FC 25 Career Mode teams: Best and worst squads to start with

This year, in somewhat historic fashion, ladies' teams are available in Career Mode for the first time, so we've included a few of those, too.

It is worth adding as well, that no matter what team you choose, you can always get plenty out of the mode - whether that's winning the domestic league or continental competitions. It's entirely up to you.

A Career Mode challenge, which will help you get even more out of the mode, might tickle your fancy, too.

Whether you want a rags-to-riches story, to revive a fallen giant or just to play with the best players around, we've got you covered. Here are the best Career mode teams to choose in FC 25 (and the worst).

Best Career Mode teams to choose in FC 25

The best Career Mode teams in FC 25 are the highest-rated teams in the game.

Here are the best teams in FC 25 to choose in Career Mode (based on stats, number is the average rating of their attack, midfield and defence stats rounded up or down):

• Real Madrid (86) | £104.9 million transfer budget
• Manchester City (85) | £194 million transfer budget
• Bayern Munich (85) | £86.6 million transfer budget
• Arsenal (84) | £107.5 million transfer budget
• Liverpool (83) | £90.5 million transfer budget
• Bayer Leverkusen (83) | £50.7 million transfer budget
• FC Barcelona (82) | £70.4 million transfer budget

Here are the best Women's teams to choose in Career Mode:

• FC Barcelona (86) | £1.58 million transfer budget
• Olympique Lyonnais (84) | £1.11 million transfer budget
• Arsenal (83) | £1.12 million transfer budget
• Chelsea (82) | £1.12 million transfer budget

Another idea is that the best Career Mode teams to choose in FC 25 will let you play the game with few restrictions in budget but still offer up a challenge or two. The sleeping giants, the big but not huge clubs, those that have been chasing trophies but falling short.

These are our picks for what we think the best FC 25 Career Mode teams are in terms of fun:

• West Ham
• Portsmouth
• Schalke 04
• Paris FC ladies
• Havre FC – focus on youth
• Kaiserslautern
• Palermo
• Napoli
• Tottenham Hotspur

Each of the teams above will give you ample budget for the division or allow you to focus on building a strong youth setup.

Of course, what defines the best team in Career Mode is up to you.

Other good clubs to pick are Sunderland, Valencia, or even lower league strugglers Accrington Stanley. Each will give you something to aim for, such as climbing back to the top division, finally winning some trophies or reversing years-long slumps.

Worst Career Mode teams to choose in FC 25

The worst Career Mode teams in FC 25 are those with the lowest ratings and those that offer little to no challenge.

While they have the best ratings in the game, we'd argue that picking teams such as Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich is against the point of Career Mode. These are clubs that win things all the time and have massive (almost unlimited) budgets, so where's the challenge?

Aside from those teams mentioned above for making the mode too easy, here are our picks for the worst FC 25 Career Mode teams:

• Hyderabad FC
• MK Dons
• Salford City
• NorthEast United
• Drogheda United
• Shelbourne

The worst teams, statistically, to choose in FC 25 are the following (number is the average rating of their attack, midfield and defence stats rounded up or down):

• Mohammedan SC (51) - Indian Super League
• Hyderabad FC (52) - Indian Super League
• Jamshedpur FC (56) - Indian Super League
• Drogheda United (57) - League of Ireland
• Dundalk (57) - League of Ireland
• NorthEast United (58) - Indian Super League
• Chennaiyin FC (58) - Indian Super League
• Accrington Stanley (58) - League 2
• Punjab FC (58) - Indian Super League
• Waterford (59) - League of Ireland
• Bromley FC (59) - League 2
• Kerala Blasters (60) - Indian Super League
• Cheltenham Town FC (60) - League 2

If you're a fan of the Indian Super League or League of Ireland, we do apologise. Picking teams from these leagues can be fun if you want to see how far you can take them in continental competitions, to be fair.

Best FC 25 Career Mode challenges

The best FC 25 Career Mode challenges will have you playing the mode a little differently. Forcing yourself to achieve particular goals is a great way to play the game.

Here are our ideas for the best Career Mode challenges in FC 25:

• Win the champions League with three different teams a la Ancelotti
• Get Hollywood to the Premier League with Wrexham
• Fallen giant: Kaiserslautern, Sampdoria, Lyon, Leeds - take them back to the top of the game
• Academy challenge: Only use academy players
• Ageing pro: Choose a player career, retire and then go on to manage with a retired pro. Options include: Milner, Giroud, Messi or anyone over 34, really
• Complete Europe: Win the league in each of Europe's top five leagues: France, England, Germany, Spain and Italy
• International management: Win a trophy with an international side

Read more on FC 25:

• FC 25 review: Our final verdict
• FC 25 ratings: The very best players
• FC 25 soundtrack: Full list of songs
• FC 25 wonderkids: Best young players
• FC 25 strikers: Best forwards to use
• FC 25 wingers: Best RW and LW
• FC 25 midfielders: Best CDM, CM and CAM
• FC 25 defenders: Best CB, RB and LB
• FC 25 goalkeepers: Best GK
• Best kits in FC 25: Our favourite shirts
• FC 25 evolutions: Who should you upgrade?
• FC 25 Squad Battle rewards
• FC 25 FUT Champs rewards
• FC 25 Division Rivals rewards

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.