While FC 25 offered a solid Manager Career mode, many players found it riddled with FC 26 Coins bugs and lacking the realistic touches that make football management so compelling. EA Sports has faced criticism for releasing essentially the same game year after year, with minimal meaningful improvements. Now, with FM stepping back, FC 26 has a chance to change that narrative by delivering a truly next-level experience.

To succeed, FC 26 must learn from Football Manager’s success and build upon it, especially focusing on features that add strategic complexity and narrative depth. Below are 10 critical improvements that could make FC 26 the must-have football management game of the year.

1. Reintroduce Budget Increase Requests Like in FIFA 15 & 16

One of the best features in earlier FIFA titles—now EA Sports FC—was the ability to request increased transfer budgets from the board, adding a realistic layer to managing club finances. This feature forced players to build trust with club directors and promised a balance of power and responsibility. Unfortunately, it was removed in later titles and is missing from FC 25.

Bringing back budget increase requests would inject realism into Manager Career mode. Managers could negotiate funding boosts based on performance targets, adding strategic depth and reflecting the real-world dynamics between club management and the board. For this to work, the AI governing the board’s decision-making must be smart enough to deny unreasonable requests, preventing exploitation.

2. Let Fan Expectations Shape Your Managerial Experience

In real football, fan support can make or break a manager’s tenure. Whether it’s chanting in the stands or social media reactions, supporters’ expectations are a constant pressure. Currently, FC 25 offers a social media tab, but it has no real impact on cheap Fut 26 Coins gameplay and is often buggy.