Football Manager 26 has simulated Manchester City's nightmare scenario of relegation to the National League over 10 seasons, revealing a squad exodus, Championship heartbreak, and an unexpected manager change. The simulation was prompted by the Premier League's independent commission finding City guilty of 114 of 115 financial misconduct charges, with rival fans speculating about a massive relegation to non-league football.
The FM26 experiment setup
After relegating City four successive times, the highest-placed club in each division was given a relegation reprieve, sparing West Ham United, Oxford United, Exeter City, and Harrogate Town. Behind-the-scenes stats were adjusted to replicate the club's drop in reputation and morale, considering how players like Erling Haaland, Enzo Fernandez, and Gianluigi Donnarumma would react to fifth-tier football. A custom database with the summer's biggest transfers was used, and 10 seasons were simulated.
The player exodus was immediate, with six of City's highest earners demanding transfers. Haaland moved to Barcelona, followed by Rayan Cherki. Fernandez went to Real Madrid, Donnarumma and Jeremy Doku moved to Newcastle, and Antoine Semenyo joined Atletico Madrid. However, the rest of the squad remained surprisingly intact.
Dominance in the lower leagues
City were utterly dominant in their first National League season, winning 44 of 46 games with two draws and 134 points. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by MK Dons but won the FA Trophy. Enzo Maresca remained in charge, and Nico O'Reilly became the club's top scorer with 23 goals.
In League Two, City won the title with a 34-point margin over Chesterfield, though they lost twice and drew eight games. FA Cup elimination followed in the third round against Bolton Wanderers, and Norwich City knocked them out of the League Cup fourth round. New signing Milan Smit was top scorer with 19 goals, and the biggest transfer was James Justin from Leeds for £5.5m. Notable outgoings included Marc Guehi to Al-Ahli (£35m), Ruben Dias to Chelsea (£31m), Phil Foden to Tottenham (£60m), and Josko Gvardiol to Barcelona (£88m).
In League One, City collected another title, finishing 25 points ahead of runners-up Salford City with 107 points from 33 wins and eight draws. That was the only silverware of season three.
Championship struggles and promotion
Back in the Championship, City stalled in midtable, finishing 11th in season four. Maresca was sacked after nearly four years, with Richard Dunne taking over as caretaker before Regis Le Bris was appointed. Le Bris led City to 10th the following season, then to the play-offs in season six, where they lost 3-2 to Coventry City in the final. A year later, Wolves denied them promotion with a 1-0 defeat at Wembley.
Le Bris spent big, including £88m on Porto's William Gomes and a combined £95m for Marc Pubill and Marc Cascado. Finally, City won the Championship title in season eight with 86 points, securing promotion back to the Premier League.
Premier League return and broader impact
Upon returning to the top flight, City finished seventh to earn a Europa League place. The following year, they were eliminated in the Europa League quarter-finals by Real Betis, and Le Bris was sacked in January 2036 with City sitting 14th. Julien Stephan, who had won the Championship, League Cup, and FA Cup with Ipswich in the simulation, took over and helped City finish 11th.
Meanwhile, Arsenal built a dynasty, winning the league six times in a row and a further two times. Manchester United, under Luis Enrique after Michael Carrick was sacked in December 2026, won two FA Cups and a Europa League. Haaland led Barcelona to three Champions League winners' medals, and Pep Guardiola managed Portugal and Germany before a shock appointment as Chelsea manager, leading them to a Champions League final defeat against PSG.
City's starting XI 10 years after relegation included Zion Suzuki, Marc Pubill, Jaydee Canvot, Abdukodir Khusanov, Daniel Svensson, Mamadou Coulibaly, Marc Casado, Cole Campbell, Allan, William Gomes, and Hamza Abdelkarim. The club's trophy count over the 10 seasons included one National League title, one FA Trophy, one League Two title, one League One title, and one EFL Championship title.
