You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Everyone treats the star rating system in Football Manager like its gospel. When my scout brings me a player with a four-and-a-half-star rating, I have to sign them at all costs. And when a player dips below three stars, you immediately start thinking about the quickest way to get them off your wage bill. But what if I told you the star rating system isnt telling you the full truth?Weve all had players who perform way aboveor belowtheir star rating. That one two-and-a-half-star player who somehow ends up with the best average rating in the team, outperforming the unknown wonderkid you splashed 90 million on just because of his high rating. Just like we found out with Football Managers attributes, all of this suggests that the star rating system isnt as reliable as it seems, and it needs to be scrutinized carefully. So, lets dive into it and uncover the truth. Save Up to $1,200 on the Samsung Galaxy S25! Pre-order now and save big with trade-in and Samsung credit. Limited time only! *Includes trade-in value + $300 Samsung credit. What is the Football Manager Star Rating System?If youve played Football Manager for any period of time, you already know what the star rating system is. But if youre completely new, heres a quick explanation.In Football Manager, star ratings are an assessment of a players current and potential ability, ranging from half a star to five stars. These ratings are relative to your squads overall quality. That means a player might have different star ratings at various clubs, depending on the level of the team. A three-star player at Crawley Town could be a one-star player at Manchester City. Must-Listen: Publishing Manor Lords w/ Joe Robinson VideoGamer Podcast Listen Now Sounds simple, right? Well, not quite.Star Ratings Dont Accurately Reflect Current AbilityPopular Football Manager YouTuber Zealand has already exposed how unreliable the star ratings are when it comes to evaluating current ability. Take this screenshot (below): as we can see Kingsley Coman and Manuel Neuer both have a current ability of 162. But their star ratings? A full star apart.In Football Manager, a full star is supposed to be a big deal. Even a half-star difference is often enough to convince someone to signor ignorea player. So, the fact that two players with the same ability have such different star ratings is a major red flag.Zealand https://www.youtube.com/@ZealandonYTIt doesnt stop there. Noussair Mazraoui and Konrad Laimer also have the same current ability, yet their star ratings differ by half a star. You could argue that factors like form and training performance influence these ratings, but Zealands screenshot was taken at the very start of the game. So, those factors shouldnt even be in play yet.If the star ratings dont accurately represent current ability, surely theyre better at predicting potential ability? Well no. In fact, it gets even worse.Potential Ability Star Ratings Are Even More InaccurateThings get even crazier when you look at youth academies and their potential star ratings. At Bayern Munich, the highest-rated youth prospect, Arijon Ibrahimovi (no relation to Zlatan), has five-star potential.Based on that rating, youd assume that if you developed him perfectly, hed reach the same level as Bayerns best playerssomeone like Harry Kane. Except, thats not the case at all: when Zealand checked his actual potential ability, it was 145.To put that into perspective, 145 is lower than the current ability of the worst player in Bayerns first-team squad, and it gets even worse.A random youth prospect further down the list, with just three-star potential, actually had a higher potential ability than the so-called five-star Ibrahimovi. Now, you might be thinking: Well, maybe the staff member rating these players just isnt very good at judging potential?Nope. Zealand changed the staff member to one with maxed-out scouting stats, and the star ratings were still a complete mess. No consistency, no logic, just chaos. The weirdness only continues when you change a players current ability. When you do this, it also changes their potential star ratingeven though their actual potential ability stays the same.In short: Star ratings are inaccurate and influenced by way too many factors to be trusted.How This Affects Your Gameand What You Should DoSo, what does this mean for how you play Football Manager?1. Stop relying on star ratings.Theyre just an opinion, not a fact.2. Focus on attributes.The only thing you can depend on 100% is a players attributes. Look at their statsdo they have high values in the areas you need? If youre looking for a winger, can they dribble and cross? If you need a centre-back, do they have good positioning and tackling?3. Consider intangibles.Scout reports can tell you important things, like whether a player is consistent or if they perform well in big games. From personal experience, players with high work rate and determination almost always outperform their star ratings.(Football Manager secretly loves a workhorse.)4. Be cautious with potential ability.For some players, you can use media descriptions like wonderkid to get an idea of their potential. But for most young players, as Zealand showed, potential star ratings are wildly inaccurate.This might seem frustrating, but it actually makes the game more realistic. In real-life football, predicting young players careers is a lottery. If Football Manager was too accurate, the game would be much easierand much less fun. Embrace the chaos.ConclusionTheres a lot of complexity within every Football Manager game, and the inconsistencies with the games Star System shows that you cant only rely on a single system to max out your team with the best possible players. You need to combine everything: stars, hidden attributes, current ability ratings. Any possible stat you see, you should be weighing up alongside another.It turns out that its quite a bit of work to make sure that your team is as primed as they should be for whatever league youre in, but thats the fun. Everyone loves a challenge, and FM has a lot. Just like a real footie manager, you have to earn your success. Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share