressive tackling. I've tried to improve his loyalty via mentoring but he's still a mercenary. None the less, aside from the fact he changes his mind more than an indecisive traffic light, he's a very solid defensive midfielder. Gorka Merino is a really exciting attacking midfielder with a great hair do. Finally Mikel Rojo is a pacey hitman type forward, I've not seen the best of him yet, but with his attribute spread and professional personality I've always looked on him favourably.

Full release day I had a look in the pre game editor and my god I feel like I got a bad roll of the dice on my save with variable player potential haha, fortunate I've had some decent youth intakes. Good luck to everyone starting their Athletic saves now it's released in full!

Season Review 2025/26 - Tactical Valhalla! La Liga - Champions! 99 points Copa Del Rey - Lost in quarter finals to Elche Supercopa - Champions! Champions League - Lost in quarter finals to Liverpool A double, and a much deserved one. We finally got our 4-2-2-2 working as I wanted to, and an alternative 3 at the back option for the odd specific match worked well too. We just went from strength to strength after some early season tactical tweaks, and aside from a very close loss to Liverpool in the Champions League and an unfortunate exit to Elche in the Copa Del Rey, it was a wonderful season. Star of the season was perhaps Dani Rodriguez, he played a lot of games and really came into his own. I've also been delighted with the development of Alboniga-Menor who is a great option for us now. Gorosabel in the right wing back role was the player of the season ratings wise, and suits the right wing back role very very well. Transfers and Squad Building Despite our success this season it was one which was hampered by a number of injuries - noticeably a torn hamstring for Aimar and a broken leg for Guillamon. We had to sign Aldasoro in January (375k) to fill the gap, and we also loaned in Benat Turrientes with an option to buy (we won't be taking it up). These moves aside it's been quiet in terms of transfers, more a case of utilising our young newgens to bolster squad numbers while also reprsenting the B team. We let Paredes go out on loan with an option to buy in Jan and moved on Villalibre, Serrano will also be on his way out this summer. Gk - Simon, A. Fernandez, Agirrezabala RB - Gorosabel, Berenguer + Blasco (newgen) LB - Munoz, Imanol CB - Vivian, Yeray, Zubeldia + Javi and Saenz (newgens) DM - Vencedor, Guillamon, Alboniga-Menor, Aldasoro + Guruzeta (newgen) CM - Sancet AM - Aimar, Guerrero + Gorka Merino (newgen) CF - N. Williams, I. Williams, Dani Rodriguez + Martin and Rogo (newgens) This is how I look going into the new season. In terms of first team players I'm perhaps two short (CB and CM) but the reality is that with the youngsters we have alongside the ability of Guillamon and Zubeldia to play CB, DM and CM we are actually in good shape. Laporte is coming available on a free transfer, so that might tempt me if he lowers his wage demands. The new gens are still not quite to the level of starters so I'll perhaps save them for another update, but they're making good progress. Tactics I needed to sort out my width issues with the 4-2-2-2. Basically I wanted to build up in a 3-2-5 of sorts, but couldn't get it worked as well as I wanted, and I always struggled to get the central midfielders moving wide enough. In the end I decided what I needed to do was flag the idea of trying to get the CMs or one of the forwards to stretch the width of the pitch in attack, and instead make the middle more secure and allow both full backs to go high and wide to provide the width. What I settled on in the end was having one of my DM's in a half back role, he would drop in and form a back 3 in possession, then, I had the other as a DM(S), with a DLP(S) in the central midfield strata - they would then form the two. The AM, CF, CF and two wing backs would then form something resembling a 5. In defensive situations we operated more as a 4-2-2-2 so stayed narrow and made it hard for teams to play through us. The other changes I made were tweaks to instructions... I switched from balanced/higher tempo to control/slightly lower tempo - this provided a better balance. Then I also switched the block to a mid block rather than a slightly higher press, this was just to make us more compact... we have decent pace in the back line so I was comfortable with doing that and trying to allow our pacey forwards more space to attack in transition.

@MattyC78 I wouldn’t worry about direct passing, if you’re doing well it won’t matter