Football Manager 2021 Main Winter Update Now Live!

The Main Winter Update for FM21 (PC/Mac) is available now, with this part including updated squads following the January transfer window.

A Final Winter Update will follow in a few weeks, covering the latest deals from transfer windows that closed in February, including the Chinese and Russian leagues, MLS, free transfers in the EFL and more.

This first update also includes a number of fixes and improvements across various areas in the game, some of which are detailed via our changelist below.

As always you will need to begin a new career for the data changes and competition updates to appear, with all other changes being save game compatible allowing you to continue your pre-existing managerial careers.

The update should download automatically but if that isn’t the case, you’ll just need to quit and restart the Epic Games launcher or Steam.

So, whether you’re starting afresh or carrying on, there’s something for everyone in this update.

21.3 Main Winter Update Changelist (including, but not limited to):

Database and Research
- Over 3.7 million updates reflect real life, including (but not limited to) transfers, managerial changes, and player attributes

Stability and Technical
- Number of stability fixes and improvements

Gameplay
- Further improvements to total player count and number of newgens generated in youth intakes
- Number of improvements to keeping player promises
- Re-enabled option to ask board for Reserve/U23 team
- Improvements to Club Vision logic
- Tweaked logic to make user manager appointments more realistic
- Fixed press conference questions being asked incorrectly following certain results
- Recruitment meetings being driven more by agreed club visions
- 'Interest in transfer' filter player search fix for when user manager changes clubs
- Improvements to staff given non-playing staff appointment responsibilities
- Newgen staff now correctly having second nationalities set
- Improved transfer logic for MLS teams at game start
- Improved MLS teams salary cap management 

Match Engine 21.6.0
- Further balancing of player ratings across both full and quick match engines
- Number of improvements and fixes to match stats, including key tackles, clear-cut chances and interceptions
- Improved goalkeeper distribution when set tactically via instructions
- Improvements to assistant advice during pre-game build up and matches 

Competitions and Rule Groups*
- Removed salary cap for EFL League One and Two
- AI teams making better player registration choices in England
- Fix for user not being able to register squad changes
- Champions Cup sub rules corrected for second knock-out round
- Fixed incorrect age restriction appearing in Germany
- Improvements to MLS transfer window and roster freeze dates
- Added MLS 2021 Schedule dates and updated Superdraft process
- Fixed incorrect Serie C and D teams appearing in Italian Cup in 2020/21
- Updated structure in India for 2020-21 season
- Various Brazilian state championship updates
- Resolved Portuguese transfer window and registration window end date mismatch
- Resolved French transfer window and registration window end date mismatch 

User Interface
- Added assist details to the goal caption in matches
- Fix for blank speech bubble appearing when discussing broken promise with player
- Sent off player now clearly shown during team talks
- Fixed rare issue where goal captions could get stuck on screen
- Fixed team beaten in the cup incorrectly displaying as the previous winner
- Addressed issue where users unable to return to team talk after entering tactics at half-time 

Pre-Game Editor
- Enable users to be able to search by player attributes
- Fixed warning when verifying any advanced European club continental rules file 

Network Games
- Fixes for mid-term draft process in Fantasy Draft
- Fix for clients being able to set highlights level outside those set by host 

*In some instances, changes to competitions, rules and registrations will require starting a new game to come into effect.

The Main Winter Update is also now live on FM21 Mobile (iOS/Android) and FM21 Touch (PC/Mac/iOS/Android), and will be coming to FM21 Xbox and FM21 Touch for Nintendo Switch™ in the near future.