EA Sports FC 26 Career Mode: Best Tips to Make It More Realistic From realistic settings to scouting smarter, here’s how to make EA Sports FC 26’s Career Mode feel like managing a real club

For many players, Career Mode remains the most enjoyable way to experience EA Sports FC 26. With new features like the manager market, random events, and full stat simulations, there’s more depth than ever before. But if you want your saves to feel like you’re managing a real football club, a few extra tweaks can make all the difference.

Here are the top tips to create a realistic and immersive Career Mode in FC 26.

⚙️ Set Realistic Career Mode Settings

Before diving in, it’s crucial to adjust your Career Mode settings to mirror real-world football. Recommended options include:

Youth Player Quality: Current Overall
Gameplay Type: Authentic
Transfers: Disable first window (unless using Live Start)
Negotiation Realism: Realistic
Transfer Approaches: Strict
Board Expectations: Strict or Harsh
Manager Market: On & Tough
Unexpected Events: On & High

For added realism, try manual controls if Legendary or Ultimate difficulty feels too easy.

🎙️ Switch Commentary Language

To enhance immersion, change the commentary language to match the league you’re managing in. Playing in Spain? Switch to Spanish commentary. This adds authenticity and freshens up the experience, especially in foreign leagues.

Hardcore players can even change the entire game language to simulate moving to a new country. Just be prepared to navigate menus in another language.

👔 Use Real Manager Names

The new Manager Market feature makes realism more important than ever. While some leagues have licensed managers, many don’t. To fix this, manually edit manager names to match their real-life counterparts—especially in the league you’re managing.

📋 Enforce Real-Life Rules

EA FC 26 doesn’t enforce all real-world rules, so you’ll need to apply them yourself:

Loan Players: Don’t let them play against their parent club.
Cup-Tied Players: Prevent new signings from appearing in knockout matches they already played with a different club.

These rules make squad rotation more challenging and authentic.

📊 Scout Players Using Season Stats

With Deeper Simulation, you can now track full stats across five additional leagues. Use these numbers to identify breakout stars and scout realistically, just like clubs do in real life. Pay special attention to top scorers, clean sheets, and average ratings.

🔍 Research the Club You Manage

Before starting a save, research your chosen club to add depth and realism:

Identify club legends you could re-sign for a final season.
Avoid players who had real-world fallouts with the club.
Check how long current players have been at the team.
Study rivalries, youth development priorities, and past achievements.

This makes decisions like signings and tactics more grounded in football history.

📝 Extra Tips for Realism in Career Mode

Delegate Transfers: Simulate how real managers rely on directors for negotiations.
Pick Sacked Manager Teams: More realistic than taking over a thriving club.
Sign From Relegated Teams: Target realistic bargain transfers.
Respect Linked Clubs: Red Bull and City Group clubs often swap players.
Avoid Restarting Matches: Losses are part of football.
Use Authentic Gameplay: Adds randomness and realism to results.
Edit Stadium Names: Rename unlicensed grounds for immersion.
PC Mods: Use mods to expand realism further.

📌 Final Thoughts

With the right settings and self-imposed rules, Career Mode in EA Sports FC 26 can feel like managing a real club. From scouting based on stats to respecting loan rules, these adjustments turn your Road to Glory or rebuild save into an authentic footballing journey.