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.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. FM21 is delisted from the Steam store
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.
2. Gestures are not decoration
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.
3. SIxG at full time tells you whether your tactic is broken or your finishing is
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.
4. Hire a Performance Analyst early
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.
5. Use the new data maps to pick your approach before kick off, not after
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.
6. Recruitment meetings align you with your scouting team on both immediate targets and long term strategy
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.
7. Approach an agent directly to check a player's interest before you make a bid
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.
8. The database is frozen at 2020/21
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.
9. 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
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.
10. The Xbox edition released on 1 December 2020 with a reworked interface for controller play
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.
Advanced Strategies
Role Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Gegenpress (A-Tier):
- Focus on Gestures in conversations combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Inverted Wing-Back
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Tiki-Taka (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Segundo Volante
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Football Manager 2021's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Gestures in conversations + SIxG and expected goals data: FM21's headline addition let you pair a spoken line with a non verbal signal. Combined with SIxG and expected goals data, expected goals arrived with data from scisports, giving each shot a quality value and a likelihood of going in.
Performance Analyst monthly reports + Recruitment meetings and agent approaches: 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. When paired with 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.
The 2020/21 season database scaling: 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.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Inverted Wing-Back | Possession systems that keep getting outnumbered in central midfield | A full back who tucks into midfield in possession rather than overlapping, which gives you an extra body in central areas without dropping a forward. |
| Segundo Volante | Vertical and counter attacking systems that need a late runner | A defensive midfielder who breaks forward late into the box, arriving after the opposition has already picked up the attacking midfielders. |
| Mezzala | Breaking down deep blocks that refuse to leave their shape | A central midfielder who drifts into the half space between the opposition full back and centre back. |
| Ball Playing Defender | Tiki-Taka and possession sides building from the goalkeeper | A centre back instructed to pass out from the back rather than clear. |
| Complete Forward | Elite clubs with a genuinely complete striker rather than a specialist | The most demanding striker role in the game, asking for finishing, link play, dribbling, aerial ability and off the ball movement in one player. |
Location Efficiency
English football pyramid (Non league through to the Premier League): 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.
Spanish leagues (Top flight and second tier): 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.
Italian leagues (Top flight and second tier): The 2020/21 snapshot puts Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus, which reshapes the whole division's transfer market. Wage structures are tighter than England's, so squad building here rewards free transfers and loans.
German leagues (Top flight and second tier): The most productive youth environment in the FM21 database, with Erling Haaland aged twenty and Jude Bellingham aged seventeen both at Borussia Dortmund at the start of the save. Selling clubs and buying clubs are unusually well separated here.
Brazilian leagues (Playable top flight, primarily a recruitment market): A scouting destination as much as a management one. The calendar and the transfer rules work differently from Europe, and the volume of teenage talent means an established scouting network here pays for itself in two seasons.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Pro Quick Tips
- 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.
- Start with Tiki-Taka, switch to Gegenpress when ready
- Invest in Inverted Wing-Back above everything else
- Clear areas in order: English football pyramid → Spanish leagues → Italian leagues → German leagues → Brazilian leagues. See our maps guide
- Gestures in conversations + SIxG and expected goals data together are stronger than either alone
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 Beginner's Guide
- 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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