by MaddFM.
When Manchester City activated Erling Haaland’s €60m transfer release clause in 2021, it was widely agreed that this represented outstanding value for arguably the world’s most exciting striker however few could have predicted just how quickly he would take to Premier League life and immediately realise that value (and then some).
By November Haaland had scored 23 goals in just 17 appearances in all competitions, emphatically reminds us just how valuable and economically beneficial Minimum Fee Release Clauses can be in football and while many of us Football Manager aficionados are more than familiar with navigating these from both an inbound and outbound perspective, the increased amount of transfer revenue available combined with many clubs striving to avoid including these in player contracts (not to mention our frequent focus on scouting, attributes and newgens) means that Release Fees are sometimes overlooked or not as commonly prevalent when scouring the transfer market.
That said - they are still a very real part of modern-day football particularly with some leagues such as La Liga requiring all contracts to include a Minimum Fee Release Fee and while often these are somewhat over exorbitant (see €1bn release clauses for Pedri, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres for more info not to mention the majority of Athletic Club de Bilbao’s playing squad) - it’s important to note that there are still bargains to be found regardless of the club or level at which you are managing, and to prove this we bring you 10 Players to look out for who have good value Minimum Fee Release Clauses at the start of Football Manager 23.
1. Victor Osimhen
What more can be said about Victor Osimhen that @FMDoop hasn’t already said on the 5 Star Potential podcast. Having held wonderkid status through the last 4 or 5 versions of FM, his €75m move from Lille to Napoli in 2020 at just 21 years of age raised many eyebrows and though he has been slightly blighted by injury since arriving in Naples, this season has seen him storm to the top of the goalscorer charts in Serie A averaging close to a goal a game helping Napoli go top of the league early on.
In FM23 Osimhen is valued between £83 and £99 million, however if you can’t wait two seasons for his contract to expire and are managing at a club with the necessary financial resources available, he can be picked up for a relatively good-value £86m particularly when you look at his age, value and of course his attributes in game..look at those Physicals 😍.
2. Christopher Nkunku
Another at the higher end of the financial spectrum but great value at the start of FM23 nonetheless. Ex-PSG graduate Christopher Nkunku can and did play in a number of roles at RBL before shooting to world notoriety last season wherein he scored 35 goals in 52 appearances in all competitions after being deployed prominently as a number nine, and has already amassed 11 league goals in 13 games this season at the time of writing.
Although he signed a two year contract extension at Leipzig, it looks certain that his future lies elsewhere and with his release clause at the lower end of his value range in FM23 he is most certainly obtainable for any of the bigger clubs across the Top 5 Leagues in Europe - he can play in almost any attacking role in-game and at just 24 can be moulded into any position or role you might need within your tactical style and formation.
3. Ismael Bennacer
We love a DMC here at 5 Star Potential and Ismaël Bennacer certainly ranks up there as one of the best all-round versatile defensive midfielders in-game and in real life which is why Milan are so desperate to renew his contract particularly following the departure of Franck Kessié to Barcelona in the summer. The Algerian has been heavily linked with almost all the top European clubs this season (including former club Arsenal) particularly due to the fact that he has only one year remaining on his contract.
If you can’t wait that long however and have an excess of cash in your budget, £43m for a player with both the technical and defensive ability of Bennacer isn’t a bad deal at all considering he is valued between £40m and £60m in-game, especially if you don’t want to risk him renewing his deal with the current Champions of Italy…
4. Nico Williams
Not to be confused with either his brother and teammate Iñaki (who has played his way into Athletic Club history with a record 246 consecutive games played to date) or the similarly named Neco Williams of Nottingham Forest - last season saw 18-year-old Nico Williams burst on to the La Liga scene with Bilbao, and so impressive has his start to this season been that he was recently rewarded with a call-up and debut for the Spain national team (made even more interesting by the fact that his brother recently switched allegiance to play for the Ghana national side and there is a possibility the two could meet at some point in World Cup 2022).
One of only 24 players labelled as a “Wonderkid” under the FM23 Media Description - £43 million might seem excessive for the now 19-year-old winger however considering (1) his likelihood of renewing at the Basque-only club and (2) the fact that his value could well double following a move or contract renewal, it may prove to be a shrewd piece of business especially when we look at his combined speed and technical attributes which will only improve and excel within the FM23 match engine.
5. Pedro Porro
Another 5 Star Potential favourite. Pedro Porro has been wing-back of choice for much of us over the past few versions of FM, made slightly more difficult by a two-year loan deal which was made permanent this summer which might make contract negotiations slightly more difficult in FM23. That said - the former Man City academy player has become a mainstay for Sporting this season and while £39m might feel high considering his real-life price tag was a fraction of that, you’ll do well to find a player more suited to the Right-Wing Back role than Porro and at just 22 would expect to hold down that role for at least 10 seasons for any top club in-game.
6. Kim Min-Jae
Our second Napoli (or should I say Parthenope 🙃) player who has also been a crucial part of their early ascent to the top of Serie A this season. The departure of Kalidou Koulibaly caused much concern for Napoli fans during the summer however Kim Min-Jae’s partnership with Juan has eradicated these worries instantly with Napoli only conceding 10 goals in 13 games so far in the league.
The South Korean has been a rock at the back and at 25 has the perfect age and attributes to play for almost any elite club in Europe. With two years left on his deal it will be surprising if Napoli don’t rush to extend further especially if he can show similar performances in the upcoming World Cup - you won’t find many defenders of his calibre available for £39 million and no doubt that release clause will surely increase if he extends his current contract in Naples.
7. Ricardo Horta
Pedro Gonçalves. Pedro Neto. Francisco Trincão. Pizzi. Xadas. It’s safe to say that Braga are a club renowned for their eye for talent and youth development, and where the likes of Benfica and Malaga failed to see a top talent in Ricardo Horta, Braga knew there was the makings of a top player in there and since his signing in 2017 he has been a pivotal component of their efforts to compete with the likes of Porto, Sporting and the aforementioned Benfica - so much so he was recalled to the Portuguese national side after an 8 year absence from his international debut.
Capable of playing anywhere across the Attacking Midfield strata, his speed and natural fitness combined with strong Flair, Off the Ball, Dribbling and Technical ability make him highly sought after at the start of FM23 and with a release fee of just £24 million (compared to his valuation) he is definitely a more affordable and attainable option in comparison to some of our earlier mentioned attacking players.
8. Giorgi Mamardashvili
About time we added a Goalkeeper to this list. We would have drawn your attention to Diogo Costa had he not recently signed a contract extension that included a bump to his release clause (remains to be seen if this gets included in full release), so in the spirit of realism we instead turn to highly rated (and former FM wonderkid) Georgian stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Tipped by UEFA as a top prospect in 2021 after impressing in the Europa League during a loan spell at Locomotive Tbilisi, he was snapped up by Valencia and has since gone on to secure the #1 position at the Mestalla and his performances last year led to him being named in La Liga's Discovery Team of the Season.
Looking at him in FM23 we can see the makings of a top class keeper, not only due to his 6’6” frame but his clear aerial control of his area, quick reflexes and good ball distribution. Valued between £21m and £32m at the start of the game, his release clause of £24.5m make him as good a keeper as you would get at that price range, and with recent improvements to goalkeeper animations in the FM23 match engine it will be a treat to watch him tower over the opposition and take “making himself big” to a whole new level of goalkeeping.
9. Paulo Dybala
THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Paulo f*cking Dybala. Football Manager royalty. The Argentinian needs no introduction following his exploits for both Argentina and Juventus in recent years, and not much can be said apart from the fact that only injuries have prevented him from going on to achieve even greater things in football. Having long been linked with a move to the Premier League throughout his career, it was José Mourinho and Roma that successfully lured him away from Turin when his contract at Juventus ended and since then he has bagged 7 goals in 11 appearances for i Giallorossi.
Needless to say Paulo Dybala is and always has been outstanding in Football Manager and FM23 is no different. What is surprising however is that he has a £17.25m release fee meaning his value is locked in between £14m and £21m - crazy when you think about it! The only drawback is that his recent move means he may be unlikely to enter negotiations having just joined Roma, however Paulo Dybala for just £17m in January would literally be a game-changer for most sides if things aren’t going peachy in Rome. While he may not light up the charts in the Pace, Fitness or Work Rate departments, his Technical and Mental attributes remain world class and if you can find the right role to unleash him.
10. Arsen Zakharyan
We talked about affordable and attainable, and in FM23 the highly rated Russian youngster Arsen Zakharyan is just that. What’s interesting about this one is that not only is his Release Clause applicable to Foreign Clubs only, but also that it expires in February 2024 meaning that if you don’t snap him up prior to this you run the risk of either (a) the clause vanishing for good or (b) his club Dinamo Moscow renewing his deal making him even less attainable for the seasons which follow.
In real-life Zakharyan has been compared to a young Kevin De Bruyne based on his versatility, creativity and passing range - so much so that it was reported that Chelsea had agreed a deal to sign him only for it to fall through in the summer. For obvious reasons he won’t feature in the World Cup this year but plenty of clubs are well aware of his ability both IRL and in-game. £13m looks to be quite a reasonable release clause looking at his value, versatility and potential and he could be a powerful signing for a mid-tier /top-half club should you have the funds to activate it.
That’s your lot. 10 players with very reasonable Minimum Fee Release Clauses compared to their valuation and ability/potential in-game and believe me there are plenty more to find if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do the necessary detective work to unearth a few bargains even further down the financial spectrum. Football Manager has become so evolved and immersed in the real-life mechanics of contracts and negotiations that there are multiple different types of clauses present in-game, and these can be viewed and utilised through the player search filters and columns to help find the best deals right from the start of your first big save of the new game. Let us know if you find any others either in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter 👌.
A new cycle begins with FM23 out on Tuesday 8th November - WE MOVE.
