With the start of each new season, there are many questions new players have. One of the most frequent ones by far is “Where are my players’ stars?” We’ve already explained this in detail, but another mystery for many managers that we haven’t talked about yet are the new unknown players you receive automatically.

At the end of each season, you will likely have players whose contracts have expired. These players will be transparent on the field and have a special contract icon when you enter the “Squad” screen. This indicates that they won’t be able to play for you or train until you’ve renewed their contract within the given time limit.

Since this might leave you with less players than your required minimum (14 players), the game will automatically fill your team with free players. These are usually players who are 32 to 34 years old and who will only play for one season for you, after which they will retire. They will be slightly above average in skill, with only a 2 or 3 star quality. That means you shouldn’t rely on them too much if you want to be at your best.

These stand-ins cannot be sold on the market or have their contract last longer until the end of the season. However, you can sack them for cash right away. In case you renew the contracts of your players who had them expire, you still get to keep the free players.

Another related word of advice is that you pay attention to the age of the players you want to buy on auctions. If the player is older than 30, there’s a chance that he might be available for only one season after you buy him. Take into consideration whether you’re fine with that if it’s still a good player or you need a temporary solution. If you’re looking for long-term team members, then the younger, the better!

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