FIFA 21 career mode can be an incredibly fulfilling gaming experience if you opt for the right team and give yourself a real chance to achieve something in the game.
Whether it’s returning a failing club to the top division, or helping a fallen giant to regain its status in world football, being able to do something iconic at a club is what makes career mode fun.
So without further ado, here’s a look at eight of the most exciting teams to manage on FIFA 21…
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Wolves
Transfer budget: £40m
No longer an over-achieving promoted club, Wolves have very much proved their worth in the English top-flight and are here to stay for the long term. Back to back seventh-placed finishes are testament to their ability to cope with life in the Premier League.
One of the most exciting young squads in Europe - littered with talented stars plucked from the Portugal's Primeira Liga - just needs to make that extra jump now, to a team competing for a Champions League place.
There are two ways of doing it: finish in the top four, which might require a bit of savvy investment, or win the Europa League. Both are doable in your very first season in FIFA21 career mode. From there, the world is your oyster.
Schalke
Transfer budget: £19m
A side which absolutely falls into the 'fallen giant' category we mentioned above. Until recently, Schalke were regular participants in the Champions League, and even finished runners-up to Bayern in the 17/18 Bundesliga season. But two years of mismanagement, dwindling funds and boardroom controversies have seen their fortunes plummet.
Schalke are one of Germany's oldest and most well supported clubs, with a history for developing top level talent. The likes of Leroy Sane, Mesut Ozil, Manuel Neuer, and Julian Draxler made their breakthroughs at the Royal Blues, but were sold to rivals in order to make much needed cash.
But it doesn't have to be that way. In the rights hands, Schalke can be rebuilt, using players from the club's enviable youth academy instead of expensive signings. Should you help them get back to the Champions League, coffers can be re-filled, meaning precious gems needn't be sold to raise funds for transfers. A long-term project, certainly, but they're always the most satisfying.
Rangers
Transfer budget: £7.5m
"Here we go, 10 in a row!" That's what the Celtic fans have been singing since sealing their ninth straight Scottish Premiership title last season. Your job is to spoil that party in your first year.
Just like Steven Gerrard right now, your role will be to help Rangers silence their fierce local neighbours, prevent the dreaded 10th consecutive title celebrations, and then begin your own era of dominance. Fans will expect nothing less and second place will not be tolerated.
The transfer budget will be small, but that can be boosted with a good showing in Europe. A passion project if ever there was one.
Manchester United
Transfer budget: £167m
Not quite a fallen giant anymore, but certainly a big team in need of some restructuring. Manchester United, of course, come armed with one of the biggest transfer budgets on FIFA 21 Career Mode, and you're gonna need it.
A new striker, at least one new centre back, a right winger and a proper defensive midfielder are all required as you attempt to take the Red Devils back to the summit of English football.
Manchester United have been looking for the next Sir Alex Ferguson since the day the great man retired. Is that person you?
Sunderland
Transfer budget: £4m
Sunderland aren’t a team for the faint of heart, but give them a little bit of time and managing the Black Cats could turn out to be one of your most rewarding managerial experiences on any iteration of FIFA.
The Wearsiders were relegated from the Premier League in 2017, and have since fallen down the English football pyramid to League One after being plagued by problems on and off the pitch.
Restoring them to their former glory over the course of a few seasons would make for a fine in-game story.
PSG
Transfer budget: £120m
Come on, it's okay to let your hair down once in a while. PSG are essentially a cheat mode in real life and also on FIFA and there's always room for a bit of fun between the more gruelling projects.
A squad jam-packed with world class talent including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria, Marco Veratti and others would be fun to play with anyway, but you also have a big war chest to spend and plenty of amazing youngsters pushing through from the academy.
With the French league title and cup pretty much guaranteed, you can chop and tweak and change as much as you like there and save your best performances for the Champions League. There's nothing noble in it, sure, but it's fun for that reason alone. Come to the dark side!
AC Milan
Transfer budget: £33m
Milan’s dominance of Serie A has long been a thing of the past. They’ve spent the better part of the last decade trying to sneak back into the upper echelons of Italy’s top flight, and it finally looks as if they may have a team capable of getting there. Sure, they're not up there with Juve and Inter in terms of quality of depth, but they've got a decent midfield, a solid defence and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who continues to defy logic at the age of 39.
You could help them reach their potential on FIFA 21. It will prove to be a difficult task with only £33m to splash on new signings, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
Borussia Dortmund
Transfer budget: £54m
Borussia Dortmund are probably the team that ticks the most boxes out of any in the game. A decent budget that doesn't border on the ridiculous, a strong squad capable of competing for domestic success, a project that will need patience in order to earn European success, a phenomenal clutch of young stars and a world class academy.
Just good enough to have fun with straight off the bat, but not so good it's easy, BVB represent the best of the worlds. Develop young talents - such as Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Giovanni Reyna - or sell them for heaps of cash and bring in ready-made stars. The choice is yours at Borussia Dortmund.
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