Fix the transfer system

[BiggusD]

You always completely over exaggerate the situation, every time. Its no where near as bad as your posts make out. Yes we all know the AI needs to improve in the long term, but its not the complete disaster you always make it out to be. The AI buys players, it replaces bad players, it replaces old players, it doesnt always make the best signing avaliable, but thats not really the worst thing every. The AI develops young players if they are good enough, the AI goes after good young players, what it doesnt have is the foresight we have when it comes to squad building so in the long term their squads will never be as good as ours.

Well, to be honest my holiday save (2019) saw most big clubs spending £20-60m most years, with the exception of Barcelona and Real Madrid (the latter apparently panicked after years of no big signings by two consecutive seasons spending 60 millions towards the end of this test save). These transfers were only from a small club to a big club, though. I didn't see any of the big 10 swapping big-name players like they do in real life (Kaka, Zlatan).

So transfers are not awful between the AI clubs. I am not exaggerating anything. There are logical, good signings for AI clubs, but there seems to be very little deliberateness behind those instances - they appear to be random. In my post above I requested less randomness and suggested that the game goes through an "official" in/out planning event every year so that the AI gets a plan of action for the season (and maybe a long-term one as well).

How's that for doomsaying?

[milnerpoint]

Like ive already said, if the transfer fee is next to nothing, teams will use some of their transfer budget to balance the wage. I think AcidBurn has already pointed out about transfering transfer budget to wages. Whether the AI does this under certain situations is another issue, but should be a realistic posibility.

If Ronaldo is on say £200k p/w Plently of teams will either be able to offer say £120k p/w and add a large signing on fee to counter the drop in wage, or simply convert £10-20m or whatever they are comfortable with of their transfer budget into wages over the ength of the contract. That way the club isnt out of pocket and neither is the player.

Maybe the game AI isnt intelligent enough to do this yet. If it isnt, its something that should be looked into for the future. If it already is and its not doing it, there is a problem. Either way there is a problem.

Well to begin with the team would need to have room on their wage budget, yes they may have transfer money left over but your looking at an out lay of around £20m to sign a free player, money obviously going on wages, signing on fee's, and agent fee's. Then you have his incredible wages to cover, roughly £10m a year, so before you know it, this free bargin has cost you £30m.

Your second paragraph seems to suggest Ronaldo would be willing to drop his wages and move on. Who says he would take a lesser wage to play for a lesser team?

[Äktsjon Männ]

Top 6 in England!!?? We're talking about arguably the worlds very best player, he is not going to sign for anyone, especially not him, he knows how good he is, he is not going to sign for anyone not in with a realistic shout of winning everything they compete in. Again, who is going to pay his wages, Arsenal definitely will not pay, Liverpool could not afford him, Chelsea maybe, United probably, City def, so we have 2 maybes and 1 def in the worlds richest league. Sponsor magic doesnt happen in game and yes before you say it maybe they should add it, but its so rare its not worth worrying about.

Oh come on! Liverpool just spent £35m on Andy freaking Carroll and you're saying they wouldn't pay Cristiano Ronaldo the same money in wages. Chelsea, United, City - there isn't even a hint of a question, they'd all cough it up without thinking twice. Would he play for them, who knows (only god ofc), but they'd all at least try to offer him something.

[YAY]

Well to begin with the team would need to have room on their wage budget, yes they may have transfer money left over but your looking at an out lay of around £20m to sign a free player, money obviously going on wages, signing on fee's, and agent fee's. Then you have his incredible wages to cover, roughly £10m a year, so before you know it, this free bargin has cost you £30m.

Your second paragraph seems to suggest Ronaldo would be willing to drop his wages and move on. Who says he would take a lesser wage to play for a lesser team?

No if you read what I said I never said he would drop his wage. On paper it appears he's dropped his wage but the nice £10m lump sum in his pocket as a signing on fee counters the apparant loss in wage. He can either have a lower wage on paper and a lump sum in his pocket, or the club uses the lump sum on the wages to make it up. I thought that was clear enough?

[milnerpoint]

Oh come on! Liverpool just spent £35m on Andy freaking Carroll and you're saying they wouldn't pay Cristiano Ronaldo the same money in wages. Chelsea' date=' United, City - there isn't even a hint of a question, they'd all cough it up without thinking twice. Would he play for them, who knows (only god ofc), but they'd all at least try to offer him something.[/quote']

Exactly, they have just spent £35M on Carrol, another 20 odd on Suarez, they dont have endless buckets of money to sign any player. But it still comes back to the point he would probably have no interest in even discussing the move to them, so in game they wouldnt waste their time trying.

[x42bn6]

Top 6 in England!!?? We're talking about arguably the worlds very best player, he is not going to sign for anyone, especially not him, he knows how good he is, he is not going to sign for anyone not in with a realistic shout of winning everything they compete in. Again, who is going to pay his wages, Arsenal definitely will not pay, Liverpool could not afford him, Chelsea maybe, United probably, City def, so we have 2 maybes and 1 def in the worlds richest league. Sponsor magic doesnt happen in game and yes before you say it maybe they should add it, but its so rare its not worth worrying about.

It happens fairly frequently in South America via agents and third-parties, and United tried to do something similar for Sneijder to offset his wages.

Liverpool have blown £100m this window, so clearly are willing to spend. Spurs have spare cash and would be able to offer him a huge bonus. Arsenal would definitely be tempted even if they are not traditional spenders, since Ronaldo would fix their commercial revenue in one shot.

Every team that can afford a similar contract as he is on now (understanding that Ronaldo will pay that off himself in the future anyway) should be looking at Ronaldo and seeing what they can offer that distinguishes them from other teams, since they have the transfer and wages pretty much settled.

Even if Chelsea, United and City would be the only interested clubs, that's still more than the OP's single Chelsea bidder, who even insists on negotiating what is essentially a free lunch.

[milnerpoint]

No if you read what I said I never said he would drop his wage. On paper it appears he's dropped his wage but the nice £10m lump sum in his pocket as a signing on fee counters the apparant loss in wage. He can either have a lower wage on paper and a lump sum in his pocket, or the club uses the lump sum on the wages to make it up. I thought that was clear enough?

He would ask for that £10m no matter what, your not going to get a player like Ronaldo on the cheap, he is going to want the world in signing on fee's AND wages, that before we get into the things not included in FM.

[YAY]

Exactly, they have just spent £35 on Carrol, another 20 odd on Suarez, they dont have endless buckets of money to sign any player. But it still comes back to the point he would probably have no interest in even discussing the move to them, so in game they wouldnt waste their time trying.

Like I said before, using that logic, Anzhi wouldnt have even bothered talking to Eto'o. As you said yourself, you dont know whats going to happen. So when you say, 'Ronaldo would have no interest in even discussing a move so Liverpool wouldnt bother asking' is contradicting yourself.

[x42bn6]

Exactly, they have just spent £35 on Carrol, another 20 odd on Suarez, they dont have endless buckets of money to sign any player. But it still comes back to the point he would probably have no interest in even discussing the move to them, so in game they wouldnt waste their time trying.

There's no point in mentioning transfer fees as Ronaldo is being offered out for £40k. Ronaldo is basically free, except for the wages, but will bring huge commercial returns to pay that off, and then some.

He might not be interested in Liverpool but it is interesting to see what money can do.

Liverpool can afford him - therefore they have a fighting chance, and therefore should bid.

[JamboSteven]

If you release him from the club do other clubs begin approaching him?

[YAY]

He would ask for that £10m no matter what, your not going to get a player like Ronaldo on the cheap, he is going to want the world in signing on fee's AND wages, that before we get into the things not included in FM.

Its all if's and but's anyway so theres no point in arguing. But you admitted yourself with the Eto'o/Anzhi situation that sometimes the unthinkable does happen. So saying Ronaldo would only possibly sign for 4 teams and wouldnt even consider the others is nonsense

[milnerpoint]

It happens fairly frequently in South America via agents and third-parties, and United tried to do something similar for Sneijder to offset his wages.

Liverpool have blown £100m this window, so clearly are willing to spend. Spurs have spare cash and would be able to offer him a huge bonus. Arsenal would definitely be tempted even if they are not traditional spenders, since Ronaldo would fix their commercial revenue in one shot.

Every team that can afford a similar contract as he is on now (understanding that Ronaldo will pay that off himself in the future anyway) should be looking at Ronaldo and seeing what they can offer that distinguishes them from other teams, since they have the transfer and wages pretty much settled.

Even if Chelsea, United and City would be the only interested clubs, that's still more than the OP's single Chelsea bidder, who even insists on negotiating what is essentially a free lunch.

Third party ownership is something different and not in the game because its not yet acceptable over here, maybe if this rule was relaxed i could agree more with what your saying. Also there was a rumour united tried something like that, nothing proven im afraid so pointless using it as an example.

Your right Liverpool have already overspent, so no room to sign another £30m player, Arsenal would not break their wage structure, they have made that obvious with their recent transfer dealings.

Ronaldo MAY pay off his wages, but if he gets a triple leg break in his first training session your going to have a very very expensive weight around your neck, unless your certain of success its too much of a risk, no club is going to risk its future on the off chance it works out for them, but then if we are going down the old "realistic" argument, would it not start bells ringing that the worlds best player is avaliable for £40k?

[milnerpoint]

There's no point in mentioning transfer fees as Ronaldo is being offered out for £40k. Ronaldo is basically free, except for the wages, but will bring huge commercial returns to pay that off, and then some.

He might not be interested in Liverpool but it is interesting to see what money can do.

Liverpool can afford him - therefore they have a fighting chance, and therefore should bid.

Meh last post on this we could go round and round for weeks, i think im right you think your right, lets just leave it at that.

[Jimmy_Jambo]

Exactly, they have just spent £35M on Carrol, another 20 odd on Suarez, they dont have endless buckets of money to sign any player. But it still comes back to the point he would probably have no interest in even discussing the move to them, so in game they wouldnt waste their time trying.

But you dont know that do you? Your PRESUMING they wouldnt and they cant. The shirt sales alone (IRL, not sure they are incorporated into the game) would see his first year pay free for the club.

Every club in the world would bid for him at 40k, its as simpel as that.

[Crispypaul]

I love the fact that some people really think Cristiano Ronaldo would ever consider joining Spurs ("Top 6 club in England").

If you're going to feed through an unrealistic situation of offering out one of the best players in the world for 40 grand don't expect to get a realistic offer.

[Kuchiki]

transfer system is so lame I cant even get a loan bid for joe cole or aquilani even though Liverpool would pay all their wages...theres no excuse for this and your deluding yourself if you even try to come up with an excuse for this scenario. It was highlighted last year and they still haven't tried to improve the transfer system for the new release, but as long as SI rake in new income for the same game they'll be happy. Won't be buying next years game cuz SI dont care about actually making a game the fans wanna play, their only interested in the money.

[Jimmy_Jambo]

I love the fact that some people really think Cristiano Ronaldo would ever consider joining Spurs ("Top 6 club in England").

If you're going to feed through an unrealistic situation of offering out one of the best players in the world for 40 grand don't expect to get a realistic offer.

Prove please. Thank you.

[x42bn6]

Your right Liverpool have already overspent, so no room to sign another £30m player,

The OP offered him out for £40k. The transfer fee is immaterial in this case.

Arsenal would not break their wage structure, they have made that obvious with their recent transfer dealings.

I think they would seriously consider breaking it for Ronaldo, a player whom has many years in front of him and would boost their revenue streams by a huge amount, especially since they are lacking with the sponsorship deals they have, tied into the Emirates deal a long time ago. They are unlikely to break it for a very good player, but they may well break it with one of the best players in the world.

Ronaldo MAY pay off his wages, but if he gets a triple leg break in his first training session your going to have a very very expensive weight around your neck,

Insurance would cover that in reality. Plus every transfer carries this risk. Ronaldo will likely be tied down to a long-term contract in this case, as it helps amortisation and reduces the risk.

Triple leg breaks are overwhelmingly unlikely and no transfer breaks down because of this miniscule chance, unless that player is extremely injury-prone (and Ronaldo isn't - he's a machine who almost never gets injured). If you sign Ronaldo, there is a very, very good chance you will not see him suffer too many serious injuries.

unless your certain of success its too much of a risk

Nothing is certain. But in Ronaldo's case, a player of proven quality and fitness, it's a pretty good bet.

no club is going to risk its future on the off chance it works out for them,

Every club does. If they didn't risk their future, they would not run a football club, which is easily one of the riskiest businesses in the world.

but then if we are going down the old "realistic" argument, would it not start bells ringing that the worlds best player is avaliable for £40k?

No, it wouldn't, as we all know about Ronaldo's professionalism and fitness. A player who plays 50-60 games per season, a challenger for the Balon d'Or and scores bucketloads without trying.

It's stupid that he's being offered out for that price, but given we know how good Ronaldo is, it is likely down to the manager, rather than Ronaldo. In other words, Ronaldo hasn't changed, so if you can afford his (relatively miniscule) transfer fee and wages, you should bid.

[Al_Pacino]

transfer system is so lame I cant even get a loan bid for joe cole or aquilani even though Liverpool would pay all their wages...theres no excuse for this and your deluding yourself if you even try to come up with an excuse for this scenario. It was highlighted last year and they still haven't tried to improve the transfer system for the new release, but as long as SI rake in new income for the same game they'll be happy. Won't be buying next years game cuz SI dont care about actually making a game the fans wanna play, their only interested in the money.

I agree with most of your post, aside from the "Si are only interested in the money" part. From playing FM this past few days, it's blatantly clear that the makers put an incredible amount of work into it - I've never seen so much information, options and detail.

Having said that, I did try and sell a few players earlier there. Really good players for really stupidly low money and there wasn't a single offer. That doesn't make sense.

In the transfer window (in real life), players are bought and sold all over the place, even really crap players (somebody will always want that extra man even for cover), but I'm seeing hardly any movement in FM12. That doesn't make sense.

[milnerpoint]

The £30m was in reference to his signing on fee's and wages for a year, nothing to do with anyone paying a transfer fee, £30m for him would be too little anyway. I do laugh that your trying to get a realistic result, whilst at the same time arguing it could be realistic to see Ronaldo offered out for £40k. Whatever floats your boat i guess.

But then i guess its not unrealistic to maybe see Messi in a Wigan shirt in 5 years time, after all, who knows.

[milnerpoint]

Actually one last point, not connected to Ronaldo.

Outwith the top leauges and a few select championship clubs, there is very little money going about, especially in lower league football, you will find there is a huge number of free transfer dealings going on, so far in my 6 seasons i have seen SPL clubs make massive changes, but very few players bought for money, if your trying to shift your rubbish player for money you will probably struggle, almost all clubs at that level deal with free transfers and short term contracts, your not going to sell tons of players every year, infact you will do well to take anymore in for your players.

[BossAsianMafia]

A really good piece of simulation software (which FM wants to be) should be resilient enough to handle unrealistic scenarios such as these. While the example is a bit extreme, the game is littered with examples of good footballers for sale with no interests (see various posts on Aquilani and Joe Cole). As usual, some people are defending the game for defending's sake.

[YAY]

Actually one last point, not connected to Ronaldo.

Outwith the top leauges and a few select championship clubs, there is very little money going about, especially in lower league football, you will find there is a huge number of free transfer dealings going on, so far in my 6 seasons i have seen SPL clubs make massive changes, but very few players bought for money, if your trying to shift your rubbish player for money you will probably struggle, almost all clubs at that level deal with free transfers and short term contracts, your not going to sell tons of players every year, infact you will do well to take anymore in for your players.

How do you explain a 24 year old Danny Welbeck who is valued at £6.5m, had his fair share of games and goals over the seasons having no interest whatsoever even when offered out for nothing? Same with a 30 year old Ashley Young. He's only worth £3m because its his last year of contract. Offer him to clubs and get nothing. I get a couple of clubs in the news item saying they wont bid while the asking price is as it is. I reduce to £1m. Yes £1m for Ashley Young, even at 30 is a bargain. Still no offers and still with the same message. So I offer him again for nothing. I still get the same message saying X clubs wont bid while asking price is as it is. HOW??? HE'S FREE !!!

[Al_Pacino]

The £30m was in reference to his signing on fee's and wages for a year, nothing to do with anyone paying a transfer fee, £30m for him would be too little anyway. I do laugh that your trying to get a realistic result, whilst at the same time arguing it could be realistic to see Ronaldo offered out for £40k. Whatever floats your boat i guess.

But then i guess its not unrealistic to maybe see Messi in a Wigan shirt in 5 years time, after all, who knows.

You're right, it's totally unrealistic. Just as unrealistic as nobody even trying to buy him for that price. It works both ways.

[CityAndColour]

milnerpoint, when you're finished in here, can you swing by this thread for a quick moment? It's just to do with an illogical happening in my save that I need justified. Thanks mate!

[FM1000]

Another thing (besides stuff like OP's example ) that really **** me off, is that the AI doesn't negotiate. EVER. I mean im not dealing here with the mafia now am I?

They offer me 16 mil i ask for 18 and they cancel their bid!?! Really? If the offered 16.5 i would accept. Hell i would even accept 16 but i was trying to get more money but they just canceled the bid.

One time they offer me 20 mil for my best player who is world class. I ask for 50 mil because he's one of the best strikers in world and im a big club. They offer me 25 mil non negotiable!?! I mean it's like im dealing with Vito Corleone every time im selling or buying a player.

[Bryles]

I haven't read the whole way to the bottom due to me getting annoyed, so sorry, but to everyone moaning about his wages being an issue. Really? So only Chelsea man city Barcelona and real Madrid can afford them? Wake up! Don't be so naive

[Guest]

Another thing (besides stuff like OP's example ) that really **** me off, is that the AI doesn't negotiate. EVER. I mean im not dealing here with the mafia now am I?

They offer me 16 mil i ask for 18 and they cancel their bid!?! Really? If the offered 16.5 i would accept. Hell i would even accept 16 but i was trying to get more money but they just canceled the bid.

One time they offer me 20 mil for my best player who is world class. I ask for 50 mil because he's one of the best strikers in world and im a big club. They offer me 25 mil non negotiable!?! I mean it's like im dealing with Vito Corleone every time im selling or buying a player.

I was about to post about the same problem. The lack of any reasonable negotiations from the buying club is appalling & made even more so now with agents demanding new contracts for their client whenever a bid is cancelled because the game interprets the situation as me rejecting the offer.

[x42bn6]

The £30m was in reference to his signing on fee's and wages for a year, nothing to do with anyone paying a transfer fee, £30m for him would be too little anyway. I do laugh that your trying to get a realistic result, whilst at the same time arguing it could be realistic to see Ronaldo offered out for £40k. Whatever floats your boat i guess.

€250k/week * 52 = €13m (~£11m)

Signing on fee - £10m?

£30m is actually too much.

It doesn't matter if inputs are unrealistic or not. A truly great system would not care about the realism of the inputs, but would be able to mimic the properties of supply-and-demand and human negotiation to the point where you can chuck entirely unrealistic scenarios at the game and the game will still spit out sensible outcomes despite the unrealistic inputs.

What is important is that the AI is able to see a bargain when one appears (i.e. Ronaldo for £40k) and that the AI actively fights tooth-and-nail to get that player (bidding war, agents squabbling, other players getting unsettled, other players being sold, etc.) for a player who is very likely to benefit your club, with a very good chance of paying back the club over time, and then some. Neither of these happen - Ronaldo for £40k should, at the very least, attract attention from Manchester City, who have money to burn and whose wages + signing-on fee are meaningless - this has not happened, therefore the game has a flaw.

Nobody cares if the inputs are realistic or not. FM is unrealistic, because a human manager does not need to follow reality.

But then i guess its not unrealistic to maybe see Messi in a Wigan shirt in 5 years time, after all, who knows.

If they were taken over by a sugar daddy and Messi were offered a £1m/week contract, maybe we might see that happen.

Should it matter if it is realistic or not? Not at all. As long as the Wigan bid looks feasible, that negotiations between Real Madrid and Wigan look feasible, and that there was a definite bidding war depending on the offered price, we are all good.

[Coentrao]

Haven't played that much but it seems harder to offload players, the message of the "team X doesn't think it can meet the wage demands" seems way too common, they'll even say that for someone that is on like 4k/month and those teams are a lot richer than my team..

[jeoe]

The realistic situation is that most clubs have replaced the majority of their squads within 5-6 years. In FM they replace good players who retire with useless wrecks. Why is it so difficult to program the AI to re-evaluate their squad every 30th June, transfer list or force out whoever they deem redundant so as to free up resources, and then use up their transfer and wage budgets on as many players they can get hold of that would strengthen their team? All these features are already in the game but they are not used by the AI!

This ^^

....

[Kraftwerk]

Of course not but you have to take into account whether he would want to join those clubs. Obviously i think the issue is why aren't they making an offer? But unfortunately many AI controlled clubs on fm won't even make an offer for a player if they don't think that player is interested.

I can't see ronaldo wanting to go from madrid to anzhi or psg and is he likely to go to man city when man utd are still on his favoured club list? Of course that shouldn't stop them from at least making an offer but i'm not sure how this situation is proof of anything tbh, other than the OP acting in a very unrealistic way by offering out one of the very best players in the world.

Obviously if I planned on doing an actual save with Madrid I wouldn't do that. I've just had enough of the transfer system in FM since at least FM10. It's got to the stage where you're actually delighted and lucky if a club bids a player's valuation. Usually they won't do business until you offer a player out for about 10M less than his in-game value and even then it's over 48 months. I just think the transfer side of the game has regressed and it's a pity because FM is still the best game on the market.

[Le Tissier's Nose]

Sure. I just think this is a really stupid thread is all. I could understand the OP's point if he wasn't using the 2nd best player in the world, at the peak of his power, at one of the world's top two or three clubs, with money to rival the GDP of a small country as his example...

It's not a stupid thread - it's a valid point.

Listen... (or read...) Real Madrid offered Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the worlds second best player, for £40k (that's £79,960,000 million LESS than they paid for him) and nobody, not one single club, even thought to offer him a contract.

It's RIDICULOUS!!!!

[Kraftwerk]

How did i know you would quote me............

Your right tho, Aberdeen or Dundee would be chomping at the bit to throw their worthwhile £40K to Real on the off chance Ronaldo has been smoking crack and decides the SPL is his next move.

Your also right the game should be able to cope with every single situation, its an absolute joke that SI cannot make the game account for every single possible scenario in the world, shame on you SI. Time to think again.

I can see you're only looking at the Ronaldo example instead of the whole transfer system as a whole. How would you explain The Cavani screenshot? Probably the best contract ever offered to anyone. Ever. And it's a massive step up in club prestige as well.

[milnerpoint]

You have already explained it for yourself as far as i can see, he never really wanted to move but he was open to your offer, the wording could be better i agree but i dont really see an issue.

[jdrawmer]

Have you posted what was the actual response to the offer, as in:

X, Y and Z feel the player's wage demands are in excess of what they are prepared to pay.

X, Y and Z feel that they would need to reduce their current wage bill

X, Y and Z feel that the player doesn't have ufficient interest in joining for them to make an offer

???

[jase19]

Ah the old input an unrealistic situation and expect a realistic result. I love these threads.

forget selling gerrard or ronaldo for free.

how come i can't sell joe cole or stewart downing? how come it took me 2 years to sell aquilani and the only deal i could get was 4.5m over 48 months? i tried to sell him right after he came back off loan and he was outstanding in italy, yet nobody wanted him.

[xavierm]

Have you posted what was the actual response to the offer, as in:

X, Y and Z feel the player's wage demands are in excess of what they are prepared to pay.

X, Y and Z feel that they would need to reduce their current wage bill

X, Y and Z feel that the player doesn't have ufficient interest in joining for them to make an offer

???

I second this question. When I offer players, I often have this message. Oh, and do you transfer-list CR9 ? It has also a big impact on club making offers.

[jdrawmer]

I second this question. When I offer players, I often have this message. Oh, and do you transfer-list CR9 ? It has also a big impact on club making offers.

Indeed. Very often my first instinct is "As if nobody wants him!" and then you understand from the responses. Surely the fact that you're offering a player to other squads must make teams wonder why as well?

[YAY]

I second this question. When I offer players, I often have this message. Oh, and do you transfer-list CR9 ? It has also a big impact on club making offers.

When you offer players they automatically get listed and set to not needed if you dont change the default settings

[Kraftwerk]

There was no messages such as "City feel his wages/asking price is too much". He was transfer listed for 2 weeks at 40k and no club was interested on his transfer screen or in my news messages.

Got to laugh at the people who're giving the game far too much credit as far as realism goes. "Don't expect a realistic offer when you offer such unrealistic terms". Yes, that's it. The AI in the game said "is this guy having a laugh?". We don't want Ronaldo for 40 thousand, but if he offers him to us for around 20M then we'll show our hand.

Get real.

[Kraftwerk]

You have already explained it for yourself as far as i can see, he never really wanted to move but he was open to your offer, the wording could be better i agree but i dont really see an issue.

My friend started a new game with Arsenal and signed Cavani to a contract that was nowhere near as good as mine. Cavani wanted to move to him, but not me, despite the fact my club is far bigger than his (Real & Arsenal).

You're correct in saying he wasn't too interested in joining me - why I don't know - but where it falls down is when he actually enters into contract negotiations with me and then gets offered such a contract and still says no? Unbelievable.

[SeanNUFC]

There was no messages such as "City feel his wages/asking price is too much". He was transfer listed for 2 weeks at 40k and no club was interested on his transfer screen or in my news messages.

Got to laugh at the people who're giving the game far too much credit as far as realism goes. "Don't expect a realistic offer when you offer such unrealistic terms". Yes, that's it. The AI in the game said "is this guy having a laugh?". We don't want Ronaldo for 40 thousand, but if he offers him to us for around 20M then we'll show our hand.

Get real.

Agreed. It happens in every thread like this though. Not surprised.

[jdrawmer]

A lot of people try to provide a possible explanation or opposing view. Regardless of why this is happening, it shows that things could be handled better, both with you selling CR9 and trying to buy Cavani.

I just wanted to see what was ACTUALLY said in response to the offers, like I said - because i've never seen an empty one, there's always SOMETHING listed there.

[Cougar2010]

Transfer system isn't perfect but it is fairly good.

Having read the thread I'll just make the point that as a human club a scout would have reported back "Ronaldo has no intention of joining the club" unless you were one of the handful others have mentioned earlier.

Although I don't think the AI use scouts the result will be the same - Only a handful of clubs feeling they have a realistic chance of signing him. By doing it this way SI have cut out a lot of the negotiation that would have happened in real life had it happened unless of course you would prefer the alternative of trawling through 200+ transfer offers!

[AjaxNo1]

I havent found any issues with the transfer system myself, it makes sense my higher paid players are harder to shift unless they are snapped up because they are doing well, but apart from that the system has worked for me

[BungleFish]

ok so after reading this thread i decided to do a little experiment, i loaded a new game with the Spanish, italian, english, scottish and french leagues loaded, took over Real madrid and offered CR7 out for £60 million, then £40 million, then £20, then £10, then £1 and i got one bid (from chelsea) at £1 million, there were a few clubs saying "we do not think we could pay his wages/the asking price is too high (even at £10 million????)" so yeah, same as OP,

then i decided to use FMRTE to reduce ronaldo's wages to £2000 a week and started the cycle again, at £60 million i had the same comments "too high an asking price", so i tried £40 and Arsenal are the only team to get back to me with a bid, of £4,8 million upfront, 20% of profit from next sale and £22 million over 24 months,

i guess this throws the "reputation" arguement out the window, its the wage thats the problem as within two days ronaldo was off to arsenal for a measly £150,000 a week, with £15,000 appearance and goal bonuses, a £750,000 team of the year bonus and a 10% bonus on all profit over the £27 million arsenal paid for him (and a 40% reduction in wages if they get relegated)

basically, as i see it, players are too focused on the wage they are getting, sure as a human manager, i can negotiate these wages down with higher signing on fees etc, but the AI doesnt seem to be able to do the same

there is a problem, but what can be done about it i dont know

on a side note, does anyone know if certain players are hardcoded to never sign for other clubs, as no matter what i do i cannot sign beckham or terry, for any club even though my main game is with an edited DB where all players are free!

[charlo116]

And this is where I see the problem lying. AI clubs aren't nearly ambitious enough when it comes to signing players of a higher prestige than the club. I've had more than a few instances where I was told by my scouts that the player would have 'no interest' in joining my club, only to wind up signing him (albiet for hefty wages). AI clubs shouldn't just back off every time they think they're going to be rejected.

I agree, irl clubs will sometimes make several offers before they finally realise signing a player just isn't going to happen.

Surely it should come down to players lowering their expectations as well though. If a player isn't wanted by a club and the only clubs interested are smaller clubs I think players should be more willing to lower their expectations and demands just so they can play football. I suppose that will depend on hidden stats though.

[AjaxNo1]

ok so after reading this thread i decided to do a little experiment, i loaded a new game with the Spanish, italian, english, scottish and french leagues loaded, took over Real madrid and offered CR7 out for £60 million, then £40 million, then £20, then £10, then £1 and i got one bid (from chelsea) at £1 million, there were a few clubs saying "we do not think we could pay his wages/the asking price is too high (even at £10 million????)" so yeah, same as OP,

then i decided to use FMRTE to reduce ronaldo's wages to £2000 a week and started the cycle again, at £60 million i had the same comments "too high an asking price", so i tried £40 and Arsenal are the only team to get back to me with a bid, of £4,8 million upfront, 20% of profit from next sale and £22 million over 24 months,

i guess this throws the "reputation" arguement out the window, its the wage thats the problem as within two days ronaldo was off to arsenal for a measly £150,000 a week, with £15,000 appearance and goal bonuses, a £750,000 team of the year bonus and a 10% bonus on all profit over the £27 million arsenal paid for him (and a 40% reduction in wages if they get relegated)

basically, as i see it, players are too focused on the wage they are getting, sure as a human manager, i can negotiate these wages down with higher signing on fees etc, but the AI doesnt seem to be able to do the same

there is a problem, but what can be done about it i dont know

on a side note, does anyone know if certain players are hardcoded to never sign for other clubs, as no matter what i do i cannot sign beckham or terry, for any club even though my main game is with an edited DB where all players are free!

Good research but I have said on all these threads, if you have a player on more wages than the AI thinks his ability is worth then you will struggle

[bbuullddoogg]

One thing I haven’t seen anyone mention about Ronaldo is, clubs probably assume they’re going to have to offer him £250,000 per week. What if they have players with “Match highest wage earner” clauses???

Signing Ronaldo to a 5 year contract, even if you get him on a free, is going to mean committing to about £100,000,000 by the time you’ve paid him wages and bonuses. Then if you add in that it might cause them to have other players match that wage, it would be a financial nightmare for them – especially in these uncertain times.

I agree, FM12 does have some issues with selling players being harder than it should be. But I don’t think the Ronaldo example is as clear as it first looks.