Most outrageous contract demands you've had?

[Chalky1989]

I'm in 2021 with Valencia on my save, and I've been offered Yann M'Vila for a million in Januarary, but then saw his contract is up at the end of the season at Chelsea. He's currently on 180,000 per week, with reasonable bonuses, fairly standard for Chelsea 10 years into the game. However, he's played 2 league games in the past season and a half, is massively out of favour and transfer listed. I was tempted to offer him a chance of redemption at the top club. Was expecting that as he wasn't getting games, and we'd basically be doing him a favour, that he'd accept a bit less in the way of wages, maybe around the 120,000-150,000 region(I've got plenty of room in the wage budget, and there's a Tycoon owner at the club before I arrived). What does he ask? 250,000 per week, 5 mill each in agent and signing on fees, 30k appearance fees, and a miniscule 5 million release fee clause. On your bike my son!

That said I'm going to keep an eye on him and see if he'll negotiate lower at the end of the season if not already joining someone else. Need a good DM/CM I can rotate with Moussa Sissoko for a season or two until I think my youth prospect is ready to take that spot and make it his own.

Anyway, who are the greediest players on your game?

[ManUTactician247]

Playing as Tamworth in the BSN, there are players that are on 5 quid a week, expecting me to pay 22 times that amount when they have never played for me, off you go then.

[Doc5150]

Im in my 2nd season as Villa. Kaka has been listed since the 1st window. No one has come in for him & Real offer him all the time. He never plays. I think he is on 185k. He is interested in coming but his agent demands are killing me. The biggest contract turned down is 180K per week rising to E240 after 30 games.50% pay rise each year, 40k appearance & 40K goal & 40k & 4.9m signing on fees for both him & his agent! THATS A HUGE DEAL!! Rejected. Wants all the adds on + starting wage of 280K!!

Im the only team interested? I guess he doesnt really want to come to Villa. It makes me sad...

[AcidBurn]

I paid Messi 300k a game and the same per goal and per appearance when I did a Man City game. Other than that I tried to sign Lescott for my Leicester side in the 3rd season and he wanted 180k a week despite being in the reserves and transfer listed.

[LFCLibertine]

I seem to be getting more and more 14/15 year olds demanding £3-5k per week which is massive for my club. Pretty annoying.

[stevie_G_32201]

I once tried to sign messi, he wanted 375,000 a week, 100,000 appearance and goal bonuses, 50,000 team of the year but thats not the worst part. 10 million signing fee and his agent wanted 35 bloody million.

[Ion4]

I once tried to sign messi, he wanted 375,000 a week, 100,000 appearance and goal bonuses, 50,000 team of the year but thats not the worst part. 10 million signing fee and his agent wanted 35 bloody million.

When faced with this, one clicks the 'walk away' button very quickly.

[Things Could Get Messi]

not a bad one in comparison to you lot. had aaron lennon on 35k a week, easily my top earner on a 3 year deal. 2 years later he wanted 74k a week, 2.1m signing fee, 2.1m agent fee, 5m release fee. erm no thanks!

[VonBlade]

Usually it's guys on 20k who suddenly want 150k and then sign elsewhere for 24 or something. Grrr.

[Gourcuff20]

In my long-term save I was coaching Real Madrid and this talented Dutch AMC with a salary of 21 million per year (whom I personally discovered while I was at Ajax, then I brought him with me at Roma, then he left for Real and, surprise, I got appointed there too - so he had me as fave person plus he won everything possible with me as his manager - so he was motivated to stay and loved the club) asked for... *drumrolls* 38 million euros per year (around 730k euro p/w) plus outrageous agent and sign-on fees :-) I obviously tried to negotiate, but I had to sell him quite cheap because his contract would have expired in one-year time. I never looked back at him since :-)

[DanSpur]

I looked up Ross Barkley on my game, 2018/19, and he's at Aberdeen. Joined on a free after being released by Everton. He's not doing so well.

He was on £2k a week. I had a bid accepted, he wanted £180k a week from me. Hm. No?

[Camb0dia]

One thing i have found when resigning guys is that the squad role has a huge part in what they want. I was trying to sign Lucas (the sao paolo one not liverpool) and he wanted 50k a week, as soon as i changed his squad status to rotation from backup he went to 77k even though he didn;t ask for it immediately

[ironix]

Playing as Tamworth in the BSN, there are players that are on 5 quid a week, expecting me to pay 22 times that amount when they have never played for me, off you go then.

Offer them the same pay(I normally give them a 10-20% raise) but reduce the wage rise after x matches from 20 to 15 and set that to 100-150% what they are asking for. If they want £110 per week, give them £6 per week and £110-150 after 15 matches.

[dSquib]

a 16 year old "hot prospect" demanding first team status and 30-odd grand a week. It's generally frustrating trying to get a 30+ year old to gradually reduce their wages, particularly if they are legendary at the club.

[The drummer from Fairuza]

I've only played the FM2011 demo, so have no experience of contracts in that version of the game. Sounds to me like the contract system needs a bit of work to make it realistic. Hopefully, FM2012 has sorted this out.

I've no problem with superstars looking for big-money contracts, but young players, or journeyman footballers looking for 150k a week MORE than they are currently on, is just not realistic.

[joe the barber]

I had Lassana Diarra on loan at my Liverpool team once in the second half of the 2010-11 season. After a successful stint I made a bid which was successful and was willing to match his £350k p/m wages but he wouldn't budge from his £550k p/m so no deal. His contract ran out the following year so I tried to sign him on a free (he couldn't get a game at Real Madrid) but by then he wanted £650k p/m and a hefty signing on fee as well. Then he ends up signing for Arsenal on a free on £215k p/m. I know the lure of London, but he was a key player for me and we won the cup and challenged for the title so it's not like it was that much of a step down (and I finished higher than Arsenal in both seasons as well).

[NUFCAlex]

I have a question about the private chat option to tell your player to reduce their wages demands which is always greyed out for me even when talks to sign a new contract break down. Has anyone ever used this and if so when does it become an available option?

Also regarding this thread, has anyone noticed that a player they have failed to agree wages with will sign for a different club on less money than they were demanding from you ?? I have noticed this a few times.

[Herter]

I cant remember the exact numbers but I've had some players suddenly demand 10-20 times their current wage. Sure they might deserve a raise, but really?

[Gourcuff20]

I have a question about the private chat option to tell your player to reduce their wages demands which is always greyed out for me even when talks to sign a new contract break down. Has anyone ever used this and if so when does it become an available option?

Also regarding this thread, has anyone noticed that a player they have failed to agree wages with will sign for a different club on less money than they were demanding from you ?? I have noticed this a few times.

I am never able to use that option either and yes, not once or twice, it's almost happening all the time to me that a player that I sell because he demanded outrageous wages moves onto another team with a crappier salary than he had in the first place, although I was offering First Team or Key Player status.

[NUFCAlex]

yep and its not just a tiny dip they've taken to join a different club but a massive difference. I dont recall the exact details but i had one player who was demanding about 20 grand a week to join my team which i couldnt do as my budget was already overstretched so talks broke down and before long he joined another team in the same division for about 12k per week. Needless to say i added a crude nickname for this player in game

[VonBlade]

I have a question about the private chat option to tell your player to reduce their wages demands which is always greyed out for me even when talks to sign a new contract break down. Has anyone ever used this and if so when does it become an available option?

Also regarding this thread, has anyone noticed that a player they have failed to agree wages with will sign for a different club on less money than they were demanding from you ?? I have noticed this a few times.

1) Your club needs to be in financial trouble for this to be un-greyed. Even then...

2) Yes, loads.

[Chalky1989]

Update on M'Vila.....it's now April, no team has agreed a deal with him. I decided to make another enquiry. He's now asking for 275k per week...on what planet does that make sense....he's in a worse bargaining position than he was before, he's getting closer and closer to not having a club paying him anything whatsoever....

[heathxxx]

One of the reasons why in my successful Granada CF save, after many frustrating attempts to sign some "star" players, I gave up and developed youngsters and newgens instead.

Certain "named" players often wanted far more than they were worth, though the rapid increase in my club reputation, along with gradual increase of club wealth, will probably have contributed towards that. Like others though, it's rather frustrating when a player wants a huge wage several times what they're currently earning, along with massive fees and a derisory release clause. The only way around the huge wage and stupidly low release clause, seems to be an unreasonably large agent fee and signing on fee for the player. Some players and agents won't budge whatever you offer though.

When it comes to newgen players, providing they're signed before their ability and reputation start to rocket, I've found I can then keep them happy on much lower contracts than "named" players would be willing to accept, for much longer. Indeed my current batch of newgens are probably nearing their peak, are all first team regulars rating amongst the best players in the game now, but are still well below 40k p/w, some as low as only 10k p/w. This with a club that's now financially quite wealthy and dominating on all fronts for trophies for the last few years.

One extreme to the other really.

As for the most outrageous negotiations I had... Probably Iker Munian from Athletic Bilbao. Attempted to sign several times during the second and third seasons of my save. Each time he wanted in excess of 200k p/w, huge fees and a release clause that was half what I was going to pay his club. My rule of thumb with a release clause, is to get as high as possible, or at least enough to recoup the transfer fee, signing on fees, plus the equivalent of their wages over the course of their contract. Essentially, to get back all the money my club has spent on the player, as a minimum. I doubt any club wouldn't want to protect their "investment" in a similar way I look to do.

Incidentally, he remained at Athletic Bilbao on around 20k p/w or so. When he did renew his contract, it was for an increase of only around 10k p/w. He had one good season and was then pretty average for goals, assists and match ratings. I would have been prepared to offer him around 50k p/w plus bonus payments and a structured wage increase based on performance.

[Simply Perfect]

A newgen named Polaco, playing for Bordeaux on a modest contract (£40k p/w). His demands, after the £45.5m fee, are £300k p/w and £6m for him and his agent, plus massive bonuses. His agent now hates me. I'm not going to try to sign him again until he fires his agent.

[blueowl]

Yeah I had a few of players asking for 300/350k a week on my gainsborough trinity save, Seemed to happen as the footballer was about to decline in skill too so I always sold them. (Not that I could have kept them if I had wanted)

[Unknown Hacker]

I tried to sneak in and grab Danny Guthrie from Hibs as Spurs coach. He was on £25,000 a week and when I tried to offer him a contract with the role of backup he asked for £115,000 a week. No thanks.

I got him down to £75,000 a week but then he hardly played anyway and is currently rotting in my reserves until I can mutually terminate him.

[Dekker2]

Update on M'Vila.....it's now April, no team has agreed a deal with him. I decided to make another enquiry. He's now asking for 275k per week...on what planet does that make sense....he's in a worse bargaining position than he was before, he's getting closer and closer to not having a club paying him anything whatsoever....

One thing I will say is that this is not a "worse bargaining position" at all. Players who run down their contracts do so because it is hugely advantageous to their future wage- a club that hasn't had to pay a big transfer fee for you will generally agree to pay you a higher wage than otherwise. Or they will pay you a massive signing on fee.

This is why Sol Campbell is one of the richest English footballers- he got a massive financial package when siging for Arsenal on a free (and then invested it wisely).


If he waits til June, there might be a few clubs coming off a bad end to the season, who would offer big wages for a quality midfielder with no transfer fee attached. And then he'd be kicking himself for having signed with you in April. Now if you came in for him in January is that he would have an extra half-season at a top club- once that avenue had passed, there's no point him signing before June.

If you want him in April, you'll still want him in June, and perhaps there'll be some competition to drive up your offer.

That might not be how the game calculates it- this might just be the AI being screwy- but I think the effect is realistic.

[Harper]

Some 18-19 year old Brazilian newgen wanted First Team squad status and wanted £87k per week. That would be tied for third highest on my squad (behind Wilshere, Szczesny, and tied with Müller)

[Chalky1989]

One thing I will say is that this is not a "worse bargaining position" at all. Players who run down their contracts do so because it is hugely advantageous to their future wage- a club that hasn't had to pay a big transfer fee for you will generally agree to pay you a higher wage than otherwise. Or they will pay you a massive signing on fee.

This is why Sol Campbell is one of the richest English footballers- he got a massive financial package when siging for Arsenal on a free (and then invested it wisely).


If he waits til June, there might be a few clubs coming off a bad end to the season, who would offer big wages for a quality midfielder with no transfer fee attached. And then he'd be kicking himself for having signed with you in April. Now if you came in for him in January is that he would have an extra half-season at a top club- once that avenue had passed, there's no point him signing before June.

If you want him in April, you'll still want him in June, and perhaps there'll be some competition to drive up your offer.

That might not be how the game calculates it- this might just be the AI being screwy- but I think the effect is realistic.

Fair point. He ended up re-signing with Chelsea and taking a 55kpw pay cut...I'd offered him more than that, and he'd fallen out with Chelsea prior to that as well. So I don't think the game is working as it should.

[av3ry]

Joaquin, £105k per week.

[aderow]

I once had a 16 yr old demand something like 50,000 a week.

[rich74]

ive had a agent wanting 10 million i was trying to sign pastore the agent did have a intense hatred of me

[Motherlover]

ive had a agent wanting 10 million i was trying to sign pastore the agent did have a intense hatred of me

In the business they call that a Distasteful Personality Compensation Fee. Perfectly normal. I expect you see them all the time

[Bantam Searley95]

£4,000 from Sean Thornton to join a 4th division club

[newcastleunitedfc]

playin me newcastle game joey barton in the last year of this contract! hes on 70k a week ave offernd him a contract off 50k his agent turned it down fair enough. 6 month left same again! no probs! 3 months left offerend him 60k turned it down, so he left! a offerend him a tral in the summer his agent said hes does not want to sign for us! hes now playing for dundee in scotland for 5k aweek! wot aload ov poo!!!!!!!!!!

[GR Choke]

i have unlimited funds because i use FMRTE and a 16 year old wanted £4m a week

[Reccy]

I am AC Milan, Van Der Vart was leaving at the end of his contract, he was going to be a backup for me, as i was short on Midfielders and he had decent stats and i've always admired him, but he wanted £140,000 a week, he played 3 games last season for Spurs and 2 the previous season.
He eventually moved to Wolves, for £21,000.

[jozza800]

I am AC Milan, Van Der Vart was leaving at the end of his contract, he was going to be a backup for me, as i was short on Midfielders and he had decent stats and i've always admired him, but he wanted £140,000 a week, he played 3 games last season for Spurs and 2 the previous season.
He eventually moved to Wolves, for £21,000.

This is the bit that really annoys me. I don't mind the outragous contract demands but when they move to another club a few days later on a fraction of what they wanted it infuriates. I'm always 'Well if you were willing to accept 25k a week i would have happilly given you 40k a week, but nooo, you wanted 250k and wouldnt budge!!'

Im currently playing in India and so far ALL of my contract renewals have been for less than they were on! I have managed to reduce my wage bill by a 3rd over the space of 1 preseason.

[Lem]

Pretty much anyone and everyone, it's so blatantly bugged. 31 year olds declining in stats want a 50% rise! I've got a 35 odd year old Pastore who still wants over 100k a week.
16 year olds wanting 50k+ a week. They all sign elsewhere for far less. Gets a bit tiresome being punished for being successful.

[Reccy]

This is the bit that really annoys me. I don't mind the outragous contract demands but when they move to another club a few days later on a fraction of what they wanted it infuriates. I'm always 'Well if you were willing to accept 25k a week i would have happilly given you 40k a week, but nooo, you wanted 250k and wouldnt budge!!'

Im currently playing in India and so far ALL of my contract renewals have been for less than they were on! I have managed to reduce my wage bill by a 3rd over the space of 1 preseason.

Just had another one - Zlatan Ibrahimović - My 2nd striker has produced far more goals than he has, and he wanted 210k a week at 34.. Not a chance, he left on the free, to Palemo, 36k a week he now earns.. The board hate me for letting him go, and to kick a Welsh man with his pants down, he scores 4 goals against me (in 2 matches, 3 in one and a pen in the other)

[manchester]

Messi wanted 300K PER WEEK

[jozza800]

That's a bargain for Messi, and would have happily paid it. But he wanted 450k pe, which again would have happily paid but the board wouldn't give me the extra 90k. So I had to release him... he signed for Boca jnrs a week later on 35k pw. Not happy!

[Nico]

Signed Esteban Granero for Everton on a free from RM, during which time helped me to two league titles and two champions league finals (a win and a loss).

After signing an extension a few seasons back he's got two years left and is on about £60'000 a week. Renegotiations start and he sits steadfastly on £170'000 a week, wont go any lower.

I figure I've got plenty of time and he'll lower it at some point. So I wait it out and go back to him every few months and see what his stance is; His wage demands never go lower than £170'000, whilst he's a decent player he'd not worth anywhere near that much and by this stage he's getting on in years.

I again figure that I'll give him to the end of the contract by which time he'll lower his demands to be paid £90'000 more than anyone else at the club.

Contract end comes and goes and he refuses to accept a penny less than the aforementioned £170'000 a week. So I let him go.......

to Wolfsburg where he earns £35'000 a week.