Football Manager 2021 – Freezing and Crashing fix

It looks like Football Manager 2021 is freezing and crashing for a lot of people? Is there a fix? Let’s find out.

How to fix Freezing and Crashing in Football Manager 2021

Footfall Manager 2021 has launched already and the game is doing quite well so far. Fans have been enjoying the experience. But that doesn’t mean that the game does not have issues.

A lot of players are complaining that FM21 is constantly freezing and crashing for them at many instances. While the situation is not so bad for some, others are having a hard time progressing in the game. So the question is, is there a fix?

How to fix

1. Steam Overlay can be a reason

Steam users, what you should do is turn off the Steam Overlay. A lot of user are reporting lately that the Steam Overlay is giving them a hard time these days in multiple games. Therefore it is better to turn it off. The process pretty simple, launch Steam and go the Settings menu. Click on the In-game tab from the left and uncheck the box next to “Enable the Steam Overlay” while in-game.

2. File Verification

The crashes could be due to some corrupted files in the directory. You can fix that by simply verifying the game via Steam to check whether your system is missing any files that might be causing the game to crash or freeze:

  • Go to your Steam Library
  • Right click on Football Manager 2021
  • Select Properties
  • Click on the Local Files tab
  • Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files

3. Clear Steam Download Cache

Try clearing your Steam download cache. Here is how to do it:

  • Launch Steam
  • Go to Settings
  • Click on Downloads
  • Select Clear Download Cache
  • Restart Steam

4. Whitelist FM21 on your Anti-Virus Software

If you go and look at the Steam discussions page of Football Manager 2021, you will notice that a lot of people have posted about how their Anti-virus software is labeling the executable or the .exe file of the game as virus, as a result blocking it.

Anti-Virus software hooks very deep into user systems and can affect disk and network operations which can cause crashes in games. Some games also use copy protection technology that can appear as malicious software to an AV scanner, resulting in potential false-positive alerts. Try disabling your Anti-Virus software temporarily and then run the game. It may also be necessary to add exceptions for FM21 in your Anti-virus configuration.


If you think that this guide has helped you then let us know in the comment section below. Also, try checking out our other guides on Football Manager 2021. Who knows, you might end up finding a something you have been looking for.


That’s all folks!

Last Updated on November 24, 2020