Agreeing on a release fee from Fifa 23 – good or bad?
Opinions are divided on this. A release fee in Fifa is a fixed amount of money that must be paid whenever a transfer of a player with a current contract is to be completed. For example, if Mbappé wants to transfer to Chelsea FC during a current contract and his current club has included a release sum as part of the contract, Chelsea FC must pay it. In this case, a transfer termination fee is additionally no longer due. So it’s an amount that has to be set potentially looking ahead into the future.
There is basically a weighing between your own interests as well as the interests of the player. At the same time, you should decide whether you want to provide your player with a release sum or whether you want to wait for (possibly) even higher transfer offers within the next season.
Pros or cons – an overview
We have summarized a few essential pros and cons of the release sum in the Fifa career mode for you. Surely this list could be extended considerably – for that you are welcome to use our comment function.
Pro: Security to get release money
For a release sum speaks in any case the piece of „security“ that you buy yourself by agreeing on a release sum with your players. If you set a value of e.g. 40.000.000 Euro, your player can only move during the contract period (and only in the transfer window) if another team is willing to pay this amount. And even then, you can still make a counteroffer and „persuade“ the player to stay. But you can be sure that you will get the agreed amount if your player demands a transfer or another team approaches you.
Pro: Player satisfaction during contract negotiations/salary waiver
Some players don’t value a release amount, while others do. If your player asks for a release fee, you can make him more satisfied if you agree to his request. This way he will be a bit more „manageable“ in his salary requirements, so you can „squeeze“ his money a bit at this point. If you refuse the wish of the release sum, your player or his manager will take this into account in the salary expectations and correct the weekly costs upwards.
Pro: Bind players for a long time by paying an extremely high amount of money
If you want to give a player a 5-year contract and he agrees, you can nip a transfer request from other clubs in the bud by adding a high release sum. As a rule, your players will be happy if you offer a very high release sum even to weaker players. For example, if you set a sum of 150,000,000 euros for an average player, there is a good chance that your player will accept it. However, no other club will approach you because the amount does not match the player’s performance. So you tend to be able to keep your players this way and keep other clubs from making offers.
Pro: Chance of a record release sum
A high release sum can on the one hand, as described, block offers from the competition. But you can also set extremely high release sums, knowing that you might get offers. If a team is really interested in a transfer, they might accept your extremely high release sum. This way you will lose your game, of course, but in return you will receive much more money than the value of the player. The money can then in turn be used for new transfers.
Pro: Chance to buy contractually bound players
If you want to increase your squad, you can search for players who are willing to transfer. This way you have the chance to sign players who are currently still under contract, but with whom the home club has agreed on a release fee. In the transfer menu you can look at such players, pay the release fee if you like it, and lure the player into your squad with a nice salary offer. In the next transfer window he will move directly to you.
Contra: Player can leave the club in case of offers
The first „con“ is obvious: A player with whom you have agreed on a release fee during the contract negotiations can of course leave your club. If you have fixed a rather low release fee, but your player develops very quickly and well, you will receive offers from other clubs very quickly. Good players will be poached very quickly, so that the big clubs will contact you in a short time and pay the release fee. At this point you would have to negotiate directly with the player and react accordingly – on the other hand he will leave your club. So there is always a latent risk that your players will accept a better offer and change clubs.
Contra: Compulsion to change contracts in time
If you have agreed on a release sum with one of your players and he now receives an offer from a financially strong club, he will certainly be interested in this offer. You are now forced to negotiate with the player and persuade him to stay. This can usually only be done with a huge increase in salary or better conditions and more frequent appearances. So you are forced to adjust your contracts whenever a poaching of your player threatens.
Contra: Pressure with high salary demands and transfer offers
If your player has received offers, he may contact you via a message in the „office“ or send a message via the board. You should now immediately try to keep your player by responding to his salary demands and wishes. If you do not meet his demands satisfactorily, he will very quickly join another club, which in turn will make use of the agreed release sum.
Contra: No cheap or free transfer possible
Players with a release sum can consequently not be transferred free of charge or at low transfer costs. So you have no chance to negotiate with the management of the selling club and agree on a transfer fee. The amount you have to pay is already clearly fixed – there is hardly any other option at this point.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages when it comes to the release sum in Fifa 23 career mode. Ultimately, each player must decide for himself or herself whether or not to make use of this tool and modify the contracts of their own players accordingly.