Football Manager 2017
2016 · Sports Interactive
Has it aged?Why ↓
Football Manager 2017 is a football management simulation: you run a club through menus, sign players, assign tactical roles and watch simulated matches rather than kick the ball yourself. Making a formation work with the squad you actually have is far more satisfying than assembling eleven famous names.
Take control of your favourite football team in Football Manager 2017, the most realistic and immersive football management game to date. It’s the closest thing to doing the job for real!
The publisher’s description, from its Steam store page.
What it looks like
the store's own shots
The verdict
Play it for the satisfaction of spotting a squad weakness, fixing it and seeing the difference on matchday. The 2016 improvements to player decision-making make your instructions matter visibly, while the squad depth screen makes planning unusually readable. Treat its football world as an alternate history, not a promise of real results: a 2017 experiment couldn't even persuade Neymar to join Paris Saint-Germain. The repeated press questions are the part least worth preserving.
Play it if
You compare player attributes before picking a formation, develop youngsters rather than replace everyone, and enjoy changing your defensive midfield setup after conceding to another long ball.
Skip it if
Anyone who needs direct control of the footballers, or who would abandon a save because the tactical menus don't clearly explain why the team keeps conceding. Staff advice is not a dependable answer to every tactical problem.
Common questions
- Should I choose Football Manager Touch 2017 or the full game?
- Choose Touch for a slimmer management simulation. Choose the full game for more managerial detail; you can delegate most responsibilities other than matchday to staff and take tasks back as you learn.
- What does Brexit do to a British club's save?
- Football Manager 2017 generates different Brexit outcomes rather than following one fixed scenario. The consequences can disrupt squad-building and potentially force changes to a multinational team.
- What is the squad depth screen useful for?
- It brings your options for each position together, helping you test formations and identify where an injury would leave you short. Check it before recruiting: another striker won't fix a shortage elsewhere.
- Why can a player refuse to join after his club accepts my bid?
- Agreeing a fee doesn't guarantee the player wants your club. In a 2017 experiment, Neymar's agent refused negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain because the club wasn't considered big enough, despite sufficient transfer and wage budgets.
What everyone else said
we link, we don't reprintHas it aged?
How does it hold up today? Based on recent reviews, how opinions have changed since launch, player activity and updates.
Too few recent reviews to stand alone, so this leans on its all-time rating.
Reviews via Steam ↗Under 2% of the players it had in its first year.
Player counts via SteamCharts ↗Too few recent reviews to compare with its launch.
No update in the last year.
▲ No longer sold on Steam.