FIFA 22 Real Madrid Career Mode Guide: Starting Lineup and Who to sign

Real Madrid are one of the biggest teams in world football with an outstanding squad, so of course, they will be a top pick when looking for a club to manage.

A lot of the work has already been done for you, so it's just a matter of putting in the finishing touches to a team that already has world-class starters and great youth prospects.

The big ask is winning everything, but it's certainly an attainable goal if you choose Real Madrid to manage on your Career Mode.

Team Rating

Real Madrid have a five-star rating on FIFA 22.

That is gained by having ratings of 83 ATK, 86 MID, and 83 DEF.

Starting Lineup and Formation

Madrid line up as a 4-3-3 False 9, and you will want to keep it like this unless you invest in a different type of striker, then you can switch to a variation of a 4-3-3.

You could try playing a 4-3-2-1, but that will take away a lot of your attacking wing-play options.

Karim Benzema spearheads the team as the false 9, with his brilliant passing ability used to bring others into play.

To his left, we have the very exciting Vinicius Jr. who offers unreal pace to get in behind defences.

On the right-wing, we have switched from Rodrygo to Gareth Bale, who still has phenomenal stats, and can cut inside to fire off shots with his left foot.

It also means we have Rodrygo to bring off from the bench for some late-game pace.

The midfield three picks itself, as it has done for many years at Madrid, with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Casemiro able to dictate play and find crucial passes, although it is painful to leave the unreal Federico Valverde on the bench.

Ferland Mendy has usurped the position help for so long by Marcelo at LB, as he has the pace and power to get up and down the wing.

Carvajal is still going strong and keeps Lucas Vazquez confined to the bench.

Eder Militao, although not represented in his overall rating, is one of the best centre-backs in the game, and will only get better.

We've partnered him with new signing David Alaba, who is very comfortable on the ball but may lack the physical presence we would like from a CB.

In goal is the giant frame of Thibaut Courtois, who can not only stop most shots that come his way but also start counterattacks with his GK Long Throw trait.

Another new signing, Eduardo Camavinga, will get game time from the bench until he takes over from one of the other midfielders in the future, with Eden Hazard an option to bring on for a bit of trickery on the wing.

The bench is rounded off with Luka Jovic if you want to bring on a more conventional striker.

Tactics and Instructions

We switched the defensive style from Balanced to Press After Possession Loss to really put the opposition under pressure when they lose the ball, which combines well with the already high line Real play.

We kept with Slow Build Up for offensive play, as it will suit the midfield three more to keep up with play and dictate possession.

With that in mind, we also kept chance creation as Possession, which will bring Benzema in more as a creator but also give him time to make his way into the box when needed.

You should look to be keeping possession for the majority of the game, biding your time for the right opening before slipping in that killer ball.

Both the full-backs are set to Join The Attack, which will really squeeze the opposition back in their half, and both of them have the pace to get back if needed.

The midfield three are all switched to Cover Center, to force the opposition out wide and make a trickier route to goal.

Kroos is kept to Stay Back While Attacking to give a bit more cover with Mendy attacking, and this also allows him to pick up the ball in deeper areas.

Vinicius Jr. is kept to Get In Behind to exploit teams with his pace, with Bale on Balanced Support and Free Roam, allowing him to get down the line if needed, or cut inside and create or shoot.

Benzema's support runs have been changed to Stay Central, and we kept his defensive support as Stay Forward, so he can offer you an out ball and hold-up play.

Development Plans

There are some youngsters with great potential in the squad, so in training, you should focus on Vinicius Jr., Militao, Valverde, Camavinga, Rodrygo, Andriy Lunin, and Jovic.

There are a few other promising players, but they will be best sent on loan, and we will get to that below.

As for player position changes, you could look to make Hazard a CAM, and possibly do the same for Marco Asensio, as neither have great pace for the wing.

You could consider doing the same with Bale as he slows, or even convert him to a striker.

Transfer Market

Starting transfer budget: £129 million

Starting wage budget: £843,000 a week

Who should go

You have a very big budget, and enough good players to already field a very comfortable second team, so don't be afraid to get rid of a lot of men.

Say goodbye to Luis Lopez, Jesus Vallejo, Dani Ceballos, Sergio Arribas, Marvin, Israel Salazar, and Mariano, as none of them will become good enough for the first team.

To bring in some big money look to get rid of Alaba, Vazquez, Isco, and Hazard.

You could even offload Kroos if he isn't your style of player and bring in someone who suits you more.

Decide now if you want to keep Benzema up top or look for a replacement, as he will just decrease in value from now on, so you may as well cash in early.

Loans

Look to loan out Antonio Blanco, Takuhiro Nakai, and Miguel, none of them will become superstars, but they will turn into decent squad players.

Luis Carbonell is at the club on loan, and it won't be worth keeping him after.

When they return from loan, it is not worth keeping hold of Diego Altube, David Cuenca, Fernando Guerrero, or Borja Mayoral.

It could be worth seeing how Victor Chust develops, as he could become a strong, pacey CB that you bring in on rotation.

Alvaro Odriozola will only improve to an 80 OVR but is still young so can be a backup RB for a while.

Brahim could become a 87 OVR, so keep an eye out for his return after his two-year loan ends at AC Milan, and Takefusa Kubo could reach 88 OVR, so is another star in the making.

Reinier will only make 83 OVR, so he could play a part in your squad or be used to make some cash.

Who to Sign

It will feel quite harsh to do this to Benzema, as he is one of the best forwards on the game, but look to sign one of the big two - Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland.

You could try to use Benzema in a player plus cash swap deal, or if you want to keep Karim in the team he will be a more than adequate backup, or you could convert him to a CAM.

We would also recommend finding another first-team CB, as Alaba isn't the tallest, despite being a very good all-rounder. (Perhaps look at converting him to a CDM.)

Ruben Dias or Matthijs de Ligt would be top choices as they have the highest potentials of 91 OVR and 90 OVR.

Centre-back options

Finally, another pacey winger will come in useful.

You have Kubo and Brahim on loan who could become that, so you could recall one of them.

If not, look at signing players such as Ansu Fati (good luck getting him from rivals Barcelona) or Antony.

Pacey winger options

Contracts

Real Madrid has 12 players in the final year of their contract, and you will want to sort quite a few of these out.

Isco, Modric, Bale, and Marcelo are the big names you should be looking to give an extension to if you don't sell them, as you don't want them leaving for free.

Nakai and Blanco should also be offered new contracts, as you want to develop them at the club.

Board Expectations

There are three critical expectations from the board, Brand Exposure, Domestic Success, and Continental Success.

Brand Exposure is pretty easy to accomplish, by getting 10 league wins and signing 1 young player.

Domestic Success and Continental Success means you need to win it all, the league, Copa de Espana, and Champions League.

Youth Development is a low priority, split into Short Term and Long Term goals, both of which will be easy to complete.

Short Term you need to sign 1 player in your Youth Academy who is a defender, and also sign at least 2 players younger than 20 with a potential greater than the average overall rating of players currently in the same position.

Long Term (within 2 seasons) you have to sign a youth player to the senior team and play them in 5 matches, which includes coming on as a sub.

Finally, there is the low priority Financial target, which is another Long Term goal, where within 2 seasons you must increase your club worth by 15%.

You can achieve this through player sales and competition prize money rewards.