With FIFA games releasing every year, fans of the franchise often find it difficult to stay interested in the game beyond the period of the first two or three months after the release date. For most FIFA players, the cycle is similar: buy the game, play Ultimate Team for a few months, get bored (or outraged at how unfair and rigged the mode is), and quit until the next iteration comes out.
However, that wasn't always the case. Before FUT took over as FIFA's primary game mode, it was the Career Mode that kept players engaged and playing the game for hours on end. While pushed to the sidelines a little bit in recent years, it is still one of the central game modes of FIFA 22, offering plenty of challenges and goals to aim for. Choosing the right team to manage can make or break one's enjoyment of the game, though, so it's very important to make an informed decision at the start of the managerial journey.
Updated July 4, 2022, by Maciej Grzymkowski: Back in the day, before the Ultimate Team mode became the primary focus of the FIFA games, the Career Mode was the main selling point of that franchise. Although it has taken a bit of a backseat now, due to the popularity of FIFA's online modes, many fans are still drawn to the single-player Manager Career. With FIFA 22 having been added to Xbox Game Pass on June 23rd, this summer is the perfect time to take over a struggling team and lead them to glory over the 15 or so footballing seasons. This article has been updated to include more teams that would pose a managerial challenge even for hardened FIFA veterans.
18 Newcastle United
- Transfer budget: $39,204,264 (pre-financial takeover)
- Challenge difficulty: Easy
Newcastle United recently became the wealthiest club in the world, following a majority takeover from the PIF (Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund), which is reportedly worth an unbelievable $952 billion. The English side has already put their money to use, following the recent purchase of Chris Wood from Burnley.
Unfortunately, Newcastle United's takeover was finalized too late for it to be recognized in FIFA 22, leaving the club with a transfer budget that is mere pocket change for the PIF. However, FIFA 22 has an option for players to start a new career with a financial takeover, which is exactly what they should do when selecting the geordie side, letting them build a new team in their image.
17 Derby County
- Transfer budget: $6,588,471
- Challenge difficulty: Very Hard
On the complete flipside of Newcastle United is Derby County, a club that is drowning in financial issues, to the point where they recently accepted a 21-point deduction due to breaches of the English Football League's profitability and sustainability rules.
Derby County's brutal points deduction isn't implemented in FIFA 22, though money issues are evident in the depleted squad. Choosing Derby County will provide a tough challenge, though the prospect of gaining the club promotion to the Premier League is a tantalizing task.
16 Norwich City FC.
- Transfer budget: $24,487,188
- Challenge difficulty: Hard
Norwich City seems to be stuck as a perpetual "yo-yo club," a team that continuously gets promoted, then relegated, then promoted again, without ever solidifying a spot in either division. This season looks set to be no different, with Norwich currently sitting at the bottom of the Premier League.
Keeping Norwich safe from relegation is the immediate objective in FIFA 22, which is easier said than done given that the side lost their star player Buendía and only has $24m to spend on a team that needs significant improvement.
15 Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
- Transfer budget: $90,049,904
- Challenge difficulty: Moderate
Tottenham Hotspur has enjoyed tremendous growth over the last decade. The club recently moved into an incredible new stadium, have appointed the likes of José Mourinho and Antonio Conte as managers, and even made it to the Champions League final in 2019.
However, the London side is still looking for their first trophy since the League Cup in 2008. This lack of silverware has been a cloud hovering over the team for a while now, and Spurs fans are desperate to silence rival fans' jokes and criticisms about it. The next manager to win a major trophy at Spurs will be an instant legend at the club, making it a great FIFA 22 challenge.
14 A.C. Milan
- Transfer budget: $43,978,900
- Challenge difficulty: Moderate
Italian club A.C. Milan is the epitome of a sleeping giant. The club has been the world's best on many occasions, with star players like Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso, and Andrea Pirlo all leading the club to greatness in recent memory.
It's been over ten years since A.C. Milan last won a league title, and it's fast-approaching 15 years since their last Champions League. Juventus' recent struggles will make the challenge of winning a league title easier in FIFA 22 than previous iterations of the game, though current champions Inter Milan still pose a tough test.
13 AS Roma
- Transfer budget: $54,620,000
- Challenge difficulty: Hard
This Roman club has a long and proud history of being one of Italy's top footballing names. Despite their stellar reputation, they have not managed to win any major domestic or European titles since 2001. This has changed with Jose Mourinho's arrival in 2021 and with AS Roma's victorious UEFA Conference League cup run culminating in a final win in May 2022. However, FIFA 22 players will be taking over the club before any of that has happened, which means that they would have to carry out an aging squad rehaul, bring some promising youngsters into the limelight (the young forward, Nicola Zalewski comes to mind), and make some savvy transfer market moves at the very beginning of their careers.
The difficulty of taking over AS Roma lies mainly in the need to make a number of radical changes to the club from the get-go. While there certainly is some talent to work with in the team, it is not nearly enough to start challenging for the top honors in the first season, making the road to Serie A and Champions League glory a long and bumpy one.
12 Manchester United
- Transfer budget: $224,514,000
- Challenge difficulty: Very Easy
Players who have never tried the managerial career mode in FIFA, or have not revisited it for long years, should definitely choose a team with a large transfer budget and an already star-studded team, to begin with. It will help them ease into the trials and tribulations of being the manager of a football club, as well as help familiarize themselves with the structure and objectives of FIFA 22's Career Mode.
Manchester United is one of the best teams to manage as a Career Mode rookie. After a very fruitful transfer window, they march into the 2021/22 Premier League season strengthened by the presence of Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Combined with the abundance of world-class talent that is already in the club, players should have no problem challenging for the highest honors from the get-go, without the need to spend a dime on any additional footballers.
11 PSG
- Transfer budget: $188,812,000
- Challenge difficulty: Very Easy
Managing Manchester United is childishly easy. Paris Saint-Germain is a team that basically manages itself. Their front three, composed of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, and Kylian Mbappe are sheer proof of why UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations don't really apply to the richest clubs on the planet. This front three should be enough to keep winning Ligue 1 titles and the Champions League for many consecutive years.
Of course, Messi, Mbappe, and Neymar aren't the only overpowered players at PSG. There's also Gianluigi Donnarumma, a 22-year-old goalkeeper widely hailed as the future best goalkeeper of all time, Marco Veratti, the ever-reliable defensive midfielder, and a bench filled with stars such as Julian Draxler, Angel Di Maria, or Mauro Icardi. Les Parisiens are by far the easiest team to use in FIFA 22, and the perfect choice for gamers who want to play gods of the footballing world for a couple of seasons (until it gets too boring).
10 Chelsea
- Transfer budget: $138,325,000
- Challenge difficulty: Easy
Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea FC had a very successful 2020/21 season. On top of winning the Champions League in a nail-biter of a final against Manchester City, they've come fourth in the Premier League, after a long campaign of Tuchel trying to fix his predecessor's mistakes.
Much like Manchester United or PSG, Chelsea is a star-studded team capable of winning the Premier League from the start, but to truly build a long-lasting football empire, players should invest some money in the team's defense, as well as keep a watchful eye on the development of some of their youngest players to determine which ones will grow into future superstars, and which ones should be sold off for a profit as soon as possible.
9 FC Barcelona
- Transfer budget: $153,443,000
- Challenge difficulty: Easy
It is no secret to anyone interested in football that FC Barcelona is in crisis, both financially and on the pitch. The departure of Lionel Messi this summer has exposed the club's management flaws even further. Thankfully, in FIFA 22, Barca's financial woes don't play a role yet, and their performances can quite easily be fixed by a skilled manager who can make use of their sizeable transfer budget.
The core of a title-winning team is very much in place. With Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay in attack, Frenkie De Jong bossing the midfield, and the aging, but still very much capable duo of Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba calling the shots in defense, new managers will have some players to rely on for the first one or two seasons. However, without strengthening the squad with more talent, especially in midfield and defense, it might be incredibly difficult to rival Real Madrid and Atletico for the La Liga title.
8 Leeds United
- Transfer budget: $53,714,000
- Challenge difficulty: Moderate
Taking over Leeds United is the perfect Premier League challenge for FIFA players who yearn for something more difficult than managing a top-six club with an overblown budget, but don't want to be brought down by the hardships of playing in the Championship. Leeds has a decent budget of over $50 million and quite a few talented players, especially in the attacking positions.
Pacey players such as Daniel James, Raphinha, or Patrick Bamford may prove to be sufficient to provide plenty of goalscoring opportunities, but aspiring Leeds United managers will definitely need to focus on revamping the squad's defensive capabilities if they want to think about qualifying for the Champions League within the first two seasons. All in all, managing Leeds United is a fun, moderate challenge that will take FIFA players at least a few seasons to establish firm dominance over the English Premier League.
7 RB Leipzig
- Transfer budget: $81,198,000
- Challenge difficulty: Moderate
Despite not being allowed to use their brand name in the name and marketing materials of the club, Red Bull is doing a great job in transforming RB Leipzig into a German football powerhouse. The feat is all the more impressive when one considers that they were a non-league team just a decade ago.
Players taking over the Leipzig club will have a decent transfer budget to work with, as well as a roster of talented young players. However, competing with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund might prove to be a challenge that takes more than one or two seasons to overcome. New managers will have to invest heavily in experienced star players to increase the negotiating power of the club whose best young prospects will be tempted to leave Leipzig for greener pastures as soon as they get a good enough offer thrown at them.
6 Fulham
- Transfer budget: $18,690,000
- Challenge difficulty: Moderate
Clubs that were recently relegated from the Premier League are always a great choice for FIFA Career Mode fans looking to play out a challenging campaign that isn't too financially restrictive. With nearly $19,000,000 at their disposal, Fulham can dominate the Championship from the very beginning of the season.
That is, of course, if the person in charge of the club does a satisfactory job in the first two months of their tenure -- a lot of the players should be sold off to finance the loans and purchases of young, unpolished talents looking to prove their worth in a lower division, such as the Championship. With wise transfer window moves and enough squad depth to last the entire season without winding some of the older players down, players should be able to achieve promotion to the Premier League in the first year of their career as Fulham managers.
5 Atletico Mineiro
- Transfer budget: $22,420,000
- Challenge difficulty: Moderate
For a more exotic challenge and a completely different style of football than what is offered in some of the top European leagues, FIFA fans should set their sights on the Brazilian top division. Just like in real life, the game is much less restrictive in that league, with teams prioritizing attractive, attacking football, over the pragmatic approach known from the Premier League or Serie A.
Atletico Mineiro is a good choice for one's first foray into Latin American football, as they possess a hefty transfer budget that is double the size of what other clubs in their division can work with. It should be enough to scour the league for the best young prospects, as well as bring some aging Brazilian stars back to their home country to increase the commercial appeal of the club (which is always very important when it comes to meeting the board of directors' expectations in Career Mode).
4 Brentford
- Transfer budget: $22,206,000
- Challenge difficulty: Hard
Making things difficult is often the best way to liven up the gameplay and reinvigorate one's excitement and love for the FIFA franchise. There are few better ways to do it than choosing a newly-promoted Premier League side and trying to turn it into the champions of England within a few seasons.
At the start of the 2021/22 season, Brentford will be underfinanced, understaffed, and full of players who are nowhere near capable of withstanding the trials and tribulations of the Premier League. In order to stay up in the top division, new managers need to be ready to carry out a full-on revolution in the squad by getting rid of the so-called "deadwood" and showing the willingness to loan players from more successful clubs, knowing very well that they won't be willing to stay at the club in the long run.
3 LOSC Lille
- Transfer budget: $18,585,000
- Challenge difficulty: Hard
After a sensational upset Lille has pulled off last season by winning the French Ligue 1 against all odds, the upcoming season should be a walk in the park for new managers, right? Well, not really. In a league so heavily dominated by one (very) rich club that is Paris Saint-Germain, players taking over any other French team will face an uphill battle, regardless of that club's performances in recent seasons.
With a budget that would fail to cover the signing of a PSG benchwarmer, players will need to make full use of their scouting networks to find footballers who would be willing to come to Lille and at the same time have the potential to become world-class athletes in the future. Finally, one should keep in mind that any attractive transfer target will be also eyed by Les Parisiens who have much more power in the market than any other French team out there.
2 RB Salzburg
- Transfer budget: $24,367,000
- Challenge difficulty: Hard
Taking over a European club outside of the established top five leagues on the continent is always a difficult challenge, especially for players wanting to win the UEFA Champions League all the while maintaining domestic league supremacy. The Austrian Bundesliga is a good league to choose for this kind of challenge, primarily because there are only 12 teams in the competition, leaving plenty of time for recovery and team management in between games.
RB Salzburg is by far the richest Austrian club, which makes things a little easier when it comes to domestic competition, but their $24 million transfer budget is not nearly enough to make a run for the Champions League in the very first season. Players who take over will need to patiently scout out some of the best young talents across Europe and develop them over the course of the first few seasons to achieve continental success while remaining within the bounds of their limited budget.
1 Salford City
- Transfer budget: $2,242,000
- Challenge difficulty: Hard
Almost fully owned by the former Manchester United players, including legends such as Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, or David Beckham, Salford City is a team with a healthy financial backing for a League 2 side. However, it is still a League 2 side, meaning that the first few seasons will be incredibly difficult for anyone who takes up the challenge of managing them.
Failing to get promoted to the higher division in the first season will see Salford's budget slashed almost in half, making this achievement all the more difficult in the second year in charge. Only through a combination of loans, pragmatic, defensive tactics, and a lot of skill will players be able to lift Salford City out of the periphery of English football and into the spotlight of the Premier League.
FIFA 22 is currently available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, and Nintendo Switch.