How to sell players in Master Liga: quick sale and automatic buyout

Signing players is the fun part of the transfer market. Selling them is the hard part. Every manager has had that veteran stuck on the bench, on a big salary, that nobody wants even for free. In Master Liga, that player could stay listed forever.

Now the market has two new ways out: the quick sale and the automatic buyout of stale listings. This post explains how they work, why each number is what it is and how other manager games deal with the same problem.

Why some players never sold

In Master Liga, a listed player can be bought by another manager or by a computer-controlled club. Managers buy whoever they want. Computer clubs are pickier: they only bid on players who improve their squad, meaning someone who fills a position group that is short of players, or who is better and younger than the weakest player in that group. They also prefer an equally good free agent, who costs no fee, and never pay above market value.

That makes sense for them, but it left a gap: the veteran and the weak player interested nobody. They stayed listed, drawing a salary, and the only way out was to release them and pay the contract penalty.

Quick sale: selling to the game

The quick sale lets you sell a listed player straight to the game. Here is how it works:

1. With the transfer window open, go to Market > My listings.
2. The quick sale button already shows the amount: 55% of market value.
3. Once you confirm, the amount is locked. Open offers are rejected and the listing is hidden from other clubs.
4. The game answers in 24 hours. Until then, removing the listing cancels the sale.

The quick sale is only available for players who have been at the club for at least 30 days, and never for an injured player. If he gets injured before the answer, the sale is cancelled and the listing stays on the market.

Why only 55%

Because the game has to be the last resort. If the quick sale paid close to market value, nobody would list patiently or negotiate with other managers anymore. At 55%, selling to another club is almost always the better deal, and the quick sale is the emergency exit for when you need a squad spot or cash right now.

Why wait 24 hours

The wait gives you time to change your mind and prevents impulse sales. It also makes sure no player is sold in the middle of a match: if your club is playing when the answer is due, the game waits for the final whistle.

Automatic buyout: stale listings come to an end

If you don't want to sell at half price, you can wait. A listing that goes through 2 whole windows without a sale is bought by the game when the second window closes, for 72% of market value, or the asking price if that is lower. My listings shows how much the game would pay.

Transfer windows happen twice a month, so in practice a stale listing is sold within two to four weeks.

Why 72% and not 55%

Waiting costs wages. A manager who gives the market a chance to work gets more than one who asks for the sale right away. The gap between the two numbers is the reward for patience.

Why only whole windows count

Only windows that opened with the player already listed count. Without this rule, listing on the last day of a window would count as a whole window. This way, every listing gets two full chances to receive real offers before the game steps in.

Why the asking price is the cap

If you listed a player for less than 72% of his market value, you were willing to sell at that price. The game respects your asking price instead of paying more than you asked for.

Where the player goes

In both sales, the buyer is preferably a computer club with room in its squad and the cash to pay. Clubs that need someone in his position come first. If no club can take him, he is sold abroad and leaves the game. You get the same amount either way.

The computer club comes first because the player keeps playing in the league and the money comes out of a real club's cash: the economy circulates instead of the game creating money out of thin air. Selling abroad exists so the sale never gets stuck.

If the sale would leave your squad below the minimum number of players or goalkeepers, it is cancelled (in the automatic buyout, the listing is withdrawn) and you get a notice.

The loophole we closed: signing to resell

Without a safeguard, selling to the game would become a money machine. Free agents cost no transfer fee: you could sign a free agent worth €8 million, list him and sell him to the game for €4.4 million. And repeat.

That is why a player who arrived at the club less than 2 whole windows ago goes, in a quick sale or an automatic buyout, for at most what the club paid for him. A player who arrived as a free agent goes for free.

• For a quick sale, the date of the request counts.
• For an automatic buyout, the date of the listing counts: if he was listed within that period, the cap stays even if the buyout happens later.
• Youth academy players and players from the starting squad have no cap.

When you list a player in this situation, the game warns you and shows until when the cap applies.

Other market updates

• My listings tab: all your players for sale, with the quick sale and the automatic buyout amount.
• Sorting: free agents and listings can be sorted by overall, market value or salary (listings also by listing date), highest to lowest or the other way around.
• View on market: in the squad, the button opens the player's listing directly.
• Renewing a listed player: the renewal doesn't remove the listing or reject the offers. Whoever buys him takes the new contract, and a higher salary raises what the player demands to accept an offer.

How to sell well: the right order

1. List at a fair price. The asking price can be well below market value, and buyers can offer more than the asking price, never less.
2. Give the market two windows. Another manager or a computer club may pay much more than the game.
3. Let the automatic buyout kick in if nobody shows up: 72% without lifting a finger.
4. Use the quick sale only when you need a squad spot or cash immediately.
5. Think about the fans. Selling one of the most valuable players in the squad lowers their mood, and that applies to any kind of sale. The post on how to make money in Master Liga explains the impact on ticket revenue.

How other manager games handle the player nobody wants

Every manager game has to answer the same question: what do you do with a player nobody buys?

Football Manager

In Football Manager, you put the player on the transfer list and computer-controlled clubs make offers, or they don't. In recent versions, intermediaries help offer the player to other clubs, and a listing with no interest expires after a while. If nobody wants him, the options are a loan, waiting for the contract to run out or terminating it and paying the remaining wages.

It is the most realistic system in the genre, but there is no "sell to the game" button: only clubs make up the market, and a poor player on a big salary can be stuck for seasons.

Hattrick

In Hattrick, the transfer market works as an auction between users: you set a minimum price and a deadline, and the highest bidder wins. Since there are no computer clubs buying, a player no user is interested in simply doesn't sell. The alternative is to fire him and get nothing.

Master Liga mixes both worlds: managers and computer clubs buy on the same market, and the game steps in as the buyer of last resort.

EA FC Ultimate Team

The quick sale idea isn't new. In EA FC Ultimate Team, quick sell instantly swaps a card you don't want for a fixed amount of coins, well below what it would fetch on the transfer market, where cards are auctioned to other players with a 5% tax on the sale.

The logic is the same as in Master Liga: selling to the game is fast and guaranteed, selling to another player pays more. The difference is that here the quick sale has a 24-hour wait, only applies to players who have been at the club for a while, and the player moves to another club in the league instead of disappearing.

Brasfoot and Elifoot

In the classic download games, you play alone against the computer, and computer clubs make offers for your players. With no other managers around, the economy doesn't need protecting from anyone. Master Liga is an online, shared league, which is why rules like the cap on signing to resell are needed. If you are coming from Brasfoot, see what is similar and what changes.

Summary

For a broader comparison, see free online football manager games.

Frequently asked questions

What is the quick sale in Master Liga?

It means selling a listed player straight to the game for 55% of his market value, with an answer within 24 hours. It only works while the transfer window is open, for players who have been at the club for at least 30 days and aren't injured.

What happens to a listed player nobody buys?

After 2 full windows without a sale, the game buys the player when the second window closes, for 72% of his market value or the asking price, whichever is lower.

Can I sign a free agent and sell him to the game for a profit?

No. A player who joined less than 2 full windows ago leaves, through a quick sale or automatic buyout, for at most what the club paid. A player who arrived as a free agent leaves for free.

Where does a player sold to the game go?

Preferably to a computer-controlled club with room in the squad and cash to pay, with priority for clubs that need someone in his position. If none can take him, he is sold abroad. You get the same amount either way.

Summary: what to take away

1. Computer clubs only buy players who improve their squad. That is why some players never sold.
2. The quick sale pays 55% of market value, with an answer in 24 hours.
3. The automatic buyout pays 72% (or the asking price) after 2 whole windows without a sale.
4. The player goes to a computer club with room or, if none can take him, abroad.
5. Signed him recently? He goes for at most what you paid. A free agent goes for free.
6. Selling to another manager is still the best deal. The game is the emergency exit.

The full rules are in How to play. Don't have a club yet? Create yours for free and start building your squad.