Football Manager 2021 best players: All the top forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers

Martin Macdonald

Updated: 23 May 2023 08:40 CDT
14 min read

Football Manager 2021 best players: All the top forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers — © ProShots

Football Manager 2021 has been released for a while now, but that doesn’t mean a new game can’t be fired up at any point, with glory awaiting users who master their tactics, man management and, of course, recruitment.

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One of the best aspects of FM 2021 is trying to build that team of superstars who you believe can lead your club to glory. A fantasy XI that will defeat all-comers – and one that would probably be unlikely to happen in the real world!

Recruitment can be a minefield at times, but FootballTransfers has you covered.

Players have been ranked using the FMScout rating system as a guide, and to make things simple they have formulated an average score out of five based on metrics like value, attributes, position suitability and age.

Though there are players who could usurp the established stars on this list, below are the players who are the immediate best signings in the first season. We have stated their ages at the time of the start of the new season.

For future FM 2021 wonderkids, look at our extensive list here.

Football Manager 2021 best goalkeepers

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
Manuel Neuer, 34, Bayern	27m	4.66
Alisson, 27, Liverpool	55m	4.61
Ederson, 26, Man City	50m	4.41
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 28, Barcelona	49.5m	4.1
Jan Oblak, 27, Atletico	50m	3.95
Thibaut Courtois, 28, Real Madrid	50m	3.89
Wojciech Szczesny, 30, Juventus	38m	3.95
Samir Handanovic, 36, Inter	6.25m	3.76
Gianluigi Buffon, 42, Juventus	1.6m	3.7
Andre Onana, 24, Ajax	36.5m	3.7
Yann Sommer, 31, Gladbach	16.7m	3.54

Not only is Bayern Munich star Manuel Neuer the best-rated goalkeeper in FM 2021 at the start of play, but one of the best players overall, with FM Scout giving him a rating of 4.66.

There is a veteran feel to the best goalkeepers list as the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Samir Handanovic, and Neuer feature despite being in the twilight of their careers. The youngest on the list is Ajax shot-stopper Andre Onana.

Under the age of 32, the best value-for-money goalkeeping signing would appear to be Gladbach’s Yann Sommer, who has a value of just £16.7 million.

Football Manager 2021 best central defenders

There are no major suprises within the list of the best central defenders in FM 2021 as, after all, the game doesn’t know Virgil van Dijk will miss most of the season at the start of play, so he is therefore rated the best from this position.

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
Virgil van Dijk, 29, Liverpool	65m	4.29
Sergio Ramos, 34, Real Madrid	7.5m	3.96
Aymeric Laporte, 26, Man City	61m	3.82
Gerard Pique, 33, Barcelona	17m	3.75
Giorgio Chiellini, 35, Juventus	3.3m	3.67
Marquinhos, 26, PSG	48.5m	3.62
Raphael Varane, 27, Real Madrid	52m	3.6
Mats Hummels, 31, Dortmund	35m	3.51
Stefan de Vrij, 28, Inter	38.5m	3.51
Leonardo Bonucci, 33, Juventus	15.7m	3.5
Thiago Silva, 35, Chelsea	4.2m	3.42
Francesco Acerbi, 32, Lazio	13.5m	3.41
Milan Skriniar, 25, Inter	35.5m	3.32

Aymeric Laporte makes the list but Ruben Dias doesn’t, which perhaps displays how surprisingly good the Portuguese’s impact has been at Manchester City this campaign.

Veterans like Sergio Ramos, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini are still worth a punt, even for a couple of seasons.

Football Manager 2021 best full-backs

We all know that Liverpool have two of the best full-backs in the world (though maybe not this season), but FM has confirmed it here as the Reds have the best rated left-back in Andrew Robertson and the best rated right-back in Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Both of them would cost a pretty penny, however, so expect your transfer budget to be impacted heavily by any pursuit of the Liverpool duo.

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
(DL) Andy Robertson, 26, Liverpol	48m	3.73
(DL) David Alaba, 28, Bayern	55m	3.6
(DL) Jose Gaya, 25, Valencia	28m	3.51
(DL) Alex Sandro, 29, Juventus	35.5m	3.42
(DL) Jordi Alba, 31, Barcelona	33.5m	3.39
(DL) Raphael Guerreiro, 26, Dortmund	24m	3.32
(DL) Nicolas Tagliafico, 27, Ajaz	19.5m	3.3
(DR) Trent Alexander-Arnold, 21, Liverpool	55m	3.64
(DR) Joshua Kimmich, 25, Bayern	54m	3.55
(DR) Dani Alves, 37, Sao Paulo	900k	3.22
(DR) Juan Cuadrado, 32, Juventus	18m	3.31
(DR) Joe Gomez, 23, Liverpool	37.5m	3.2
(DR) Manuel Lazzari, 26, Lazio	15.7m	3.19
(DR) Joao Cancelo, 26, Man City	50m	3.14

At right-back, Dani Alves proves that age is just a number as he makes the list despite his 37 years. He is with Sao Paulo in FM 2021, but could still be useful for a season or two.

At the moment in real life, the best right-back in the world is arguably Joao Cancelo, but he is further down on the list, with his current form not translating to his rating in the game yet.

Football Manager 2021 best central midfielders

The above list has been split into players who feature more prominently as a defensive or deep-lying midfielder and then into those who feature more centrally depending on the system their team plays.

Marco Verratti tops the list with a rating of 3.74, with Clasico duo Toni Kroos and Sergio Busquets just in behind.

Looking down to the central midfielders, this is where things get more expensive, as if you want to claim the best-rated CM in Kevin De Bruyne, you’ll have to spend well in excess of his £86m value.

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
(DM) Marco Verratti, 27, PSG	49m	3.74
(DM) Toni Kroos, 30, Real Madrid	53m	3.64
(DM) Sergio Busquets, 32, Barcelona	31m	3.58
(DM) N'Golo Kante, 29, Chelsea	60m	3.56
(DM) Jordan Henderson, 30, Liverpool	46.5m	3.54
(DM) Arturo Vidal, 33, Inter	12.2m	3.52
(DM) Casemiro, 28, Real Madrid	55m	3.51
(DM) Mateo Kovacic, 26, Chelsea	59m	3.39
(DM) Miralem Pjanic, 30, Barcelona	48.5m	3.38
(DM) Frenkie de Jong, 23, Barcelona	50m	3.32
(CM) Bernardo SIlva, 26, Man City	69m	4.13
(CM) Kevin De Bruyne, 29, Man City	86m	4.04
(CM) Luka Modric, 34, Real Madrid	5.25m	3.86
(CM) Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 25, Lazio	47m	3.66
(CM) Paul Pogba, 27, Man Utd	60m	3.57
(CM) Nicolo Barella, 23, Inter	32m	3.55
(CM) Koke, 28, Atletico	52m	3.24
(CM) Leon Goretzka, 25, Bayern,	48.5m	3.32
(CM) Fabinho, 26, Liverpol	55m	3.32

The reason for Fabinho being lower down on the list is that he features on so many positional lists that his rating is arguably diluted. He can be found on the best player lists for centre-back and right-back, too, though for the purpses of this article we have attempted to avoid the repetition of players.

Football Manager 2021 best attacking midfielders

No prizes for guessing that Lionel Messi tops the list not only of the best attacking midfielders, but of any player in the game with an unmatched rating of 5.0. He features on the list for wingers and strikers too on FM Scout, but his most-deployed position is what we have gone with.

David Silva may have left the glitz and glamour of Man City but he remains one of the most effective attacking midfielders in the game with Real Sociedad.

Roberto Firmino is an odd selection for an attacking midfielder, admittedly, but within FM he features in this position often.

Football Manager 2021 best wingers

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
Lionel Messi, 33, Barcelona	46.5m	5.0
David Silva, 34, Real Sociedad	6.5m	3.9
Roberto Firmino, 28, Liverpool	67m	3.71
Luis Alberto, 27, Lazio	39.5m	3.68
Paulo Dybala, 26, Juventus	55m	3.67
Philippe Coutinho, 28, Barcelona	57m	3.51
James Rodriguez, 29, Everton	34.5	3.49
Joao Felix, 20, Atletico	50m	3.4
Martin Odegaard, 21, Real Madrid	33.5m	3.29
Phil Foden, 21, Man City	34m	3.05

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar is the highest-rated left winger in the game, and although in real life he tends to play everywhere, his fully green circle for position suitability comes on that left-hand side. The Brazilian is also the winger with the most expensive value at £83m.

Kylian Mbappe is further down the list than you would perhaps expect, but his position as a half right-winger half-forward in real life is probably what sees his rating skewed. His is not conventional within either of those positions.

A surprising entry comes in the form of Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko, but we will bow to the knowledge of FM scout on that one.

Football Manager 2021 best strikers

Just like in real life, Football Manager bosses love to splurge money on a brand new starting centre-forward. In this game, Erling Haaland becomes the best striker in the world, but due to his young age he is further down the list for the first season. Gonzalo Higuain will feel lucky about that!

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
(LW) Neymar, 28, PSG	83m	4.14
(LW) Raheem Sterling, 25, Man City	72m	3.84
(LW) Sadio Mane, 28, Liverpool	77m	3.77
(LW) Eden Hazard, 29, Real Madrid	67m	3.67
(LW) Leroy Sane, 24, Bayern	59m	3.47
(LW) Mikel Oyarzabal, 23, Real Sociedad	41m	3.34
(LW) Lucas Ocampos, 26, Sevilla	29m	3.07
(LW) Thomas Lemar, 24, Atletico	22.5m	3.07
(LW) Dani Olmo, 22, RB Leipzig	19.2m	3.04
(LW) Christian Pulisic, 21, Chelsea	39.5m	3.01
(RW) Mohamed Salah, 28, Liverpool	77m	3.91
(RW) Thomas Muller, 30, Bayern	44.5m	3.58
(RW) Kylian Mbappe, 21, PSG	83m	3.86
(RW) Angel Di Maria, 32, PSG	26m	3.76
(RW) Jadon Sancho, 20, Dortmund	40.5m	3.40
(RW) Moussa Sissoko, 20, Tottenham	23.5m	3.25
(RW) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 26, Liverpool	39.5m	3.23
(RW) Nicolo Zaniolo, 21, Roma	19.75m	3.16

No big suprises from the list as the top two best strikers in the game are Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.

CR7’s value is actually relatively small, but at wages of £1m-plus per week within FM 2021, most clubs would be struggling to take him on.

Sergio Aguero may have barely played for Man City this season, but FM still loves him, while Karim Benzema and Harry Kane feature near the top, too.

Player	Value (£)	Rating (out of five)
Cristiano Ronaldo, 35, Juventus	9.5m	4.57
Robert Lewandowski, 31, Bayern	61m	4.39
Sergio Aguero, 32, Man City	54m	4.34
Luis Suarez, 33, Atletico	31.5m	4.22
Karim Benzema, 32, Real Madrid	46m	4.16
Harry Kane, 27, Tottenham	80m	4.15
Antoine Griezmann, 29, Barcelona	67m	4.05
Romelu Lukaku, 27, Inter	53m	4.0
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 38, Milan	3.1m	3.94
Mario Mandzukic, 34, Milan	0	3.86
Ciro Immobile, 30, Lazio	43m	3.86
Jamie Vardy, 33, Leicester	17.25m	3.82
Olivier Giroud, 33, Chelsea	6.75m	3.77
Gonzalo Higuain, 32, Inter Miami	3m	3.6
Erling Haaland, 20, Dortmund	63m	3.5

Read more about: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Alex Sandro Alisson Andrew Robertson André Onana Angel Di Maria Antoine Griezmann Artur Arturo Vidal Aymeric Laporte Bernard Casemiro Christian Pulisic Ciro Immobile Cristiano Ronaldo D. Alaba Dani Olmo David Silva David Eden Hazard Ederson Moraes Erling Haaland Fabinho Francesco Acerbi Frenkie de Jong Gerard Pique Gonzalo Higuain Harry Kane Jadon Sancho James Rodriguez Jamie Vardy Jan Oblak Joao Cancelo Joao Felix Joe Gomez Jordan Henderson Jordi Alba Jose Gaya Joshua Kimmich Juan Cuadrado Karim Benzema Kevin De Bruyne Kylian Mbappé Leon Goretzka Leonardo Bonucci Leroy Sané Lionel Messi Lucas Ocampos Luis Alberto Luis Javier Suárez Luis Suarez Luka Modric Manuel Lazzari Manuel Neuer Marc-André ter Stegen Marco Verratti Marquinhos Martin Odegaard Mateo Kovacic Mats Hummels Mikel Oyarzabal Miralem Pjanić Mohamed Salah Moussa Sissoko Neymar Nicolas Tagliafico Nicolò Barella Nicolò Zaniolo Olivier Giroud Paul Pogba Paulo Dybala Phil Foden Philippe Coutinho Portu Raheem Sterling Raphael Guerreiro Raphaël Varane Robert Lewandowski Roberto Firmino Rodri Romelu Lukaku Ruben Dias Sadio Mané Samir Handanovic Sergej Milinković-Savić Sergio Agüero Sergio Busquets Sergio Ramos Stefan de Vrij Thiago Alcantara Thiago Silva Thibaut Courtois Thomas Lemar Thomas Müller Toni Kroos Trent Alexander-Arnold Virgil van Dijk Wojciech Szczęsny Yann Sommer Zlatan Ibrahimović