Football Manager 2024: New features, wonderkids, bargains, free agents and more

Football Manager 2024: Everything we know about FM24
(Image credit: Sports Interactive)

Football Manager 2024 can be daunting. It's a big simulation but it's one that we have all the info you need on.

Over the years, this game has become one of the most beloved video games of all time, spawning cult heroes and inspiring stories from its users. It's hard to believe it but yes – it's getting even bigger, better and bolder, as the world's greatest management sim evolves further. 

So here's what to expect from the game. Football Manager shows no sign of slowing down in popularity any time soon and FM24 might just be most exciting version yet – and that's before we touch on what we know about FM25

FM24: Everything you need to know about Football Manager 2024

Football Manager 2024 platforms

Football Manager 2023

Football Manager 2023 is available on PS5 (Image credit: Sports Interactive)

What platforms will Football Manager 2024 be available on?

Football Manager 2024 will be available on PC, Mac, smartphone, tablet and console… and now Netflix. 

It can be purchased on Steam, Epic Games, the Windows Store, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, the Apple Store, the Google Play Store and as of FM23, it's available on PlayStation 5.

How many versions of Football Manager 2024 will there be?

There are four versions of Football Manager 2024

These, according to Sports Interactive are…

FM23: The full and unrivalled simulation experience
FM23 Console: Streamlined and optimised for console play
FM23 Mobile: The fastest way to reach the top of the game
FM23 Touch: Designed for slick and seamless progress

Find out more from the official FM website.

Football Manager 2024 new features

Football Manager

Women's football is coming to Football Manager… eventually (Image credit: Sports Interactive)

Smarter transfers

In FM24, you can sell players via intermediaries, meaning that it's now easier to offload players. You can ask a player's agent to gauge the mood around moving them on too, making it more realistic than ever.

Oh, and the Saudi Pro League is now fully reflected in the game – we asked SI studio director Miles Jacobson about what that meant for the series.

Individual player targets

You don't just have to make promises to players these days who don't live up to their end of the bargain – now when you negotiate a contract, your players can be given targets.

Players can question targets, too – while if a player isn't performing in training, you can tell them to hit a certain threshold before they're considered for the team. 

Truer motion

The gameplay is better than ever. As ever, FM24 has been given a refresh when it comes to the live action – and this game looks slightly smoother than before ahead of a bigger update next year. 

Set pieces update

No longer can you just whip the ball near post. Set pieces are a little more in-depth, with specific coaches for the art of the dead ball. This was one of the most requested features in the game and has made a huge difference to how goals are scored. 

SI consulted a number of top coaches about how to improve this area of the game.

New modes for the game

Now, you can choose to start a season without the transfers of the real world. If you'd rather, you can allow transfers to happen in real-time – meaning that deals that are set to happen midseason will actually happen that way. Perfect if you disagree with your team's dealings in the window. 

Transferable games

For the first time ever, you will be able to transfer your FM23 save to Football Manager 2024.

"This means, when you first launch Football Manager 2024, you'll be given the option to continue your FM23 story, picking up exactly where you left off – powered with the new features and revamps that FM24 will introduce," studio director Miles Jacobson revealed. "And it’s not only for this year’s version of the game that this feature will be active. It’s also the plan to bring saved games from FM24 into FM25, despite the big changes coming for FM25."

Is women's football coming to the next version of Football Manager?

It's coming to FM25.

In 2021, FFT spoke to Miles Jacobson and then-Chelsea women's manager Emma Hayes about the introduction of the women's game to FM and how it would change the game forever. Some assumed that this new database would be included on FM22 – but with FM23 out, we're still waiting.

“We don’t talk about what we’re working on in the future, ever,” Miles told us. “But we need to build that data and we can’t be asking everyone to sign non-disclosure agreements.

“Let’s just be honest and upfront about what we’re doing and build up that network. The various people that we’ve spoken to – the first question they ask is about the data and whether they can have it because there just isn’t enough.”

Will Football Manager 2024 be the last in the series?

No – despite Miles Jacobson cryptically calling it "the last of its kind". That just refers to FM25 being completely different.

"Football Manager 2024 will be the 20th game in Sports Interactive’s Football Manager series, and will be the last of its kind," he said. "It’s a love letter to football and the FM series as we know it.

"FM24 will be the closing of a chapter after 20 years at the top of the management simulation league. But it is far from being the end of our story…"

Football Manager 2024 wonderkids

Football Manager 2024 wonderkids

Jude Bellingham is a big wonderkid in the game (Image credit: Future)

Football Manager 2024 wonderkids

FourFourTwo has scouted the best wonderkids that you need to sign.

Here is the complete list.

Football Manager 2024 bargains

Football Manager 2024

Henry Martin is a bargain in FM24 (Image credit: Future)

FourFourTwo has scouted the best bargains that you need to sign.

Here is the complete list.

Football Manager 2024 free agents

Football Manager 2024

David De Gea is a free agent in FM24 (Image credit: Future)

FourFourTwo has scouted the best free agents that you need to sign.

Here is the complete list.

Football Manager 2024 tactics

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates victory following the Premier League match between Leeds United and Liverpool FC at Elland Road on April 17, 2023 in Leeds, England.

There are loads of great tactics to use in FM24 (Image credit: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

FourFourTwo has a collection of the best tactics you need to use in the game.

Here is the complete list.

Football Manager 2025

Football Manager 2023

Football Manager 2025 is going to be bigger than any version ever before (Image credit: SI)

What will Football Manager 2025 look like?

Football Manager 2025 will be bigger, better, faster and on a brand-new engine, Unity. 

"For many years now, we have been planning the next revolution of Football Manager, something we haven’t claimed since the 3D engine first came into the series back in FM09," Jacobson revealed. "We last had a revamp of the graphics engine running behind our match engine in 2017.

"So, Football Manager 2025, FM25 Console and FM25 Touch will be our first Football Manager releases to use a new engine – Unity. Incredibly well-known in the gaming space, Unity powers many of the best-known games in the world, from Genshin Impact through to the Cities Skyline series. Project Dragonfly explored a number of game engine partners, but after all our research was concluded, Unity was the clear favourite to take us into an exciting new era for the series.  

"The switch to Unity is going to give us a lot more power graphically, across all formats, alongside powerful user interface tools. We’ve been working closely with Unity over the last few years to be able to deliver a whole new UI which will dramatically improve the ways you are able to interact with the game, both inside and outside of a matchday.

"For those of you who are not familiar with gaming technologies – in simple terms, FM25 will have a significantly better looking matchday experience - both on the pitch and the supporting stadium environments, alongside a vastly improved user interface that will dramatically improve how you navigate through screens and access all the information available to you as manager. We’ll also have new technology for Newgens and manager creation which are already looking really promising at this early stage."

More Football Manager 2024 stories

The Football Manager 2024 beta is out now – and we have the beginner's guide for the game.

New features have beeen teased ahead of the game's drop. Netflix is set to carry the game, while FFT's list of the wonderkids to watch out for is also out already.

Miles Jacobson of Sports Interactive, the team behind FM, has spoken to FFT about the introduction of the Japanese J-League, how realistic the Saudi Pro League is in the new game and how set pieces have improved – he's also revealed that the FM team are constantly playing catchup to the great Pep Guardiola.

We also have a list of the best teams to play as in FM24 and a surefire way to pick the perfect underdog, along with a list of cheats – we also have a guide to every tactical role in the game.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.