After the cancellation of Football Manager 25, it opens the opportunity to embark on a long-term save on Football Manager 2024. With the prospect of delving into an eventful lower league save where restoring the glory of a former giant, or create your own legacy with one of the many historic football clubs around the world, kicking off a long-term save on Football Manager 2024 can bring that new motivation that’s needed for the next months, as it will be a long wait until FM26 release.
Football Manager 2024 offers an exciting opportunity to craft your own footballing legacy, and nothing beats the satisfaction of guiding a club to long-term success. Whether you’re looking to revive a fallen giant, lead a small club to greatness, or build a dynasty from scratch, the options are endless.
A long-term save in FM24 isn’t just about instant success — it’s about shaping a club’s future, nurturing young talent, and creating a lasting impact on the footballing world.
Today we’re kicking off a new series where we will explore five of the most intriguing long-term saves that will challenge your managerial skills, push you to your limits, and reward you with unforgettable moments. We start by looking at 5 clubs to manage in the Spanish lower leagues.
Spain is home to some of the most iconic clubs in world football, but it’s also a country with plenty of hidden gems waiting for a manager to step in and turn them into giants.
Just imagine, battling against the top 3 Spanish giants, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for the major trophies and honours whilst also getting a deeper connection with the passionate Spanish football culture that has given us Tiki-Taka and beautiful attacking football brought to the nation by the Brazilian connections.
With our Football Manager 2024 Transfers & data update at your disposal, you will be able to embark on a Spanish lower leage save in FM24 with updated squads and transfer budgets as we have focused our attention to sort all the clubs’ transfer dealings within the Winter Transfer window 2024/25. We recommend you to download our transfer update database before kicking off any of these Spanish long-term saves on FM24.
Let’s dive into these exciting Spanish football clubs positioned deep in the Spanish football system, that will keep you hooked for seasons to come as you build a dynasty at a smaller side!
5 Spanish Lower League Clubs to Manage on Football Manager 2024
To help you find a new save in the Spanish lower leagues we have hand-picked 5 clubs suitable for a long-term save in Spain. All these clubs got a rich history and a passionate fan base which makes them into a compelling Football Manager 2024 save.
5. Antequera CF
Founded in 1992, Antequera Club de Fútbol, based in Andalusia, Spain, is a third-division football club that has experienced significant growth since its acquisition by British entrepreneur Mike Garlick in February 2024. Garlick, former chairman of Burnley FC, brings a wealth of experience, having led Burnley to two Premier League promotions and a Europa League qualification.
Under his ownership, Antequera CF has seen remarkable progress, including a strong performance in the Primera Federación, where they are currently in the third position of the Primera Federacion – Grupo II 2024/25 season after topping the table at the end of the first half of the season.
In the Winter Transfer window, Antequera bolstered the squad with former talented A.C Milan forward Samuele Longo, former Barcelona right back Guillem Jaime, and previous Parma playerJonathan Biabiany (36). In fact, the squad was massively changed with 27 arrivals and departures throughout the 2024/25 season.
The sale of Luismi Redondo and Destiny Ilahude improved their transfer balance with €300K – ensuring that the squad can be further strengthened for what may come in the final half of the season or build the foundation for a potential promotion to LaLiga 2.
The challenge in Football Manager 2024 would be to build a club able to compete against their local rivals Malaga, which is located under 50 minutes away from the city of Antequera.
Their location near both Malaga, Sevilla and Granada represents a wonderful chance to build a team of graduates that was released by these La Liga clubs.
4. Recreativo de Huelva
Recreativo de Huelva, founded in 1889, holds a place of unique distinction in Spanish football. As the oldest football club in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe, the club has an illustrious history, with many triumphs, including numerous regional titles and a respected reputation in the Spanish football scene. However, in recent years, Recreativo de Huelva has struggled to regain its former glory.
Based in Andalucia, Recreativo de Huelva is more than just a club—it is a symbol of the roots of football in Spain. Founded in the late 19th century by British expatriates and Spanish locals in the industrial city of Huelva, the club was initially established to provide entertainment to the workers of the region’s bustling mining and shipping industries.
In its early years, Recreativo played a pivotal role in spreading the sport throughout Spain, making it one of the earliest pioneers of football in the country.
In recent years, the glory days of Recreativo de Huelva have become a distant memory.
The club’s struggle to maintain its presence in La Liga and the Segunda División has highlighted a broader issue of financial instability, mismanagement, and lack of resources. While other clubs in the region, such as Real Betis and Sevilla, have consistently played at higher levels, Recreativo has battled relegation to lower tiers, where competition is fierce, and the financial rewards are minimal.
In 2021, Recreativo de Huelva reached rock bottom of their long and pride history, which dates back 135 years at the moment. When the Spanish league system was restructured, Recre was relegated two tiers and had to rise from the ashes in the fifth tier.
Now they have managed to climb back up to the third tier, but although they have completed back-to-back promotion between 2021 and 2023, they find themselves in the bottom half of the table – positioned on 16th place – 1 point away from securing the spot in Primera Federacion.
In Football Manager, Recreativo de Huelva possesses one of the best training facilities in the lower leagues of Spain – only beaten by Marbella, who got better first team training facilities and youth facilities.
Their great training facilities represents a wonderful opportunity to embark on a challenging youth to gold series where you establish a transfer policy of only signing players under the age of 23 and focus on developing your own talents with the prospect of getting through the next club icon.
Now it’s 16 years since they last played in La Liga. Are you able to get Recreativo back to La Liga and finish better than their all-time high 8th position and secure the club’s first major trophy in their entire history?
3. Real Unión
Real Unión, founded in 1915, is one of Spain’s oldest and most storied football clubs. Based in Irun, a small city near the French border in the Basque region, Real Unión has experienced its fair share of triumphs and struggles over the years.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the team regularly competed in the top divisions of Spanish football and enjoyed a reputation as one of the best teams in the Basque region.
In 1929, Real Unión was one of the founding members of the La Liga and spent four years in the top division before experiencing the final relegation.
Until then, Real Unión was particularly known for producing talented players and playing an exciting brand of football. However, after its early successes, the club slowly began to lose its prominence on the national stage.
Now it’s 93 years since they last played LaLiga football and while top division football seems like a distant dream, fans of Txuri-beltz can look backon a club with a pride history.
They have won the Copa del Rey three times, the last one in 1927, and many of you might remember the historic moment when Real Union reached the round of 32 in the Copa del Rey after beating Real Madrid on away goals over two thrilling matches that ended in a 6-6- goals galore clash.
This was the first time Real Madrid was beaten by a team from the third tier of Spanish football.
The following season, Real Union would promote to the La Liga 2 for the first time in 44 years… Unfortunately, the success was short lived.
Over the years, Real Unión’s fortunes waned. While clubs like Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, and Osasuna continued to thrive, Real Unión’s performance became inconsistent.
Now they are completing their 42nd season on the third tier of the Spanish football system and have had difficulties even qualifying for the first round of the Copa del Rey in the last 14 years.
The task of restoring Real Unión to its former heights is no small feat. The club’s current position in the Spanish football pyramid presents multiple challenges, both on and off the pitch. Financial limitations are perhaps the most significant barrier to success. While bigger clubs have multi-million-euro budgets, Real Unión is working with far fewer resources, limiting their ability to attract top talent or invest in cutting-edge facilities.
To climb the ranks, the club would need to consistently punch above its weight, relying on smart player recruitment, development, and effective management.
However, in the summer of 2024, current Aston Villa manager, Unai Emery, bought the controlling stakes in Real Union due to sentiments of his father and grandfather used to play for the club. This has led to Aston Villa sending out some of their youth players on loan to the club to get valuable first team experience. His connections can be a valuable resource for the return of the Basque club.
Managing Real Union on Football Manager represents one of the greatest lower-league challenges to do as you’ll have fierce competition for the promotion spots. The reality is more likely to avoid relegation to Segunda Federacion as they currently find themselves 2 points above the relegation zone.
2. Real Murcia
Real Murcia is a historic Spanish football club based in the city of Murcia, with a rich legacy dating back to its founding in 1919.
With a passionate and loyal fanbase known as Grada de Animación, they provide an electric atmosphere to Real Murcia’s home matches despite the club now find themselves in the third tier of the Spanish football pyramid for the third year in row after reaching the lowpoint of the club’s history when they relegated to Segunda Federacion for 2021/22 season.
Now it’s 11 years since they last played in La Liga 2 and we have to go back to 2008 since they last played in the top flight of Spanish football.
One of the club’s proudest moments came in the 1960s when Real Murcia earned promotion to La Liga after a prolonged absence, securing a place among Spain’s elite. Over the years, they built a reputation for playing competitive, hard-fought football, regularly challenging for spots in the upper half of the league table. Their performances during this era solidified their place in Spanish football history and made them a beloved club in the region.
However, in the decades that followed, the club began to face financial difficulties and fluctuating fortunes that saw them bounce between the second and third division, struggling to regain their former glory.
Despite these setbacks, Real Murcia has retained a loyal following and a strong connection to the local community.
Although they are currently in the lower tiers of Spanish football, their passionate fan base and the potential for revival make them a compelling choice for management in Football Manager.
Managing Real Murcia offers a unique challenge: the chance to bring a club with such history back to the top, overcoming financial limitations, squad rebuilding, and competing in a competitive lower-division environment.
By managing Real Murcia on Football Manager, you’ll experience the fourth oldest squad in their league turning this Spanish lower league save into a true underdog story as you are often often overshadowed by the dominance of the bigger teams.
But that just makes the push for promotion and the process of rebuilding Real Murcia into a top European team even more awarding when you manage to lift the club’s first major trophy in the modern era.
1. FC Andorra
Founded in 1942, FC Andorra, a club based in the small principality of Andorra, has become one of the most intriguing stories in European football in recent years. While Andorra may be one of the smallest countries in Europe, its football club has shown that even in a small nation, big dreams can come true. With its meteoric rise through the Spanish football pyramid that saw them promote to LaLiga 2 for 2022/23 season, and its potential for future success, FC Andorra is a club that has captured the attention of fans and football enthusiasts around the world despite spending most of its early history in the lower leagues of Andorran football.
The most significant turning point in FC Andorra’s history came in 2018, when the club was purchased by Spanish football legend Gerard Piqué.
Under Piqué’s ownership, FC Andorra made a serious push to climb the Spanish football pyramid. With the backing of his financial support and business acumen, the club began to make smart investments in both their infrastructure and player development and used his connections to build a club that both attracted better talent as well as helping to bring attention to this minor team.
Now playing in the Primera Federacion after they relegated from La Liga 2 last season, FC Andorra’s ambitions is sky high.
Although forced to sell great players such as Sergi Samper, Jose Marsa, Dani Martin and Marc Vidal after the relegation, the team is destined for a short stint in the third tier of the Spanish football league system. For the moment, the club bolstered the squad with the highest market value if we look away from the B-teams in Grupo I.
The average age is currently at 27.1, making them have the sixth oldest squad in the group – meaning you might have to rebuild the club in near future.
Managing FC Andorra in Football Manager represents a great challenge where you are trying to hunt for glory in Build a Nation save. Are you able to make Andorra into one of the best clubs in Spain, as well as hunting for success in one of the UEFA European tournaments?
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