u/Cool_Repair2517

I started playing eFootball in February because it was free and I didn’t have PS Plus on PS4. Today I uninstalled it and opened a request to permanently delete my account.

This post is not meant to attack people who enjoy the game. If you’re having fun with it, that’s completely valid. I’m writing this mainly for newer players, people who are unsure about what they’re experiencing, and people considering spending money on packs.

I gave this game every possible chance before reaching this conclusion.

Over the last months I built an elite squad through both spending and luck. I tested at least 4 different meta managers and more than 10 formations. I watched streamers and high-level players like Indominator, Rokchok, Mednasah, Bombin and others trying to understand mechanics and improve.

I also tested:

• Smart Assist ON and OFF
• Pass assistance levels 1, 2, 3 and 4
• Smart feints and manual feints
• Two different controllers
• Crossplay ON and OFF

And for context: I played FIFA Online competitively for around 7 years without experiencing the kind of consistency issues I found here.

The main reason I quit is simple:

At some point, I stopped feeling like matches were being decided mostly by skill.

I know this topic is controversial and I know many people will disagree with me, but after months of testing and observing patterns, I personally became convinced that engagement and spending heavily influence gameplay momentum.

Here’s why I say that.

During my first months, when I bought 1000-coin packs, I got “meta” players relatively early from large boxes.

Later on, there were moments where I had to go incredibly deep into 150-player boxes just to get one featured card.

Then I stopped spending entirely for a while.

After several days away from the game, I spent only 500 coins and suddenly got back-to-back top players again. I noticed similar patterns multiple times:

• better pack luck after inactivity
• easier matchmaking streaks after breaks
• sudden “good gameplay periods” after spending small amounts again

Maybe some people will say it’s coincidence. That’s fair. I can only speak from my own experience.

But over time, it genuinely felt like the game was trying to manage engagement more than reward consistency.

Another major issue for me was gameplay anomalies.

I uploaded several clips to this subreddit showing situations involving MY players specifically:

• defenders moving away from attackers
• balls clipping through players
• AI creating gaps that made no sense
• inputs feeling delayed during crucial moments
• 104+ rated players behaving like low-rated cards depending on the match

I know every football game has scripting accusations. I understand that. But this felt different because the inconsistency was extreme from match to match.

One day my team played like elite players.
The next day the exact same squad felt completely unresponsive.

And that’s what finally exhausted me mentally.

The part that bothers me most is that the game slowly convinces you that maybe the solution is:

• a better card
• another spin
• a new manager
• a new formation
• another booster
• another purchase

I fell into that cycle too.

And after finally having a stacked squad full of top cards, I realized the gameplay inconsistency was still there.

https://preview.redd.it/c77o8zvpyh1h1.jpg?width=2016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=163537daa0ec734813426a86497e6f6cc9c2fbd1

That’s when I understood that spending more was not going to solve anything for me personally.

To be clear:
I’m not saying nobody can enjoy the game.
I’m not saying every loss is scripted.
I’m not saying good players don’t exist.

There are obviously skilled players in this community.

But I do think there are systems in place that manipulate momentum and player experience far more aggressively than many people want to admit.

I’m 35 years old and I’ve played competitive online games for most of my life:
shooters, football games, RPGs, arcade games, ranked multiplayer games and many others.

I have never personally experienced a game where gameplay quality appeared to fluctuate so heavily alongside engagement and spending behavior.

So I decided to uninstall it and move on.

This will probably be my last post here.

I only hope this post helps newer players make informed decisions before investing too much time, energy or money into the online side of this game.

And for those who still enjoy it: genuinely, I hope you continue having fun with it.

Goodbye guys.

I’m 35 years old. I’ve been in Networking since I was 23, and for the last decade, I’ve specialized in Network Security. I hold certifications from Fortinet, Palo Alto, Mikrotik, Aruba, and Scrum, among others. To be blunt: my resume is solid. I’ve worked internationally and led massive projects, from large-scale hospital networks to sports stadiums.

From July to November 2025, I worked as an independent consultant for a specific firm. On November 2nd, with two major projects still in progress, they terminated my contract. I had solved their implementation hurdles and improved their security posture, but I was out.

This was the beginning of a living nightmare.

I didn't have substantial savings. I started applying immediately, LinkedIn, job boards, everything. But December is a dead month for bureaucracy, and January/February are vacation months in my region. I applied to over 15 roles for which I was perfectly qualified. Zero calls.

I live in a small country (population under 5 million). In March, local interviews finally started. I went through grueling 4-stage processes for both private and government roles. In my country, the government is obsessed with high-level University degrees (Systems Engineer), which I don't have, I hold a tertiary technical degree in Telecommunications.

The irony? In my career, I’ve executed over 140 projects, 50 of them for public entities. I’ve seen firsthand that a "Systems Engineer" title doesn't necessarily equate to actual knowledge of networking or cybersecurity. I was discarded by the state solely for lacking the "right" piece of paper.

The International "Ghosting" Phase

I shifted to international remote roles. Five foreign companies contacted me specifically for my niche certifications and experience. I passed everything:

• Initial Recruiter screenings.
• HR interviews.
• Intense 1-hour technical evaluations (diagramming, troubleshooting, live labs).
• Even recording "intro videos" about my trajectory.

In every single case, I received glowing feedback from the engineers. And then... silence. Not even a rejection email. Just total, unprofessional ghosting after hours of my time.

The Breaking Point

By today, May 4th, I was at the end of my rope. I was broke. My parents had been helping me with their own savings, and that money was literally running out this month. Rent, loans, food, it was all about to collapse. I was in a mental "hell" I wouldn't wish on anyone, even considering leaving the industry just to survive.

The Turnaround

Today, I received a call. I was hired as an Information Security Consultant for a major government agency. I wasn't their first choice, I was second, but the first candidate backed out.

When I went to my parents' house to tell them, they cried harder than I did. They told me, "It wasn't about the money, we were worried for your mental health."

I’m writing this because I want anyone currently in that dark place to know one thing: do not abandon hope. Even as I type these words, the relief is so overwhelming that I haven’t even been able to cry yet to let it all out, though I know that moment will come.

The market is brutal. The ghosting is disrespectful. The "degree-inflation" is real. But keep pushing. You only need one "Yes" to change everything.

Note: English is not my native language (I'm a native Spanish speaker). I used AI to help me translate this and ensure my story was clear, as I wanted to share this message as accurately as possible.