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100 Best Players in Football Manager 2024: Why There’s No Reliable Universal Ranking

FM24 has no source-backed universal top 100. The useful shortlist depends on your database update, ranking criteria, player role and whether you want established players or prospects.
Length4 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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There is no source-backed, definitive ranking of the 100 best players across Football Manager 2024. “Best” could mean highest current ability, greatest potential, or the strongest fit for a particular role—and published FM24 lists use different criteria. An exact 1–100 order needs to be checked against a named database update and a stated method; the available evidence does not establish such a roster.

For a useful shortlist, separate established players from prospects, compare players by position and role, and check which FM24 data your save uses. The final data update arrived on 9 April 2024, but its player and team changes apply only to a new save.

Who are the best players in Football Manager 2024?

The answer depends on what “best” means. A player with high current ability can contribute immediately; a prospect with high potential may develop into a stronger player later. A role-specific recommendation adds another question: whether the player’s attributes suit the job you need done.

Those are different comparisons, not interchangeable ways to produce one objective top 100. Independent FM24 lists offer useful starting points, but none of the sources cited here establishes a canonical all-player ranking. FM Scout describes its resources as independent and says it is not endorsed by Sports Interactive or SEGA (FM Scout’s FM24 list index).

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What an honest ranking would need to specify

  • Scope: all players or a defined age group, such as wonderkids.
  • Criterion: current ability, potential, or a clearly explained blend.
  • Position and role: whether players are compared within their roles or across the whole game.
  • Potential treatment: whether potential is fixed or can vary from save to save.
  • Database snapshot: the update used, and whether the save was created with it.

Without those details—and verification of every name and position in the chosen database—an exact 1–100 list would imply more certainty than the available evidence supports.

Which FM24 database update does your save use?

FM24’s player data changed after launch. Sports Interactive’s main data update went live on 29 February 2024 and included more than six million data changes. The publisher said it changed current ability ratings and attributes for tens of thousands of players. To use the updated player and team data, you need to start a new save (Sports Interactive’s main data update notice).

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The final data update was released on 9 April 2024 and included more than 400,000 database changes. Sports Interactive again said a new save is required for the latest player and team data (Sports Interactive’s final data update notice). A ranking that does not name its database snapshot can therefore describe a different set of player data from the one in a particular save.

These updates also had stated limits: some calendar-year licensed leagues reflected activity only through the end of 2023, and the final update’s points-deduction information used an internal March deadline. Treat the final update as FM24’s last data snapshot, not a guarantee that every real-world transfer or later development appears in every league.

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Who is the best wonderkid in FM24?

Wonderkid lists answer a narrower question than an all-player ranking. FM Scout’s October 2023 article named Lamine Yamal its best wonderkid using the site’s personal recommendation rating. That is an independent recommendation for the initial FM24 context, not an official Sports Interactive ranking. The article assigned Yamal a -10 potential range and also highlighted Jude Bellingham, Endrick, Jamal Musiala, and Mikey Moore as close comparisons (FM Scout’s FM24 wonderkids guide).

A range matters: a prospect’s potential may vary between new saves rather than being a single guaranteed ceiling. A wonderkid recommendation is therefore not a promise that the player will reach a particular level in every career.

GameSpot’s release-era wonderkid guide used a different scope: players under 21 at the start of English pre-season in 2023/24, organized by position. Its goalkeeper examples include Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro and Dennis Seimen. That age cutoff and position-based format make it useful for finding young options, but it is not a top 100 across every age and position (GameSpot’s FM24 wonderkids guide).

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Which FM24 players should I sign?

Start with the gap in your squad rather than a universal ranking. Decide whether you need an immediate starter or a development prospect, identify the position and role, then compare players against that job. A prospect’s potential is only one part of the decision; whether the player fits your tactic and timeline matters too.

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  1. Check your save’s data snapshot. If you want the final FM24 database, start a new save with the 9 April 2024 update. Existing saves do not gain its player and team data changes.
  2. Choose the kind of target. Look for current contributors if you need results now, or prospects if you can give them time to develop.
  3. Compare like with like. Use position and role to narrow candidates before weighing ability or potential.
  4. Verify the individual in your save. Independent lists can identify candidates, but the player data and potential you see in your career are what matter for that save.
  5. Assess the deal separately. A player’s footballing value does not establish whether they are affordable or available in your database; check transfer feasibility in your own save.

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