FC Ultimate Team is never ending. You might compete against friends and win some bragging rights, but the FC 24 Coins only prize in Ultimate Team is more games. Play to unlock packs to get better players to play to unlock better packs and so on forever. There no real victory. There are online league systems, just as there are in the regular Online Mode, where you can be promoted and relegated, but most players avoid this in favour of FC Champs, or Weekend League - another endless and disposable competition where the only prize is a better team for next time you play, meaning an even better team for the next time you play, and so on.
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In Career Mode, there are clear goals. Ive just beaten Man City as Newcastle to win the Carabao Cup. Winning the League Cup, of all things, in a single-player mode on the not-particularly-impressive Professional difficulty does not sound like a major achievement, but then Im not suggesting it be placed on my headstone. All Im saying is I enjoyed it. It felt like I had not only achieved something, but reached the end of a journey.
I try to be fairly realistic on FC. I have made reasonable signings (real-life Toon transfer targets James Maddison and Joao Pedro, plus Liverpool second choice left-back Kostas Tsimikas, and a few youngsters), and play on a difficulty that means I have to work to win. Im sitting fourth in the league right now (the real Newcastle are sixth at the time of writing), and I have been knocked out of the FA Cup already. I also play my second string team in the cup games, meaning Karl Darlow in goal, Dan Burn at centre back, a young 72 rated right back instead of Trippier, and a midfield trio of Shelvey-Willock-Anderson, while Wilson, Bruno, Botman, and ASM sit on the bench. City played Haaland, KdB, Foden, Cancelo, Ederson, and new signings Milinkovic-Savic and Milito (who cost over pound;160m between them).
That meant I could construct a story in my head, of the pundits doubting if I should be loyal to Darlow when he was at fault for two of the goals in the semi against Forest, whether in the in-form ASM should have gotten the nod even if Pedro had gotten us this far, and of course, what Jack Grealish would think of lining up against Almiron. We won in extra time, Wilson off the bench to equalise in the 82nd minute and ASM to buy FC 24 Coins win it, Almiron getting both assists. FC Champs is harder, but it means less, and you never get to stop.