Getting the player - negotiations | Transfers FM 2014 Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
When you choose a player you want, who has a contract with another club, you can proceed to negotiations. Offering a fee equal to the player's value will very often result in a refusal, the fees might be a lot higher. Prepare for long, tedious negotiations, try to negotiate slowly, raising the offer as slowly as possible, so you don't overpay.
Buying a player
Possible options during negotiations:
Fee | The money you pay when you buy a player. |
Transfer date | You can choose between the nearest possible (usually end of season) or immediate (available in the transfer window). |
(Non)negotiable | Negotiable - Your offer may be modified and the club will make their offer. Non-negotiable - the club will either accept or refuse your offer. |
Deadline | Time for the club to answer. You should give them at least a week. |
Additional fees that may convince the club to sell their player:
Monthly installments | Simple - you pay every month (for example 12M in 12 months - 1M per month). Don't buy too many players with monthly installments, you don't want your club to go bankrupt. |
After league appearances | After a certain number of appearances in a league, the club will get a fee. |
Per league appearance | The club will receive a fee for the number of his appearances (for example 20 appearances for 1K). |
Per national team appearance | Likewise but the player must appear in the national team instead of league. |
Minimum league goals | The club will get money after the player scores a certain number of goals. |
After promotion | Available in lower leagues. You pay the fee after getting a promotion. |
Players to exchange | You offer another player, either in addition or instead of the money. Both players must sign contracts to complete the transfer. |
Additional clauses that may convince the club to sell their player:
Percentage of profit from next sale | The percentage of profit earned by selling the player. For example: you buy the player for 1M, sell him for 5M, you pay a percentage of profit - in that case your profit is 4M. |
Percentage of next sale | You may lose more here. You pay a percentage of all the money you get from selling - in that case 5M. |
Buy back price | Amount of money that the club will be able to buy the player back for. |
Arrange friendly | A friendly match as a celebration of a successful transfer. |
Loan
You can also loan a player for some time after setting some conditions. The basic ones are obviously monthly fee, percentage of wage you'll pay and duration.
Additional clauses and options below:
Future fee | Fee that the club has to pay to get the player back during the loan. |
Squad status | Status that the player will have in your team. |
Preferred position | Position that you're going to give him. |
Can play in cup matches | Player's availability in cup matches. |
Can play against own team | Player's availability in matches against his own club. |
Can be recalled | Option that lets the club take the player back before the end of the loan. |
Co-ownership
Co-ownership is popular mainly in Italy and South America. Two clubs share ownership of a player (usually 50% each). If you want to buy such a player, you have to negotiate with both clubs. It's a good way to quickly earn some money, for example by selling half of a player and leaving him in the club until the end of the season. Then you negotiate and who gives more money, keeps the player.