- 8 hours ago
Football Manager 2021: Championship transfer budgets
Martin Macdonald
- Updated: 19 May 2021 22:39 BST
- 5 min read
Football Manager was released on 24 November in the United Kingdom, with users given the opportunity to take control of their favourite clubs all around Europe.
Over the past few editions of the game, especially, a major focus has been put on recruitment, with FM introducing a widescale scouting system for the manager in charge.
It is the most comprehensive scouting system in the history of the franchise in 2021.
Part of the beauty of playing FM is building your own squad, with your own players. That could be potentially scouting the next world-beating wonderkid, or attempting big-money deals for the best players in the world.
In the UK, the first port of call for some will be taking over a Championship team, eager to take them to the big time of the Premier League. It is notoriously one of the hardest leagues in the world to get out of in real life, with Football Manager proving no different over the years.
So, how much will you have to spend in the English Championship in Football Manager?
Football Manager 2021 – Championship starting budgets:
| Team | Transfer Budget | Remaining Wage Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | £0 | £0 |
| Barnsley | £600k | £5k p/w |
| Birmingham | £1m | £6k p/w |
| Blackburn | £100k | £15k p/w |
| Brentford | £3m | £10k p/w |
| Bristol City | £1m | £1k p/w |
| Coventry | £0 | £0 |
| Cardiff | £0 | £5k p/w |
| Derby | £0 | £0 |
| Huddersfield | £0 | £0 |
| Luton | £50k | £2k p/w |
| Middlesbrough | £0 | £5k p/w |
| Millwall | £0 | £1k p/w |
| Norwich | £5m | £10k p/w |
| Nottingham Forest | £3.5m | £3.5k p/w |
| Preston | £800k | £10k p/w |
| QPR | £1m | £20k p/w |
| Rotherham | £300k | £2,5k p/w |
| Reading | £0 | £0 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | £0 | £5k p/w |
| Stoke | £0 | -£60k p/w |
| Swansea | £3.2m | £21k p/w |
| Watford | £0 | -£100k p/w |
| Wycombe | £0 | £0 |
Teams in the Championship, like every other league in Europe really, have seen their finances negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Users will have zero money to spend when starting games with Bournemouth, Cardiff, Derby, Coventry, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke, Watford, and Watford.
Worryingly for those who start games with Stoke and Watford, they will have to contend with wage budgets which are already £60k and £100k per week in the red, meaning that some downsizing may be required before any recruits can be brought in.
The teams in the healthiest state financially, at least in reference to their transfer budgets, are Norwich, Brentford, and Nottingham Forest.
Although the coronavirus pandemic is not mentioned in the game, the makers have included the very real financial impact of the pandemic, with teams having less to spend than they perhaps would have.
Makers Sports Interactive have also revealed that there will be a lot more loan-to-buy transfers popping up, in line with the recent trend in Europe.
Queens Park Rangers, too, have the benefit of an extra £20k per week available which can be used to boost their transfer budget.
As always, players will be able to alter their transfer and wage budgets accordingly in order to boost the other.
