After years of managing your dream club in FC 26 — perhaps grinding matches and even taking time to buy FC 26 coins for that perfect squad — you’d expect your retirement to feel epic. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. The end of a managerial career in FC 26 is shockingly underwhelming. After 15 seasons of triumphs and heartbreaks, all you get is a single email from the board and a bland summary screen. No cutscenes, no tributes, no emotion.

It’s a huge missed opportunity. Retirement should be a celebration of your legacy — a reflection of the journey you’ve built. Fans should be chanting your name; the media should be asking emotional farewell questions. Instead, the game just boots you back to the main menu like nothing ever happened.

In older FIFA titles, even preseason tournaments rewarded participation money — small details that made Career Mode feel alive. FC 26 strips away those touches, leaving the mode feeling mechanical and incomplete.

EA could fix this by introducing farewell cutscenes, news coverage, or legacy stats that persist between careers. Imagine receiving an in-game hall of fame entry or seeing your name in a future manager’s storyline. That kind of continuity would make the grind worthwhile.

Career Mode players invest hours — sometimes hundreds — into building their football empires. They deserve an ending worthy of that effort. Until EA revamps this aspect, the emotional payoff of FC 26 Career Mode will continue to fall flat.

Recommendation: Best Tactics & Settings After the FC 26 Patch