Football Manager 2021 is the Sports Interactive management game published by SEGA on 24 November 2020, covering more than 50 nations and 2,500 clubs from the top flight down through the pyramid. Its defining theme was body language: FM21 introduced Gestures, so you could put an arm on a shoulder, smile warmly, pound a fist or throw a water bottle, and the choice fed into how players and media read you. It also brought xG into the game properly through data supplied by SciSports, added a post match SIxG readout comparing your result against the chances you created, and gave you a Performance Analyst producing monthly reports modelled on what real managers receive. Note before you plan a save: FM21 has been delisted from the Steam store, so it is no longer purchasable there although existing owners keep it in their library. That, plus a squad database frozen at the 2020/21 season, is the real argument for or against starting a save here rather than on a later edition.
Starting Football Manager 2021 can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Football Manager 2021 is a sports game built around Gestures in conversations and SIxG and expected goals data. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gegenpress | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Tiki-Taka | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Vertical Tiki-Taka | Excellent for beginners | Build patiently in your own half, then attack the moment a forward pass opens. It punishes deep blocks better than standard possession does. |
| Fluid Counter-Attack | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Wing Play | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Tiki-Taka. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Wing Play as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Gestures in conversations
FM21's headline addition let you pair a spoken line with a non verbal signal. Friendly options include Put Arm On Shoulder and Smile Warmly, while assertive ones run up to Pound Fist and Throw Water Bottle. The gesture is read alongside the words, so the same team talk lands differently depending on what your hands are doing, and repeated choices build a public picture of what kind of manager you are.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Gestures in conversations works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to English football pyramid
The deepest playable structure in the game, running from the Premier League down through the Vanarama National League. It is where the classic lower league journeyman save lives, because you can climb every division without ever leaving the country.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Segundo Volante: it's the most accessible early upgrade. A defensive midfielder who breaks forward late into the box, arriving after the opposition has already picked up the attacking midfielders. It needs stamina above almost everything else because the role covers the whole pitch.
Step 4: Understand SIxG and expected goals data
Expected goals arrived with data from SciSports, giving each shot a quality value and a likelihood of going in. You can read expected goals at half time and full time to see which players are over or under performing their chances. SIxG is Sports Interactive's own post match measure of how well you performed relative to the chances you created, which is what separates an unlucky loss from a bad one.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Spanish leagues
The database that includes Lionel Messi still at Barcelona and Pedri in his first season there, which is the single strongest argument for playing FM21 specifically rather than a later edition.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Gestures in conversations
FM21's headline addition let you pair a spoken line with a non verbal signal. Friendly options include Put Arm On Shoulder and Smile Warmly, while assertive ones run up to Pound Fist and Throw Water Bottle. The gesture is read alongside the words, so the same team talk lands differently depending on what your hands are doing, and repeated choices build a public picture of what kind of manager you are.
SIxG and expected goals data
Expected goals arrived with data from SciSports, giving each shot a quality value and a likelihood of going in. You can read expected goals at half time and full time to see which players are over or under performing their chances. SIxG is Sports Interactive's own post match measure of how well you performed relative to the chances you created, which is what separates an unlucky loss from a bad one.
Performance Analyst monthly reports
A new backroom role produces monthly data reports mirroring what real managers receive, alongside new graphs and data maps covering team strengths and opposition weaknesses. This is the year the series started expecting you to read data rather than watch every minute of every match. Hiring a strong analyst early is worth more than most coaching upgrades at smaller clubs.
Recruitment meetings and agent approaches
Recruitment meetings put you and your scouting team on the same page about both immediate targets and longer term transfer strategy, so scouts stop returning reports on players you have no interest in. You can also approach agents directly to gauge whether a player is interested in joining before you commit to a bid. New backroom roles from Assistant through to Analyst round out the staff structure.
The 2020/21 season database
FM21 is locked to the 2020/21 squads, which is the entire reason to pick it over a newer edition. That means Lionel Messi at Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund aged twenty, Jude Bellingham newly arrived at Dortmund at seventeen, Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain and Pedri in his first season at Barcelona. If you want to replay that specific transfer window, no later edition offers it without heavy editing.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Reacting to results instead of to SIxG
FM21 gives you the tools to tell an unlucky run from a broken tactic, and ignoring them produces managers who change formation every three matches.
2. Running gegenpress with a thin squad
The preset demands high work rate and stamina across the front six, and without rotation depth the injury list decides your season by December.
3. Using the same gestures every conversation
Constant assertive choices like Pound Fist wear thin with players who respond better to encouragement, and the game tracks the pattern.
4. Assuming FM22 or FM23 guidance applies
FM21 predates several later systems, so advice written for the Data Hub or the later match engine describes features this edition does not have.
5. Signing a Complete Forward when the squad has no player who meets the role's requirements
The role wants finishing, link play, dribbling, heading and movement at once, and very few players in the 2020/21 database qualify.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Gestures in conversations and SIxG and expected goals data
- Choose Tiki-Taka as starting role
- Clear English football pyramid main content
- Acquire Segundo Volante or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Spanish leagues
- FM21 is delisted from the Steam store. You cannot buy it there any more, though owners keep it in their library, so check your account before planning a save around it.
- Gestures are not decoration. Put Arm On Shoulder and Smile Warmly read very differently from Pound Fist and Throw Water Bottle, and repeated choices build a reputation that affects future conversations.
Tips for New Players
- FM21 is delisted from the Steam store. You cannot buy it there any more, though owners keep it in their library, so check your account before planning a save around it.
- Gestures are not decoration. Put Arm On Shoulder and Smile Warmly read very differently from Pound Fist and Throw Water Bottle, and repeated choices build a reputation that affects future conversations.
- SIxG at full time tells you whether your tactic is broken or your finishing is. Changing a working system after two unlucky losses is the most common way to ruin an FM21 save.
- Hire a Performance Analyst early. The monthly reports mirror what real managers receive, and at a small club they are worth more than an extra coach because you cannot afford trial and error.
- Use the new data maps to pick your approach before kick off, not after. Opposition weakness visualisation is how you decide which flank to counter down.
- Recruitment meetings align you with your scouting team on both immediate targets and long term strategy. Skipping them means scouts keep returning reports on players you will never sign.
- Approach an agent directly to check a player's interest before you make a bid. It costs nothing and saves a wasted transfer window on someone who was never going to move.
- The database is frozen at 2020/21. Erling Haaland is twenty at Borussia Dortmund, Jude Bellingham is seventeen at the same club, and Kylian Mbappe is at Paris Saint-Germain. Plan your recruitment around that window rather than around who is famous now.
- FM21's AI improvements raised the rate and nuance of player decision making, with better defending, better goalkeeping and more variety in the final third. Tactics that beat FM20 defences on repetition alone stopped working here.
- The Xbox edition released on 1 December 2020 with a reworked interface for controller play. It is a different build from the PC version, so tactical guides written for one do not always map cleanly onto the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still buy Football Manager 2021?
Not on Steam. The store listing for app 1263850 no longer offers it for sale, though anyone who already owns it can still install and play from their library. Key resellers are the usual route otherwise.
Why play FM21 instead of a newer edition?
The 2020/21 database. Lionel Messi is still at Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo is at Juventus, Erling Haaland is twenty at Borussia Dortmund and Jude Bellingham has just arrived there at seventeen. No later edition offers that starting point without heavy editing.
What was actually new in FM21?
Gestures for non verbal communication, expected goals data supplied by SciSports with half time and full time readouts, the SIxG post match measure, a Performance Analyst producing monthly reports, recruitment meetings with your scouting team, direct approaches to agents, a remodelled match interface and a new end of season review presentation.
How big is the FM21 database?
More than 50 nations and 2,500 clubs are playable, running from the top flight down through the lower divisions. The English pyramid goes deepest, reaching non league football.
Is there an Xbox version?
Yes, Football Manager 2021 Xbox Edition released on 1 December 2020 with an interface rebuilt for controllers. It is a separate build from the PC game, so some PC features and workflows differ.
More Football Manager 2021 Guides
- Football Manager 2021 Football Manager 2021 Overview
- Football Manager 2021 Best Builds
- Football Manager 2021 Tier List
- Football Manager 2021 Walkthrough
- Football Manager 2021 Tips & Tricks
- Football Manager 2021 Weapons Guide
- Football Manager 2021 Combat Guide
- Football Manager 2021 Boss Guide
- Football Manager 2021 Maps & Locations
- Football Manager 2021 Crafting Guide
- Football Manager 2021 Classes & Characters
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