Transfers: How can I sell a player for a decent fee?

[Spelunker]

I'm really struggling to sell players in FM16, nothing I've tried so far seems to work. For example I got promoted to the EPL and wanted to improve my squad.

I tried to sell a midfielder after buying a better player. The player I was selling was valued at £3.5M, he was 24 and had 2 years left on his contract. He'd been a regular first team player. No clubs were intersted in him. Tried a few times and eventually got a few pathetic offers at @ £500K. I tried offering at low values, even £0 to gain interest hoping I could then negoiate but all the offers I received were non-negotiable. Because I only got joke offers I kept him and tried again at christmas (still gave him some game time as a sub/rotation). Same story. so loaned him. I've also tried selling with an upfront fee of zero and payments over 24 months etc but still no decent interest. It's the same with other players.

Any suggestions please?

[Admiral Raptor T. Rexham]

How big is the database in which you're playing? The issue could be he's way out of the price range for LL clubs and not worth a look for large clubs

[BoujeeTheAlan]

Have you tried loaning them out instead? I find that tends to get more interest down the line. I also suspect this is often an issue to do with wages.

[Spelunker]

I'm using a very big data base so that shouldn't be a prob. I've never had a problem with earlier FM versions, just FM16. I'd be happy at just selling a player for his value. And in case anyone's wondering these aren't players on high wages. In the Championship and my first EPL season I had the lowest wage bill in the division.

[Spelunker]

@nm774 - I'm not having any probs with loans, just selling players.

I can understand that if a player's near the end of his contract, been sat in the reserves or is an ageing player on a high wage he can be difficult to shift. But if he's in his prime, plays regularly, on a low wage and has time left on his contract I'd expect to at least sell him at face value and hopefully rather more.

So far though I've not sold a player for more than half value, whereas I'm paying well overvalue when I buy players. I think SI has got the balance wrong on this personally.

[Daltaine]

SI have talked about the problem. The ai will look at the position they need then go out and buy the players they have decided to buy for whatever price they want to pay. A human on the other hand would see a bargain and then buy that player even if it's at times only a small improvement to what they have already.

I tend to just sell whoever i get good offers for even if it's not who I particularly want to sell and as others have said sometimes you have to loan out players for a year or two until an offer comes in for others. Transfer listing and offering players out doesn't seem to work well.

[Spelunker]

@Mike. Thanks, that's helpful to know.
So far my best fee for a player I wish to sell is only about 3/4 of their value. I can remenber playing CM10 and regularly getting up to 8x value, which was too generous, by FM14 (I didn't bother with FM15) this had reduced to 1.5-2x value for a decent player on a 2 year contract, but they've taken it too far the other way in FM16. It irritates me that you see the AI spend more on lesser players than the one your selling and spend more on wages too. It makes no sense. Hope they sort it out.

[Steff]

so whats best then large DB or small medium DB?

[massdev]

So selling is so difficult in this version but honestly transfers have been ♥♥♥♥ for years. First thing whoever you want to sell don't list them. The transfer list just seems to be populated by guys that nobody wants, that are on insane wages that no one can afford. I always run a small DB the reason being is I don't want a ton of competition flooding the market.

At the start of the window I normally get terrible offers for players that I don't want to sell. But the AI is just making the rounds disrupting my squad harmony and having me worry about renewing contracts that still have 4 years left to go because the AI thought I would jump to sell my captain for 50% off even though we just won the league.

The guys that you are getting offers for in general are going to have awesome seasons. The AI wants those players but they will rarely pay any premium over their valuation unless that valuation doesn't accurately reflect their real value and ability.

What you have to consider is that the guys you want to get rid of are probably crap. If you have realized it, maybe the AI knows this too, and really the only guarenteed way you are going to shift that crap is loan or free transfer. Previous versions you could get mutual terminations but for whatever reason SI decided that was never going to happen in the last update.

As soon as you list your guy the AI wants a bargain. The valuation that your looking at is the price the AI will pay if they approach with no transfer status. So the AI will open offer you less than that usually with several different payment incentives upto that valuation. Once you list the AI knows you don't want this player so what they are prepared to pay drops.

So how do you put your crap in the shop window and hope that some AI sucka will pick up the tab? Its all about loan status, basically use the loan flag to see who is interested in your player. Offer them out wages full plus monthly up to 250k, then reduce it to wages full, wages half, wages free and see who comes knocking.

Now who makes offers for loan is telling you that within that AI squad there is a gap, either in ability or position that your player fills. So you can go ahead with loans and wind down their contracts at least being partially compensated for the player being crap and not good enough for your squad or you can get creative.

First look at the team that is trying to fill the void with your loan player. Are they missing a position within the first team, did some huge club just poach a star and they are trying to scrape by on the cheap with your dross. Its important to understand the situation the AI finds itself in is it a critical first team signing, nice to have upgrade, a make weight backup, or someone that if you don't sell they have thousands of alternatives for.

Understanding what leverage you have with the player they want is half the battle. Easy example is home grown players for rich clubs like manchester city. Every year Man City will buy homegrown talent to bench, that gets pissed off after 6 months of not playing to sell on the cheap without ever getting a game. So you can exploit the hell out of this by buying their homegrown unhappy players to create the AI demand and then sell them homegrown needed players at healthy mark ups.

The big thing about transfers is doing the due dilligence on what you buy in the first place. Always be thinking about resale and increasing the value and ultimately the profit returned to club. When I buy players for my clubs I'm often thinking about which clubs down the road are going to be able to buy my "ripe" player down the road and for how much. Look at Mahrez at LC, I believe he was bought for 400k from Nantes or Nice and now hes 30 million pound plus.

Remember the AI knows what the player is worth exactly. The player manager has all sorts of emotional attachment and value bias that isn't real to the AI. If the AI has the money, the player meets the requirements, it will make the bid up to its max threshold to acquire its as simple as that.

You can always test the water on the sale to see how much you can get absolutely. Just because you walk away from a deal doesn't mean its dead sometimes its great to play hardball look at Bale with Real Madrid. Don't waste your time or get frustrated on players that won't sell, stick them on the unwanted list and let your AI deal with it. Don't be afraid to terminate bad contracts but when offering new ones always be thinking about the next window and who is going to be shopping for what.

Lastly always be flexible in your transfer terms, sometimes the AI can't give you 40 million cash on the barrel, but it can give you 80 million over 4 years.

[The Dairy Devil]

Originally posted by Mike:

SI have talked about the problem. The ai will look at the position they need then go out and buy the players they have decided to buy for whatever price they want to pay. A human on the other hand would see a bargain and then buy that player even if it's at times only a small improvement to what they have already.

I tend to just sell whoever i get good offers for even if it's not who I particularly want to sell and as others have said sometimes you have to loan out players for a year or two until an offer comes in for others. Transfer listing and offering players out doesn't seem to work well.

The system is broken though because I can't buy players for the same bargain price the AI gets them for (or tries to get them for).

A prime example are Sherel Floranus/Rick Ketting of dutch first division team Sparta Rotterdam, if you play as Sparta offers will come in at 50k, if you are not the club itself you can see him go for that, but if I put in an offer they expect me to pay 300-500k (which is a bargain still but you understand what I'm trying to point out here).

Some times the game is also arbitrary about it.
Try to sell Thomas Verhaar at Sparta and Turkish and Dutch clubs will be lining up, Try to sell Van Moorsel,Bergkamp,Eijsden,Hiwat and nobody seems to be interested (although they play in similar positions).

[Spelunker]

@massdev - Thanks for those thoughts. I've stopped listing players and have been doing better. I generally now offer at zero upfront with the value I want over 48months (to get clubs interested) and also ask for a share of profit of any future sale when I offer the player. I make this non-negoiatable.

To give you an idea it's July 2017 and I'm getting ready for my 3rd season with Bristol City. My rep has just increased to "Continental" (I'll be in the CL) so I'm upgrading my squad. The players I'm selling are mainly approx Rotation level for low-mid table EPL or first team for Championship and in mid-late twenties with low wage contracts (I'm tight as a gnat's chuff) and either 1 or 2 yrs left on their contracts.

1) Sold 29 yr old GK in last year of contract. Value £400k. Got £350k.
2) ST (Dwight Gayle, age 27). Bought for £375k last summer. Loaned after xmas for 6 months To Sunderland for £240k. Value now £725k. Sold for £875k (£725k upfront) + 50% of profit (which I'll probably cash in later).
3) CM, age 21. Bought for £650k,loaned for 6 months for £145k. Now valued at £550k, last yr of contract, sold for £725k (£600k upfront) + 50% profit.
4) CD, age 22. Bought for £150k, loaned for 6 months for £100k, Now valued at £500k, last yr of contract. Sold for £250k. (half his value but contract running out and still a profit).
5) CD, age 31 (Steven Taylor). Got as free agent, loaned for 6 months for £61k (cos he was a liability). Sold for £375k (His value).
6) CD, age 27. Club bought him for £300k in L1 before I was manager. In last yr of contract, sold for £625k , value £1.3M. Paying £1,500 of his wages for a year.
7) CD/DM age 21. Free agent. Valued at £3.9M. Sold for £3.2M + 50% of profit.
8) ST age 27. Club bought him for £2.1M in Champ before I was manager. Value £9M, sold for £7.75M + 50% profit.
9) ST age 21. Bought for £425k. Value £10.5M, sold for £7.75M +50% profit.

I'm fairly happy with those. Made a profit on all of them and should get a bonus from those with a 50% profit clause. It would have been nice to sell my strikers (No. 8+9) for more but still made very good profits on them and have the 50% profit clause.

I still think SI needs to look at this in particular that:
1) Listing players doesn't work.
2) That whilst I made profits I only managed to sell my players for near their value , whereas I'm having to pay far higher than value for any players, which is fair enough if they're sought after, but not if they're obscure and in the last year of contract.

The database factor is an intersting question. I like a large data base as I enjoying finding obscure talented players, but in truth the vast majority of quality players come from the big leagues, especially the clubs with the best youth recruitment. Perhaps you're right that this does flood the market and AI gives lower prices as a consequence. I'd be interested to know if a smaller database does let you sell players for more than their value.

[Gunslinger]

I have to say the last 3 games for me has teh been the same issue. Paying stupid prices and selling at very little. I do a lot of scouting and most of teh time only buy young players with potential. If you get them early enough you get them very cheap. I have 3 players I bought just over a season ago less than 1m each. they are now worth between £28m and 36M. I have another 6 young players that cannot get in the first team. They are all out on loan and I can see they will be worth 20m+ each

[Spelunker]

@ Gunslinger.
I'm the same, I try and buy teenagers with great potential and develop them. The best ones get into my squad, the rest are cash generators, first as loans and then selling. At the moment I'm only in the early stages of that in this game as it takes a few years to get the production line going.
It's just been the processing of selling the players that won me the championship that's been difficult, although following some of massdevs suggestions has helped and I'm happier with the proces I'm getting now.

[Steff]

So really in hindsight then a smaller Database is better?

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Gers1690:

So really in hindsight then a smaller Database is better?

yes best to spend a lot of scouting and dont just rely on them keep an eye out for any mention of a young player. Scout as many as you can. If you get any that show 4+ * potential buy them even if you going to pay over the odds. Iv spent 10 mil on a player thats worth 1m as his potential is almost 5* It takes time but thsi is why most big clubs have tons of youths as that is where the next star is and the money.

[Steff]

Originally posted by Gunslinger:

Originally posted by Gers1690:

So really in hindsight then a smaller Database is better?

yes best to spend a lot of scouting and dont just rely on them keep an eye out for any mention of a young player. Scout as many as you can. If you get any that show 4+ * potential buy them even if you going to pay over the odds. Iv spent 10 mil on a player thats worth 1m as his potential is almost 5* It takes time but thsi is why most big clubs have tons of youths as that is where the next star is and the money.

Thats a fair shout i guess..