Ways to stop teams bidding for your targets?

I've tried to sign a number of players in my current save only to be pipped at the post by a last minute bid from another club. In my game it seems like Bayern Munich have it in for me and snap up anyone exceptional I come across. Their reputation is a lot higher than mine and it's not suprising that my transfer targets choose to join them over my club.

I've thought that maybe bidding on a few of their players might "distract" them whilst I am discussing a contract with my transfer target. Maybe even exchanging comments with the manager. Perhaps I am just being too hopeful though.

So, my question is - is there a way to stop clubs bidding for players that you are trying to buy?

Not that I'm aware of. I usually pay the agents slightly more than they requested to get the players.

loyalty bonus is a big one... stick a good sum in here above what they ask for and chances are... they'll come to you...

same goes for wages..

I've tried this in the past, but to no avail. I think it's because of the massive difference in reputation.

I might carry out a few tests to see if anything I mentioned has an effect as well as other things.

as far as the distracting thing goes... thats a non starter...

building a rapport with a rival manager is definately viable, but its over seasons that it has an effect... you can't just distract a manager into forgetting to sign a player

as far as the distracting thing goes... thats a non starter...

building a rapport with a rival manager is definately viable, but its over seasons that it has an effect... you can't just distract a manager into forgetting to sign a player

Do you know of any other ways, or is it just random whether they actually decide to make a bid or not?

well no.. its not random... each manager and club have a style of player they will go for and find targets like the player does... this is why you'll find a team will end up buying the same players no matter how many saves you start...

the only way you can persuade a player to sign for you , over a rival with higher rep is to offer more incentives in his contract.... if the rival team is particularly larger and more prestigious... it may take a very very large contract...

as i say... loyalty bonus is the first place to invest as much as you see fit for the player... and then a substantially large wage too ...

it works all the time for me when i get players sign for me for championship sides over top league sides

well no.. its not random... each manager and club have a style of player they will go for and find targets like the player does... this is why you'll find a team will end up buying the same players no matter how many saves you start...

the only way you can persuade a player to sign for you , over a rival with higher rep is to offer more incentives in his contract.... if the rival team is particularly larger and more prestigious... it may take a very very large contract...

as i say... loyalty bonus is the first place to invest as much as you see fit for the player... and then a substantially large wage too ...

it works all the time for me when i get players sign for me for championship sides over top league sides

Thanks for your input.

I was looking for a way to stop a team even bidding for a player, not actually beat them to his signature.

I have just tested this on a player at the moment.

Test environment

Scenario 1: I put in a bid for a player and it was accepted. I offer a contract that I think is fair. Bayern make a bid 2 days later. He joins Bayern 2 days later for a lesser contract than I was offering.

- Reload -

Scenario 2: I put in the same bid for the same player and it was accepted. I offer the same contract. Bayern make a bid 2 days later. He joins Bayern 2 days later for a lesser contract than I was offering.

- Reload -

Scenario 3: I put in the same bid for the sample player and it was accepted. I offer an improved contract to the two previous. Bayern make a bid 2 days later. He joins Bayern 2 days later for a lesser contract than I was offering.

- Reload -

Scenario 4: I put in the same bid for a player and it was accepted. I offer a contract that maxes out all the clauses I had offered previously (within my budget). Bayern do not make a bid for this player. He signs for me around a week later.

- Reload -

Scenario 5: I put in a bid for a player and it was accepted. I offer the same contract as scenario's 1 and 2. Bayern make a bid 2 days later. He joins Bayern 2 days later for a lesser contract than I was offering.

Conclusions

This test is by no means extensive. It was just a short, quick test to see if a team bidding on some players is random and to see if different contract offers makes a difference whether a team bids or not. I'd like to see if the points in highlight in the OP have an effect too.

So, it seems that Bayern do have a keen interest and make a bid on almost every occassion. The scenario where they do not make a bid is when I max out his contract (within my budget). Why would this have an impact on their decision though? They have offered less than I have before and still obatined him (highlighted in the other 4 scenario's). Also, how would they even know what I had offered him?

This is more suited for GD imo. Interesting though.

For FM 10 or 11 (i don't remember) there was a fix.

Just before you make a bid for the player remove him from your shortlist. This usually worked and prevented teams from making bids.

I have experienced this very rarely since FM10. I think your reputation is in a "layer" that makes you a viable target for very good players, while these players are of such a quality that Bayern is also interested. I mostly get to sign my targets undisturbed, so I think there's not many who experience this.

Those instances I do get competition for a signature I tend to win, though.

Here's some strategies to consider:

* As has been said above, Loyalty bonus (bribe) is highly valued by the AI

* So is Minimum Fee Release Clause. If you set it to x5-10 of the transfer fee in the first negotiation - and then cut it in half when they have given you their first (and only) counter-offer, which will include that clause, they will consider that a much better offer.

* Strangely, Team of the Year-bonus is a major selling-point. After they accept the original bonus offer, max it out and they will love it!

Of course, as the OP said - these players move to Bayern on a less wage than he offered, indicating that he will have to impress them with silly wages for them to consider moving there. I'd say that doing that is not a good, long-term strategy. I sign players that are moving UP the ladder rather than down; this may be why I have little competition for my signings.

From the test I conducted, why would the change in contract affect whether or not Bayern made an offer though?

From the test I conducted, why would the change in contract affect whether or not Bayern made an offer though?

It wouldn't, but the problem is that you don't get the players, not that other clubs are also bidding.

From the test I conducted, why would the change in contract affect whether or not Bayern made an offer though?

It could be that the AI knows what you have offered contract wise and decided not to match it, which in itself is a bug of sorts.

It wouldn't, but the problem is that you don't get the players, not that other clubs are also bidding.

In scenario 4 I do get the player. Bayern don't bid. All the other scenarios they bid in and sign the player.

It could be that the AI knows what you have offered contract wise and decided not to match it, which in itself is a bug of sorts.

The AI should not know what I am offering. Again, they have also offered less than me before and still managed to sign him. When I say I "maxed out" in scenario 4 this only increased amount slightly, not by huge amounts. I was trying to carry out the test within my current budget.

If you bid for a player, take him off your shortlist immediately before proceeding with the game. If you offer him a contract, do the same before hitting confirm and it will cut down the chances of other teams bidding.

The AI should not know what I am offering. Again, they have also offered less than me before and still managed to sign him. When I say I "maxed out" in scenario 4 this only increased amount slightly, not by huge amounts. I was trying to carry out the test within my current budget.

Thats what im saying, the fact teh AI knows what you have offered is a bug, but it may be the fact that this is the actually reason. IT may be slightly more but is still significant enough for them not to offer more as they dont value that player as much as what you offer.

If you bid for a player, take him off your shortlist immediately before proceeding with the game. If you offer him a contract, do the same before hitting confirm and it will cut down the chances of other teams bidding.

The test scenario is saved just before the contract is offered. Should I remove him from my shortlist now or after the contract has been submitted?

It could be that the AI knows what you have offered contract wise and decided not to match it, which in itself is a bug of sorts.

im not sure this would be classed as a bug because in real life the agent would prob give this information to Bayern, maybe not specifics, just that a club has offered terms which are very impressive, a lot goes on behind closed doors to keep interested parties updated. then again, irl im sure the intial sounding out of the player is also done thru the agent, which isnt simulated in the game.

If you bid for a player, take him off your shortlist immediately before proceeding with the game. If you offer him a contract, do the same before hitting confirm and it will cut down the chances of other teams bidding.

Interesting. Will definitely give this try.

my advise in this thread btw, whilst maybe not ideal,

have a few targets for that same position in your squad, bid all at same time, if Bayern bids on all 3 then something is clearly awry(sp?), but if they consistently only go for this one player for this one position he is obv a big target they wish for.

edit - im also interested to know how u came across these rivalled players, were they found from extensive scouting/come across them in match or whilst browsing teams squads or did u get offered them by agent/found them in very basic scouting run which is easy to come across. Not sure if this will make a difference into who is known by which team.

i have to say although im playing as Aston Villa and dont have the best scouting network ever known, i rarely have such big problem as you suggest regarding rival contracts for my targets

also what size database are you using, could it be that your db is to small and thus not many players to pick from so u get lots of clubs attacking same players with bids?

You can't stop a team bidding just because you have made a bid. Remember it works both ways, I have lots of players on my shortlist and as soon as I get a news item that another team has made a bid for a player, I often make a bid myself.

There is one way of avoiding it; Just bid for rubbish players that nobody else wants!

my advise in this thread btw, whilst maybe not ideal,

have a few targets for that same position in your squad, bid all at same time, if Bayern bids on all 3 then something is clearly awry(sp?), but if they consistently only go for this one player for this one position he is obv a big target they wish for.

edit - im also interested to know how u came across these rivalled players, were they found from extensive scouting/come across them in match or whilst browsing teams squads or did u get offered them by agent/found them in very basic scouting run which is easy to come across. Not sure if this will make a difference into who is known by which team.

i have to say although im playing as Aston Villa and dont have the best scouting network ever known, i rarely have such big problem as you suggest regarding rival contracts for my targets

also what size database are you using, could it be that your db is to small and thus not many players to pick from so u get lots of clubs attacking same players with bids?

The player i tested this on is quite well known but not immensely. Obviously, this means that larger clubs will be aware of him but this still doesn't explain why they don't bid in scenario 4.

You can't stop a team bidding just because you have made a bid. Remember it works both ways, I have lots of players on my shortlist and as soon as I get a news item that another team has made a bid for a player, I often make a bid myself.

There is one way of avoiding it; Just bid for rubbish players that nobody else wants!

I know I have no right to stop rival clubs bidding, but I want to and will make every possible effort to beat them to his signature.

when offering a contract negociate untill the agent says something like: " i'm getting tired of these negociations...' and then give the player the contract his agents demands and tick the Non-Negotiable box. The agent will agree terms and the player will sign for u. If an agent accepts a Non-Negociable offer then the player will sign for u regardless of other offers

The fact that other teams bid for your targets shouldn't be a problem unless they bid first and u don't have the money to bid in which case u shouldn't keep the player on shortlist. I noticed that if u shortlist a player other teams become interested and even bid for him.

Maybe the reason why Bayern doesn't seem to bid for the player in your scenario 4 could be due to the way transfers work in that you're immediately asked to offer a contract after a transfer bid has been accepted. What I mean is that maybe Bayern still does make a transfer bid on the targeted player but its not showing up as that they had because the contract negotiations fall apart due to you having offered a whole bunch of money/clauses and the agent/player is not willing to accept the lower wage from Bayern anymore because they have a higher sense of their value now. So while Bayern still makes a transfer bid with the other team, since the contract negotiations does not work out, you never actually see the fact that they had made a transfer offer since you wouldn't be aware of it. No idea if this is how it works but its a possible explanation