Need help! - Promise with capitain about to be broken...

[ILionI]

So I’m playing with Man City, start of the second season. Vincent Kompany is my current captain, and a great one actually.

At the end of last season, Kompany asked me to sell him, because he feels it’s time to go back to Belgium.
He is 32yo, and slightly declining in stats, so I reluctantly told him “Okay, I will let you go, but only if I find a valuable replacement first.”

I would have liked to keep him at the club, because I like the player, and he still could have played a role at the club (maybe even after his playing career), but okay, I don’t want unhappy squad members, and he is getting older. Mind over heart for this one.

So I went looking for good CB’s and bought Varane from Real Madrid, seems like a valuable replacement to me.

Now, when I try to sell Kompany, our ‘promise’ in mind, no one seems interested.

I transfer listed him and offered him to clubs for way less than his value, didn’t work. I asked him to speak to clubs himself, he agreed to it, but still no results. No one wants to buy my captain.

Meanwhile, my board wants to take Kompany off the tranfer list, since they feel he is too important for our club.

I really don't know what to do at this point.

I have 55 days left to sell him to ‘keep my promise’, but I tried, and nothing seems to work.

I would want to talk to him, explain to him why I can’t keep my promise, and persuade him to stay at the club, because he could still be really important for this club, but I know this is FM, not real life.

I have also read stories about how broken promises completely ruined some peoples games (team morale dropped to bottom, not possible to talk sense into the player, …), and we’re talking about my captain here, the most influential player of my team…

Someone please help?

Anyone that has experience with broken promises?

 

[Snorks]

Not much you can do to be honest, at least, not as far as I know.

How long left to run on his contract?

I have had it once or twice, and in some cases, the player understands that you have tried hard to sell, and gives you a bit more time.

Can you loan him to a Belgian club?

 

[Matt G]

General rule of thumb with promises is that if the player feels you've made a reasonable effort to resolve an issue, he'll drop his concern. Unless Kompany is a complete arsehole in this game, you should be OK>

 

[ILionI]

Not much you can do to be honest, at least, not as far as I know.

How long left to run on his contract?

I have had it once or twice, and in some cases, the player understands that you have tried hard to sell, and gives you a bit more time.

Can you loan him to a Belgian club?

Last year contract. I could release him on a fee or opt for a Mutual termination as a last resort, I guess, didn't think of that. He's still valued over 30M though, and my board doesn't want him to go, so they 'd probably block a free release. I'll keep that option if nothing else works though.

I didn't try loaning him out yet either, will try that right now, but I'm doubtful that would work, since he just wants to leave. And what Belgium club in it's right mind could afford Kompany's wage..

Tnx for the reply, much appreciated.

 

[ILionI]

General rule of thumb with promises is that if the player feels you've made a reasonable effort to resolve an issue, he'll drop his concern. Unless Kompany is a complete arsehole in this game, you should be OK>

Alright I hope you're right and he'll just drop his concern, because I'd hate something like this to potentially ruin my save.

I looked up topics about broken promises on the forums, and a lot of people were complaining that it ruined their game (player/squad upset for months --> performances dropping, ...), but most of those people were playing earlier versions of FM, didn't really find any info on broken promises in FM 18. So hope they fixed the 'promises issues' in the meantime.

I guess I'll just wait for the deadline of the promise to pass, while trying to sell Kompany the normal way. If after that it goes ham, I can still set him free or opt for a Mutual release, since it's his last year of contract.

I'll let you guys know what the end result is after the broken promise, since other players might have the same problem in the future.

Tnx for your views on the topic.

 

[Snorks]

You could offer to pay some/all of his wage with the loan - not helpful, but if it saves the team morale could be worth it.

Also, keep saying nice things to him - the old 'Praise Conduct' trick usually boosts morale by a couple of notches, but you have to get in while he is still talking to you. If they get ****** off the option to interact can disappear!

Ohterwise, I suspect it's a 'keep trying, but let him go for free at end of contract if ti doesn't happen'

 

[ILionI]

You could offer to pay some/all of his wage with the loan - not helpful, but if it saves the team morale could be worth it.

Also, keep saying nice things to him - the old 'Praise Conduct' trick usually boosts morale by a couple of notches, but you have to get in while he is still talking to you. If they get ****** off the option to interact can disappear!

Ohterwise, I suspect it's a 'keep trying, but let him go for free at end of contract if ti doesn't happen'

I actually offered him to clubs for loan while paying all his wages, but no one was interested.
At one point, Anderlecht was interested in a transfer, but Kompany’s wage demands were too high... I’m starting to think Kompany is a troll.

Anyway, transfer deadline is over now, and … Kompany is still in my squad.

I bought another good CB (Laporte) just in case I miraculously managed to sell Kompay before the transfer deadline passed, but as you can see, that failed.

There ’s 15 days left until the broken promise.

His morale is already on the max level possible for his current state btw, which is ‘Really Good’. It doesn’t go higher than that when he has concerns (the promise).
I played him in my pre-season friendlies and try to keep him as happy as possible, and we’ll see what he will say in 15 days, I guess.

I’ll keep you guys posted.

 

[Snorks]

Keep trying to loan him out - I am pretty sure most other leagues allow loans to be arranged outside of TFR windows.