You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here
405 years in the future: a mind-boggling amount of time. By then, we’ll probably be living on Mars, AI will be running our lives, and humanity might even have figured out how to live forever. The world will almost certainly be unrecognisable. And if Football Manager is anything to go by, the football world will be just as alien.
As the best strikers die out and every football club is owned by a celebrity attempting to peddle their alcohol brand of choice, there’s space for a lot to change. Will the football even be a ball anymore? Well, Football Manager thinks it will be, but I guess it also has to.
Someone has graciously allowed me to peek into their save file set in the year 2430 to uncover the weird, wonderful, and downright ridiculous state of football. And trust me—it gets absolutely bloody absurd. So buckle up as we dive into a world that seems normal at first glance but is anything but ordinary…
A New Premier League Powerhouse
You'll get hints, tips, new challenges and all the latest news as we gear up for the next game.⚽🏆
If I gave you five guesses, you’d never figure out who the dominant force in English football is. Manchester United? Nope. Leeds United? Not a chance. Tottenham? Don’t make me laugh. The new kings of the Premier League are…
CARDIFF CITY.
Yes, those Bluebirds have won the league a staggering 144 times in 405 years. Levels of dominance like this are unheard of on these shores. It’s mind-blowing enough on its own, but it gets even crazier the deeper you look.
Their home ground? A 140,000-seater stadium. That’s half the population of Cardiff cramming into the stands every week! Unsurprisingly, they’ve also nabbed the Champions League 57 times (the most of any club in this period) and the FA Cup 73 times.
It’s a golden era that most Cardiff fans could only dream of. Spare a thought, though, for their rivals, Swansea City. In this reality, Swansea have managed just one Champions League title and haven’t won the Premier League at all. Wales is firmly blue—not white.
State of the current big clubs
Manchester City in the Vanarama North
Some of today’s top clubs have had their fortunes flip dramatically. Take Manchester City, for example. They’ve fallen so far that they’re no longer even in the Football League, languishing in non-league obscurity for over a century. At least they’ve still got the 121,950-capacity Sergio Agüero Park to remind their fans of better days. Their current best player? Valued at £45k. Ouch.
Liverpool are now Championship regulars and haven’t won the Premier League in over 300 years. Meanwhile, Manchester United still haven’t lifted the league trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson retired—430 years of hurt! They have, however, won the Sky Bet Championship 23 times, firmly earning their place as football’s ultimate yo-yo club. Green and yellow scarves at the ready.
Arsenal and Chelsea have managed to stay competitive, still battling it out at the top of the table and picking up trophies here and there. But even they pale in comparison to Cardiff’s utter dominance.
As for Leeds? Well, they’re scrapping it out in League Two. Enough said.
The Age of Gigastadiums
I didn’t think about it before loading the save, but of course technological advancements and the obscene amounts of Premier League money have led to massive stadiums. It’s hilarious to see just how enormous they’ve become:
- Chelsea play at the 120,000-seater Frank Lampard Park.
- Newcastle call the 124,000-capacity Steven Jones Arena home (whoever that is).
- And of course, Manchester City have the Sergio Agüero Park mentioned earlier.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are still stuck at Old Trafford, presumably with a leaking roof even in 2430.
Champions League winners
Somehow, Lincoln—not the English club, but the one from Gibraltar—has become a Champions League powerhouse. Don’t ask me how. This save is pure simulation, no tampering. Gibraltar dominating Europe is just one of the absurdities.
Other surprising English winners include Hull, Ipswich, Wolves, Brighton, Leicester, and even Bristol City. The eternal question remains: is Tottenham winning a trophy or Arsenal lifting the Champions League more shocking? You decide.
Meanwhile, PSG have remained as dominant as ever, winning Ligue 1 a ridiculous 169 times. Some things never change, even in Football Manager.
The Hall of Fame is unrecognisable – except one man
The top name in the Hall of Fame is… an Argentinian manager who spent his career with Argentinos Juniors. To be fair, they’ve won the Argentinian league 67 years in a row. Either this manager is the greatest of all time, or their squad is stacked beyond belief.
Thankfully, one familiar name still holds strong: Pep Guardiola. After his Manchester City stint, he went on to win a few Premier League titles with Arsenal. Perhaps this settles the GOAT debate?
Vincent Kompany also makes an appearance, enjoying a glittering spell at AC Milan in the mid-21st century, with five Champions League titles and 12 consecutive Serie A wins. Football Manager clearly rates him.
Conclusion
This glimpse into the year 2430 proves one thing: football’s future is absolutely bonkers. From Cardiff’s reign of terror to Manchester City in the non-leagues and Lincoln’s European exploits, Football Manager paints a world that’s as entertaining as it is ridiculous.
Let’s just hope we’re still around to see it. Or at least to laugh about it.
About the Author
Football Manager 2024
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s): Management, Soccer, Sports
