Best teams & RTG challenges to use in EA FC 24 Career Mode

If you’re not a fan of Ultimate Team, the most important question on your mind right now is going to be who are the best Career Mode teams in EA FC 24. There are few things as satisfying as having a beefy save on the go, planning out tactics and recruiting wonderkids - a cheeky bit of wheeling and dealing.

Not only have I outlined some of the best saves you can commit to in the game, but also some of the best Road to Glory (RTG) challenge saves for the more die-hard fans among us, as well as some other saves to try out. 

After all, most EA FC players watch football every weekend and often have a thing or two to say about the management, so why not give it a go yourself? If all else fails, you can sell your whole team, spend nearly a billion in two transfer windows, and still struggle in mid-table like Chelsea.

Here's who I think will be the most fun saves on EA FC 24, from fallen giants to rising stars. 

Best teams to use in EA FC 24 Career Mode

Ajax

• League: Eredivisie 
• Budget: £27,791,627
• Real stadium: Yes - Johan Cruyff Arena
• Best youngsters: 

Ajax is historically one of the best teams Europe has seen, as well as one of the most influential we've seen. The academy has produced some of the best players the game has ever seen including Seedorf, Cruyff, van Basten and more recently Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. All of the former are now Icons in the EA FC 24, and that’s the quality Ajax offers. 

The challenge here is to continue the reliance on youth, and your academy, to build a team that can compare with the Champions League-winning sides of the 70s. Ajax haven’t won the Champions League since the 90s, and I think it’s about time the famous trophy returns to historically the best team in the Netherlands.

AS Saint-Étienne 

• League: Ligue 2 
• Budget: £9,049,720
• Real stadium: No 
• Best youngsters: 

Saint-Étienne is another time that will fall into the fallen giant category of EA FC 24 Career Mode saves. Before the dominance of PSG and their huge investment from Qatar, Saint-Étienne were one of the most successful clubs in France with ten league titles, on top of plenty of other cups. 

Since that success, Saint-Étienne has continued to decline and is now playing in the French second division. France has plenty of great youngsters, and you can utilise this to climb up the league. Eventually, it will become time to see if you can knock PSG off their perch, but a few teams have in recent years so why can’t you? 

FC Barcelona 

• League: La Liga
• Budget: £135,361,686 
• Real stadium: No
• Best youngsters: 

Barcelona have had an interesting few years, continuously struggling in Europe coupled with some major financial issues off the pitch. They are a long way away from the team that won the Treble under Luis Enrique with Neymar, Suarez and Messi. It was so long ago now, that all three of those players now play their trade outside of Europe - winding down their careers.

Despite this, Barcelona did still win the league last season. Since then, Real Madrid have strengthened and is always a threat, so retaining the title will prove to be a challenge. What makes Barcelona special is the quality of their academy, which is obvious when you look at their prospects. It’s important with this EA FC 24 Career Mode save to rely on youth, promote the academy, play attractive football and hopefully dominate Spain.

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

• League: Premier League 
• Budget: £50,369,975
• Real stadium: Yes - Amex Stadium
• Best youngsters: 

Brighton's been on the rise for the last few seasons and it will be interesting to see where their ceiling is. Every summer Brighton’s best players leave on huge fees, and somehow, they already have a player in the squad ready to step up. This summer they lost Mac Allister, Caicedo and Robert Sánchez for nearly £200 million and they still look great. 

Players like Mitoma, Ferguson and Estupiñán will help you for now but eventually, they will be sold, so it is up to you to maintain their model and find the next diamond to bring through. At the same time, this season is Brighton's maiden European campaign, giving you an even bigger challenge with squad management.

Chelsea

• League: Premier League 
• Budget: £139,564,193 
• Real stadium: Yes - Stamford Bridge
• Best youngsters: 

Chelsea have had an interesting couple of years on and off the pitch, but ignoring that they have one of the best young squads you can find on EA FC 24. Over the last 18 months, Chelsea has gone out and bought plenty of exciting talent with bags of potential. 

During a Career Mode, this squad may still need some improvement, largely because it is still lacking a true goalscorer, but the injuries that are plaguing the team won’t impact your save - so maybe you will be able to restore the team back to the very top of the game.

1. FC Kaiserslautern 

• League: 2. Bundesliga
• Budget: £5,442,937
• Real stadium: No
• Best youngsters:

Kaiserslautern are one of Europe's biggest fallen giants, now in the German second division and are on the rise. In the 50s and 90s, they even won league titles, and the challenge here is to get them back to the big time. 

It is going to be very hard to start competing with the likes of Bayern Munich - first off you’re going to need to earn promotion to the Bundesliga. Once you get there though, you will need to be savvy in the market as your budget will be much smaller than the teams you’re competing with. Kaiserslautern also has an ageing squad, so it will be important to revitalise the squad. 

Torino 

• League: Serie A
• Budget: £20,588,207
• Real stadium: No 
• Best youngsters: 

Serie A in recent years has been pretty exciting with a different league winner every year for the last four years, and it is constantly wide open. Torino has not been challenged in that time, and it doesn’t look like it will any time soon, but that is where you come in. Can you deliver a Scudetto to Juventus’ city rivals? 

Admittedly, Serie A is one of the best leagues for a Career Mode in EA FC 24 because there are just so many good sides. The only downside is there are some teams in this league that don’t have the licence. 

Best RTG challenges in EA FC 24 Career Mode 

The Road to Glory (RTG) challenges are some of the more gruelling, but satisfying saves you can embark on in the game. It is all about taking a team from the lower leagues and getting them to the big time. Only a few leagues lend themselves to this kind of save in EA FC 24 because you're going to want at least two leagues in the country. 

I've listed below the very best teams for this challenge this year, but strap in because these saves aren't for the faint-hearted. 

• Wrexham: This team owned by celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny has just been promoted to League 2
• Portsmouth: One of the lowest down teams in the game to feature their real stadium, for extra authenticity 
• Palermo: After recently climbing back to Serie B in Italy, it is time to take the former division side back to the top in their famous black and pink kits
• FC Cartagena: FC Cartegana are yet to be represented in the top tier of Spanish football - after only being founded in 1995 they are one of the youngest professional teams in Spain
• 1860 Munich: This once great team is now in the third division of German football, a long way away from winning leagues in the 1960s. It is time for one of the founding members of the Bundesliga to return to the top flight

EA FC 24 Career Mode challenges 

If you're unsure about a specific team then maybe you would rather create your own narrative. Here are some of the best individual challenges you can tackle in EA FC 24: 

• Academy challenge: This challenge will need you to focus on your youth recruitment, only using players who you have promoted through your academy and hopefully developing the regens into world beater
• Ageing star:  Select a pro in the game, and do a player career. After one season retire and begin the next step of the players life, some good choices for this are Giroud, Thiago Silva, Edin Dzeko or any player above 33/34
• Ancelotti challenge: Win the Champions League five times, the most of any manager
• Graham Potter challenge: Start in a smaller league in Europe like Sweden, Greece or Belgium for example and climb all the way to a Champions League team with a possession-based style of play 
• International Management: Take on an international job at the same time to try and deliver a trophy for a nation
• Invincibles: Go invincible for a season in any league, this is an incredible achievement that very few teams have achieved 
• Win the league in each of the top five leagues: Spain, England, France, Italy and Germany

There are plenty of different ideas for a new Career Mode in EA FC 24 and I'll continue to update this as the season progresses and the meta of the game changes too.

For more great guides like how Evolutions work in Ultimate Team and the new PlayStyles explained, we've got you covered on our EA FC 24 homepage.