FM23 Manchester United Team Guide

Manchester United struggled in the 2021/22 season, but look rejuvenated under Erik Ten Hag’s management. As Manchester United are one of the largest football clubs in the world, they’re a popular team to manage in Football Manager.

To help you out with your save, we’ve put together a FM23 Manchester United team guide to help you with your Man United save. This includes the expectations placed on you by the board and fans, Manchester United’s best players, recommended signings, and a tactic to try out.

Please note that this team guide has been written since the winter update, which means Manchester United are now without Cristiano Ronaldo.

FM23 Manchester United Club Vision and Board Expectations

In the first FM23 season of your Manchester United save, the board expect you to qualify for the UEFA Europa League. This means finishing in the top 6, which should be an achievable target considering the quality of some of Man United’s players. The media predict Manchester United in FM23 to finish 4th, so 6th shouldn’t be a problem. You’ll be challenging with teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham.

Reaching the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League means getting to at least the quarter finals, which again you should be able to do, as Man United are one of the best teams in the competition. You’ll just need to hope a top quality team doesn’t finish 3rd in their Champions League group, and therefore drops down into the Europa League.

The board would also prefer the Manchester United manager to sign players under the age of 23 that have the quality to play for the first team, and also sign players under 21 for the future.

FM23 Manchester United Supporters Vision

Man United in FM23 are expected by their fans to play attacking football, and develop players using the clubs youth system. This means throughout your save you must ensure you’re doing everything you can to nurture your newgens. This will give them the best chance of developing into a player good enough to play in the first team.

In FM23 Manchester United’s supporters have a high influence on the board. This means if you fail to satisfy them, and the fans turn your back on you, they may be able to persuade the board to sack you. Make sure to meet as many of these expectations as possible.

Manchester United’s Best 11 in FM23

As previously mentioned, this FM23 Manchester United team guide is being written after the winter update. This means new loan signings Marcel Sabitzer and Wout Weghorst are part of the team, and Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t!

This has made it difficult to put together Manchester United’s best 11 in FM23. We have decided to go with Marcus Rashford as a striker, as Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst do not look great in FM23. This then allows Jadon Sancho and Antony to start on the wings.

Now let’s move on to Manchester United’s best players in FM23

Bruno Fernandes – Man United’s Best Player in FM23

Fernandes is a world class CAM that stands out in so many attributes in FM23. He has 18 attributes rated 16 or higher, including 17 passing, 18 vision, and 19 stamina. Bruno’s 18 natural fitness means that as he gets into his 30s his attributes will decrease at a slow rate. This means that although Fernandes is 27, he could be integral to your FM23 Manchester United team for another 7-8 years.

If you can get Bruno Fernandes at his best, your Manchester United save will be a lot of fun.

Casemiro – World Class FM23 Manchester United CDM

Another world class player Manchester United have in their team is Brazilian Casemiro. His the defensive midfielder Man United have been crying out for for years. He has exceptional mental attributes, with most being rated 15 or above. A defensive unit that will be essential to your first few seasons in your Mancheester United FM23 save.

Marcus Rashford – FM23 Attributes

Rashford is having one of his best seasons in real life, which has meant his attributes have been upgraded in the FM23 winter update. He’s best played as a left winger cutting inside on his deadly right foot. However, Martial is injury prone and Weghorst isn’t good enough, so you might have to play Rashford as a striker until you can afford a world class replacement.

Alejandro Garnacho – Manchester United FM23

A wonderkid you should definitely look to develop and give regular first team football in your FM23 Manchester United team is Alejandro Garnacho. He’s had a break out season in real life, and has been given a huge attribute and potential boost in the FM23 winter update.

Similar to Rashford, the pacey winger likes to come inside off the left wing. To take his game to another level, try and develop his crossing and decision making in the final third.

It’s difficult to decide where Manchester United could improve this team in your first FM23 season, as they only have £15 million transfer budget and £500k spare wages. This means you may have to sell players before you buy any high quality players. However, you can turn some of that £500k spare wage into extra transfer budget.

Man United FM23 Signing – Gabriel Barbosa

Gabriel Barbosa is available for his release clause of £28.5 million, which is affordable without having to sell any players! He’s a clinical striker that’s ready for regular Premier League football, and can rotate in the striker spot with Rashford and Martial. He’s also capable of playing on the right wing and cutting inside on his left foot, similar to Antony. If you can manage to sell any Manchester United players in the first season of your FM23 save, the team could do with a backup midfielder for Casemiro.

FM23 Manchester United Line-up with New Signing

After signing Gabriel Barbosa, Marcus Rashford can move back into his preferred position on the left wing. Jadon Sancho could be an option instead of Antony on the right wing, it depends if you want your right winger to be right or left footed.

Depth in defence is great, but as Varane gets older you may want to bring in a younger centre back to take his place. We’ve gone for a 4-2-3-1 formation as this is a formation that gets the best out of the Manchester United FM23 squad. However, a 4-3-3 with Casemiro as a CDM may also be effective.

Summary of Manchester United FM23 Team Guide

Manchester United have a strong squad in Football Manager 2023. After a couple of seasons you should have a squad that’s capable of winning the Premier League and go into the latter stages of the Champions League. Bringing the glory days back to Man United is definitely a fun save to try in FM23, and hopefully this guide will help you on your way to that success.

If you’re looking for more team guides, check out our overview of Newcastle.