Which players had a terrible 2021/22 season and will be receiving a downgrade in Football Manager 2023? This is a list with our expected player downgrades for FM23!
Not every player will be able to say that they have had the best of seasons last year. While some players did an amazing job to earn an upgrade in Football Manager 2023, some are fearing they will be given a downgrade.
In this article you will find a list of the players that we expect to receive a (significant) downgrade in Football Manager 2023 compared to their abilities in Football Manager 2022.
Disclaimer - The profiles you see here on this page are the profiles from FM22 and not the expected new profile of the players in FM23. Also, we are using our FMI player ratings instead of the official Football Manager ratings.
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Dele Alli - Everton > Besiktas
Did we once expect too much from Dele Alli? From being one of the biggest wonderkids in football he has declined rapidly over the past two seasons. After another poor season in the Premier League, which saw him move from Tottenham Hotspur to Everton in January he was sold after roughly half a season by the Toffees. Alli currently sits at a 71 FMI rating, but we are expecting him to drop towards 69 or even further down the line in FM23.
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Dele AlliMC, AML, AMC, STAMC, ST
- 25
- € 29,540,104
- 80
Eden Hazard - Real Madrid
Who would have thought that Eden Hazard's move to Real Madrid would turn out like this? At the time of his move from Chelsea Hazard was considered to be one of the best forwards in the world. Injuries and a loss of form has seen the Belgian winger decline rapidly in Football Manager. In FM21 he had a 88 rating, dropping down to 83 in FM22. What will FM23 bring for Hazard?
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Eden HazardAMR, AML, AMCAML, AMC
- 29
- € 84,208,728
- 93
Harry Maguire - Manchester United
Would Manchester United have any regrets of making Harry Maguire the most expensive defender in the world? We have to admit, Maguire did had a solid debut season at United and that made his upgrade from 76 in FM21 to 79 in FM22 reasonable. However, the now 29-year-old had a terrible 21/22 season for United and has been demoted to the bench under new coach Erik ten Hag. Will we see Maguire dropping back down to 76 or even lower?
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Harry MaguireDCDC
- 28
- € 80,941,794
- 79
Georginio Wijnaldum - Paris Saint-Germain
It is fair to say Gini Wijnaldum had a very very poor season playing for Paris Saint-Germain. Moving on a free from Liverpool we would have expected Wijnaldum to play at least 50 per cent of the available games. However, he was dropped from the squad before the season even started and he never managed to convince the Parisian fans. Coming from FM21 he already dropped from 79 to 78 and considering the season he has at PSG we are expecting him to drop even further to at least 75.
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Georginio WijnaldumDM, MC, AML, AMCDM, MC, AMC
- 30
- € 71,791,057
- 81
Nicolas Pepe - Arsenal > Nice
Did Arsenal over spend on Nicolas Pepe? We think the answer to that is yes. The Ivorian earned his big money move to London after a stellar season playing for Lille, but he proved that one season wonders in football really still is a thing. He never managed to convince the Arsenal fans of his qualities and last season Mikel Arteta wasn't impressed with Pepe's work ethic in training. After a decline from 75 in FM21 to 73 in FM22 Pepe is expected to drop closer towards 70 in FM23.
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Nicolas PépéAMR, AMLAMR
- 26
- € 50,732,755
- 80
Paul Pogba - Man Utd > Juventus
Paul Pogba's return to Manchester United never managed to live up to the expectations. Ever since his return to Old Trafford Pogba has been struggling with his form, whilst shining for France at the 2018 World Cup. Last season Pogba was sidelined for most part of the season due to injuries and even now - signing for Juventus in the summer - he is set to miss the 2022 World Cup due to an injury. We expect Pogba to drop from the 84 rating he received in both FM21 and FM22 down with at least 4 points down to 80.
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Paul PogbaMC, ML, AML, AMCMC
- 27
- € 75,237,274
- 88
Philippe Coutinho - Aston Villa
As a Liverpool player Philippe Coutinho was considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world. Moving to FC Barcelona would be the best move he could make. How wrong were we! At the Nou Camp Coutinho struggled massively and he never lived up to the massive 150m Barcelona paid for him, He spent a season on loan at Bayern Munich before moving to Aston Villa in January 2022. He went van 83 in FM21 to 78 in FM22 and we expect him to drop down even further in FM23.
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Philippe CoutinhoMC, ML, AML, AMCML, AML, AMC
- 29
- € 62,748,684
- 86
Antoine Griezmann - Barcelona > Atletico Madrid
Another player who has been continuously dropping in form is Antoine Griezmann. His transfer to FC Barcelona did not serve him well and in the last couple of seasons he has dropped from a high 88 rating to a mid 84 rating in FM22. Will FM23 be gently on Griezmann and still give him a rating above 80 or will he drop down to 79?
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Antoine GriezmannAMR, AML, AMC, STAMR, AML, AMC, ST
- 30
- € 87,848,152
- 90
Marcel Sabitzer - FC Bayern
After being the star player at RB Leipzig for several seasons, much was expected from Marcel Sabitzer when he joined up with his former manager Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern. Despite being a rather cheap transfer for the German giants, Sabitzer failed to make an impression during his first season, spending most of his time on the bench. After an upgrade in FM22, will we see a downgrade for Sabitzer in FM23?
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Marcel SabitzerMC, AMR, AML, AMCMC, AMR, AMC
- 27
- € 28,840,029
- 78
Raheem Sterling - Man City > Chelsea
A progressive loss of form over multiple seasons at Manchester City has seen Raheem Sterling moving away from the Etihad and signing for Chelsea this summer. Sterling has been one of the best and most lethal Premier League forwards over the past couple of years but for two seasons in a row he has been struggling with his form. Coming from a 86 rating in FM21, he was already downgraded to 84 in FM22. Will we see another drop in FM23? It is something we are expecting!
- name
- age
- sell value
- POT
- Raheem SterlingMR, ML, AMR, AMLAMR, AML
- 26
- € 126,831,893
- 90