A Director of Football in Football Manager 2020 is the person with the most ambiguous role. There is no worldwide accepted explanation of what a Director of Football is.
When asked about the role, Arsene Wenger famously answered:
“I don’t know what director of football means,”
"Is it somebody who stands on the road and directs play right and left? I don't understand, and I never did understand what it means."
"I'm the manager of Arsenal, and as long as I am the manager, I will decide what happens on the technical front. That's it."
The times where a manager had full control over all aspects of the team are long gone. Only long-serving managers have that privilege now. New roles are being invented that power has slipped out of the managers' hands.
So, what is a Director of Football in FM20, and what is his role?
A Director of Football in FM20 is a senior management role. Transfers are their primary responsibility, but they are involved in many other things as well.
If given complete freedom and responsibility, their role is more important than the managers. That's why most managers don't like working for teams that have a Director of Football.
Keep in mind; most teams don't employ a Director of Football.
In Football Manager 20, if you delegate all responsibilities to your staff members, a DoF is responsible for these things:
- First team recruitment
- U23/B team recruitment
- U19 team recruitment
- Coaching courses
- First team staff contract renewals
- Staff contract renewals for U23/B team
- Staff contract renewals for the U19 team
- Find and sign players for the first team
- Handle incoming offers for first-team players
- Outgoing development loans
- Find and sign young players for the future (U19)
- Handle incoming offers for youth team players (U19)
- Find and sign young players for the future (U23/B team)
- Handle incoming offers for youth team players (U23/B team)
- Player contracts discussions
As you can see, the Director of Football can have complete power over the club if you allow him to. The great thing is that you, as a manager in FM20, can choose how much responsibility you want to give to your DoF.
Now comes the big question, the elephant in the room.
Why would any team have a DoF when the Manager can do most of these things?
To give the best answer to this question, we'll use a real-life example. Manchester United is the giant that was once the biggest team in the world into mediocrity since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
There was a fundamental transfer policy at place under Sir Alex Ferguson and former chief executive David Gill. It was to buy young talented players and to rarely buy players older than 27 years old. Everything changed when they left.
David Moyes was chosen as the successor, and he failed to make the team play the Manchester United way and to win games. David Moyes changed the whole staff, bringing all of his trusted people, and that didn't help Manchester United. It probably wasn't the right move to fire all the people who worked for over 20 years under Sir Alex Ferguson and who knew the club inside and out.
After Moyes, Louis van Gaal came. After van Gaal, the Man Utd manager was Jose Mourinho, and after him, we have the current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
Since Ferguson left, Manchester United spent $650M to get back to the top, and they are now nowhere near the top. That is because there is no official club transfer policy. The manager was above the club policy.
Louis van Gaal bought Daley Blind and Memphis Depay while Mourinho didn't like them. Almost nobody knew about Eric Bailly, but Mourinho bought him.
Now that Mourinho is gone, Bailly isn't getting too much time under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, but one of the reasons for that is that he is injured very often.
We know for a fact that Manchester United is now looking for the right person to take over the Director of Football role so that the manager doesn't dictate the club transfer policy. They want to have a long term club vision.
By working with a DoF, new managers can't ask for money to „rebuild the team." Nobody can succeed Sir Alex Ferguson and do what he did for such a long time. That's why a club as big as Manchester United shouldn't be relying on one person.
Having a Director of Football who be the connection between the manager and the board might be the way to go for Manchester United.
So, who are the best Directors of Football in real life and Football Manager 2020?
Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo – Monchi (Sevilla, formerly AS Roma)
Monchi is the current Director of Football at Sevilla. He played and worked as a DoF for a total of 17 years in Sevilla before a spell in Roma that lasted two years. In 2019 he came back to Sevilla to take the DoF position once again.
Some hidden gems that he found while they were still academy players or bargain players:
- Sergio Ramos
- Jesus Navas
- Jose Antonio Reyes
- Dani Alves
- Julio Baptista
- Ivan Rakitić
- Seydou Keita
After coming back to Sevilla in 2019, he bought a total of 10 players, and those players seem to be having the skills to pay the bills since Sevilla is currently sitting in the 3rd position of the La Liga. Only the giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are in front of them.
In Football Manager 2020, he has amazing staff attributes. The most important ones for a Director of Football that he possesses are:
- Judging Player Ability 18
- Judging Player Potential 20
- Negotiating 20
Luís Campos (LOSC Lille, formerly AS Monaco)
Luís Campos might be the world's most underrated Director of Football. He is now a Director of Football at LOSC Lille.
He started lower leagues coaching at the age of 27. After managing a couple of lower league clubs, he eventually got a job in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. He ended Jose Mourinho's streak of 27 unbeaten games with Gil Vincente. When Mourinho took over Real Madrid, he brought Luís Campos as a scout and tactical analyst.
Luís Campos made his name as a Director of Football in AS Monaco from 2013 to 2016.
In his career, he oversaw the transfers of these players:
- Kylian Mbappé
- Fabinho
- James Rodriguez
- Nicolas Pépé
- João Moutinho
- Anthony Martial
- Dimitar Berbatov
- Ricardo Carvalho
LOSC Lille is in 3rd position at the moment of writing this article, with only PSG and Marseille above them. Luís Campos seems to be doing a great job.
In Football Manager 2020 he has these stats:
- Judging Player Ability 18
- Judging Player Potential 18
- Negotiating 18
Michael Zorc (Borussia Dortmund)
A Borussia Dortmund legend who played over 600 games for the team eventually became the Director of Football. He is amazing at spotting hidden gems and buying them for a small amount of money and then selling them for big money to the biggest European clubs.
Some of the players he discovered or bought cheaply are:
- Ousmane Dembélé
- Christian Pulisic
- Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
- Marco Reus
- Mats Hummels
- Robert Lewandowski
- Ilkay Gündogan
- Thorgan Hazard and many more
His FM20 Director of Football stats are:
- Judging Player Ability 18
- Judging Player Potential 18
- Negotiating 18
Michael Edwards (Liverpool)
Michael Edwards is the current Director of Football at Liverpool. His way of doing the DoF job is a little bit different than what the previously mentioned Directors have done. He is the master of negotiating high prices for players that are surplus in the club.
One such example was the sale of Dominic Solanke and Danny Ings. They were surplus to Liverpool, and the money from their sales was used to buy Fabinho, who is integral to the success of Liverpool.
He also sold Coutinho for $148M, who flopped at Barcelona, and that money was used to buy Van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
He also bought Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson way below their market value, and they are now part of the best 11 players.
Michael Edwards Director of Football FM20 attributes:
- Judging Player Ability 17
- Judging Player Potential 17
- Negotiating 10
We feel the negotiating attribute doesn't represent the actual value this man shows in real life.
Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City, formerly FC Barcelona)
Txiki Begiristain is the current Director of Football at Manchester City. Pep Guardiola hailed him as the most important person he's worked with, in his life.
"Now, maybe it's easy to trust me, but before I was anyone in my managerial career, he trusted me. Without that, I would not be here, so I will always be in debt to him.“
Since Txiki Begiristain is in Manchester City, they started winning trophies. Some of his most crucial signings were:
- Fernandinho
- Jesus Navas
- Alvaro Negredo
- Martin Demichelis
- Fernando
- Raheem Sterling
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Nicolas Otamendi
- John Stones
- Ilkay Gundogan
His Director of Football attributes on FM20 are:
- Judging Player Ability 16
- Judging Player Potential 14
- Negotiating 18
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Football Manager 2020 is out and Sports Interactive has spoiled us with 116 playable leagues. There are over 500,000 players in FM20 when you start a new career. Today we only talk about the best of the best.
We bring you a list of the best 15 players in Football Manager 2020:
15. Robert Lewandowski
- Position Striker
- Age 30
- Current Ability 175
Robert Lewandowski is one of the world’s global superstars. He’s a legendary striker in FM20. He played 407 games for 5 teams in his career. He scored 270 goals in that time and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. At the age of 30 years, he still has a few seasons to play at the highest level.
- Great finisher
- Athletic player with high stamina
- A very consistent player who doesn’t get injured often
14. Manuel Neuer
- Position Goalkeeper
- Age 33
- Current Ability 176
Dubbed as the world’s best goalkeeper for years, Manuel Neuer is still the number 1 goalkeeper in FC Bayern even at 33 years of age. He is the best goalkeeper in FM20 based on ability. Even though he has only 2 years left on his contract, we don’t see him retiring at the age of 35. He’ll probably sign a contract extension.
- High accuracy of throwing
- Relishes big matches
- A very composed player who is also very consistent
13. Sadio Mané
- Position Attacking Midfielder (Left, Right), Striker
- Age 27
- Current Ability 177
Sadio Mané is a world-class winger. He is one of the reasons the current Champions of Europe are Liverpool. He is widely considered one of the best players in the world in season 2018/2019. That’s the reason he has such a high rating and is one of the best players in Football Manager.
- Explosive player - high pace and acceleration
- Very adaptable player to living in another country
- An ambitious player who loves big matches and is fairly consistent
12. Harry Kane
- Position Striker
- Age 25
- Current Ability 177
Harry Kane is a world-class striker playing for Tottenham and he’s the current England captain. He’s a very determined and ambitious player who can still improve a little bit. Kane is a true professional who handles himself really well on and off the field. His loyalty is also really high as he had the chance to join bigger clubs but he decided to stick with Tottenham.
- Great finishing and composure
- Amazing penalty-taking
- Very consistent player
11. Virgil van Dijk
- Position Central Defender
- Age 27
- Current Ability 178
Virgil van Dijk was one of the three Ballon d'Or finalists. He had the best season of his career in 2018/2019 and no wonder he is one of the best players in Football Manager. He is also the only central defender on this list. Liverpool wouldn’t be the same without him.
- Dominant in the air - Tall, High jumping reach and great heading
- Very consistent player
- Great physical attributes
10. Mohamed Salah
- Position Attacking Midfielder Right, Striker
- Age 27
- Current Ability 178
Mohamed Salah is another Liverpool player who is on the list of the best FM20 players. Alongside van Dijk and Mane, he is the main reason for the success Liverpool had in the last season. In 2018/2019 he played a total of 52 games where he scored 27 times and assisted 13 times. Amazing statistics that were almost as good as those from 2017/2018 landed him a place in the top 15 players of Football Manager 2020.
- Explosive player - high pace and acceleration
- Great dribbling and finishing
- A true professional who is very ambitious and consistent
9. Sergio Agüero
- Position Striker
- Age 31
- Current Ability 178
Sergio Agüero another global football superstar. This is his 9th season in Manchester City where he established himself as one of the best strikers in the world. In a total of 467 games played in his career, this man scored 260 goals. He’s a striker any manager in the world would love to have in his team.
- He’s a real live-wire with the ball at his feet - amazing balance
- Great dribbling and finishing skills
- Very consistent and ambitious players who relishes important matches
8. Antoine Griezmann
- Position Attacking Midfielder (Left, Center), Striker
- Age 28
- Current Ability 179
Antoine Griezmann is a World Cup winner with France who currently plays for Barcelona. He is recognized worldwide and achieved several individual awards like the French Player of the Year, Spanish League Player of the Year, Best Player in Europe Runner Up, World Golden Ball third place on two occasions and many others.
- A very technical player with a great first touch
- Great off the ball and vision skills
- Fairly consistent player
7. Luis Suárez
- Position Striker
- Age 32
- Current Ability 180
Luis Suárez is one of the most famous football players of all time, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad reasons. Although he is known to be a dirty player on the pitch, nobody can deny his goal-scoring talent. Overall in 5 clubs he played a total of 439 games and scored an amazing 301 goal. Only a few players in history have done better.
- Goalscoring machine - great finishing and composure
- Amazing mental attributes
- A very ambitious, consistent and determined player who can be dirty at times
6. Kylian Mbappé
- Position Striker, Attacking Midfielder (Right, Left)
- Age 20
- Current Ability 181
Kylian Mbappé is only 20 years old and he is already on this list. He is by far the youngest player out of all the best Football Manager 2020 players. He is still a wonderkid even though he is an accomplished player already. After some time he becomes the best player in the game.
- Explosive player - maximum possible pace and acceleration
- Great goal-scoring attributes
- A very ambitious player who is also consistent and relishes important matches
5. Eden Hazard
- Position Attacking Midfielder Left
- Age 28
- Current Ability 181
Eden Hazard is a world-class winger who made his name playing for LOSC and Chelsea. He signed for Real Madrid in 2019 for $110M. The whole world knows who Hazard is and is eagerly awaiting to see him come to form in Real Madrid and show everything he is capable of.
- Maximum rating in agility and dribbling
- Great goal scoring and penalty-taking ability
- He’s fairly consistent and enjoys playing big games
4. Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior
- Position Attacking Midfielder Left
- Age 27
- Current Ability 185
Neymar is another world-class winger on this list. He made his name playing for Santos and Barcelona. In 2017 he signed for PSG for a world-record fee of $251M. He won everything that could be won with Barcelona and many individual awards as well. His decision to seek a new challenge in PSG might not be the best, but he still holds the world record transfer fee and might do so for quite some time. In 263 games that he played for 3 clubs, he scored 156 goals.
- Amazing dribbling, agility, pace, and acceleration
- A very adaptable player who can play in any country
- A very determined and ambitious player who is also very consistent
3. Kevin De Bruyne
- Position Midfielder / Attacking Midfielder Centre
- Age 27
- Current Ability 188
Kevin De Bruyne is of the world's top talents since joining Manchester City from German club Wolfsburg. After having some injuries last season, De Bruyne is back to his form and is the leading player with most assists in the English Premier League. His ability to create chances has been transferred over to Football Manager and you can expect great things from this player.
- Extremely intelligent player
- Amazing ability to spot a pass and create chances
- Very ambitious and consistent performer
2. Cristiano Ronaldo Aveiro
- Position Striker, Attacking Midfielder Left
- Age 34
- Current Ability 195
Cristiano Ronaldo Aveiro is a true icon of our generation. Unparalleled determination and ambition of this player made him the global superstar he is today.
In 825 games of his career, he scored a total of 612 goals. Those stats leave us speechless.
Even at the age of 34, he is at the top of the football world and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He has a contract until 2022 with Juventus and we don’t see him retiring even at 37 years old. He’ll probably go back to a club in his home country, Portugal.
- A legendary striker who is a goal-scoring machine
- Maximum penalty-taking attribute
- Dominant in the air
- Determination, ambition, professionalism, consistency and important matches are maxed out attributes
1. Lionel Messi
- Position Attacking Midfielder Right
- Age 32
- Current Ability 195
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or award for the world's best player for a record sixth time. Having the same current ability as Cristiano Ronaldo, we chose Messi simply because of the Ballon d'Or award. It is a never-ending debate on who is better and it’s a good thing that they were made the same ability in the game.
In 735 games of his career, Messi has scored 628 goals and he has spent his whole career in Barcelona.
- Legendary attacking midfielder
- Equally good in scoring as creating goals
- A very determined, ambitious, and consistent player
- Relishes big matches and even at the age of 32, he is the best player in the world
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