Age and potential

Every player travels from promising youngster to veteran. Knowing where he is on that road makes it easier to decide whether to train him, keep him or sell him.

Talent — the ceiling

Talent is shown as 1 to 9 stars. It sets the ceiling attributes can be raised to: the more stars, the higher the player can grow. When an attribute hits the ceiling, it is marked "max" in "Training → Skills".

Talent does not guarantee growth — the player needs training and minutes. The exact talent of another club's player is only visible with a scout; without one the card shows a rough range.

How fast time passes

Every 7 days all players in the game become one year older. Within a few months of play an eighteen-year-old newcomer becomes a player in his prime, so young talents are an investment for weeks, not years.

Peak and decline

• Young players grow through training and matches. Talent, age and coaches all affect how much they gain.
• Towards 30 the talent ceiling starts to go down: a veteran's attributes will no longer climb as high as they could in his youth.
• After the peak the physical qualities — stamina, dribbling and shot power — drop a little every year, and faster from the mid-thirties. Skill and value drop with them.

On the player card, the "Coach's attention" block warns you when the player's value will start dropping every season and tells you how much he can fetch now.

Retirement

Every player has his own age at which he retires — you cannot see it in advance. About a month before, the card shows "Planning to retire" and you get a notification. When the time comes, the player leaves the squad.

Veterans who end their career at your club and played for it enter the "Club Legends" on the club page.

Using this

• Keep a mix of ages: youngsters grow, experienced players deliver results now.
• Sell veterans while they still play well: within a few weeks they will be older and bring in less.
• Spend experience (xp) on players who have not hit their talent ceiling yet.