FM27 skins are coming out at a crazy pace. Nearly all of them ask for the same routine: close the game, copy files into the Steam folder, keep the originals somewhere safe and hope the next update does not break anything. That is why we made the FMPT Skin Manager, a free skin manager, exclusive to FMPortugal, that does the job for you.
So you drop the skin’s .zip onto the window and the program takes care of the rest. It installs, swaps and removes skins in one click, tells you whether each one works on your FM27 version and always keeps the game’s original files. It is a Windows-only program, with no installation and no account, in Portuguese and English.
The FMPT Skin Manager library
The FMPT Skin Manager keeps skins in its own library. To add one, click “” or drop the .zip, .rar or .7z file (or the folder) onto the window. The program works out on its own what the skin brings: game files, styles, fonts, plugins and extras such as stadium photos.
Each skin then shows up with a picture, its version and what it installs. On top of that, the list is sorted by what matters: the skins that work on your FM27, the ones that need a new version and the ones still to be confirmed. Lastly, there is also a search box for names and authors.
Know straight away if a skin works on your FM27
Every FM27 update can break a skin, and that is what happened to many of them with 27.0.1. So the manager reads your game version and compares it with what it knows about each skin. First, it looks at the files the author lists. Then it checks our catalogue, where we mark the versions we tested in the game. Finally, it confirms the version the author states.
The result shows up in one plain line, for example “” or “”. If you have an old version, the manager tells you which version is the new one. When FM27 is updated, a notice at the top tells you how many skins in your library stopped working. In other words, you no longer have to find out the hard way, with a broken game.
Activate and restore without touching files
First, you pick the skin in the library and click “Activate this skin”. The manager copies each part to the right place: the bundles go into the game folder and the styles into the skins folder in your Documents. If the skin replaces bundles, FM27 must be closed, and the manager warns you if it is not.
Then you open FM27. Skins that only bring bundles show up straight away. Skins with styles, however, must be picked once inside the game: if FM27 opens with the “Default” skin, go to Preferences and pick the new skin by its name in the skins list. The game remembers that choice, so from then on any skin you activate through the manager comes already selected.
Also, only one skin is active at a time. If you activate another, the manager first restores the originals and only then installs the new one, so you never end up with two skins mixed together. On the other hand, styles-only skins can even be swapped with the game open: activate the skin in the manager, press Ctrl+Shift+F5 in FM27 (or “Reload skin” under Preferences) and wait about 10 seconds.
The original files vault
Before replacing a game file, the manager keeps the original in a vault. That is why going back to the original FM27 is one click: “” › “”. If something goes wrong halfway (full disk, locked file), the manager knows what was already copied and still restores everything. Even so, the same menu has a shortcut to verify the game files on Steam.
Skins with plugins, styles per resolution and other tricks
Some skins do more than swap files, and the manager knows the most common ones:
- BepInEx plugins: skins such as CalmDark and FMU bring a plugin that runs inside the game. The manager asks before installing it and shows you which files they are.
- FMU Skin: the FMU installer changes the game files instead of replacing them. The manager runs that installer on a copy, without touching the game, and keeps the result as a normal skin.
- Styles per resolution: grok has one style for each resolution. The manager installs the one for your game’s resolution.
- Variants: when a skin comes in several versions (fixed or hidden sidebar, paper or dark), you pick the one you want.
Blend skins and discover new ones
Do you like the backgrounds of one skin and the panels of another? In “”, you pick a base skin and swap its backgrounds, panels, fonts or styles for another skin’s. The result is saved to the library as a new skin, and the source skins do not change.
On the other hand, the “” tab shows the catalogue of FM27 skins we have on the site, with a picture of each one. It tells you which ones you already have and which have a new version. Besides that, it opens each skin’s article on fmportugal.net, where the download is.
Free, with a supporter version
The manager is free and shows a small column with fmportugal.net deals. If you want to remove it, click “” and make a donation on Ko-fi. The supporter key is the same as the FMPT Chief Analyst FM27 one, so one donation covers both programs.
Get started with the FMPT Skin Manager in 3 steps
- Open the program: it finds the installed FM27 on its own.
- Drop the .zip of a skin you downloaded onto the window.
- With FM27 closed, click “Activate this skin” and open the game. If the “Default” skin shows up, pick the new one under Preferences, in the skins list (only needed the first time).
Also, the interface opens in your Windows language, and the “”/“” button at the top switches between English and Portuguese.
Download the FMPT Skin Manager
The FMPT Skin Manager is free and only works on Windows (10 and 11, 64-bit), with Football Manager 27. The download is a .rar file with a single executable, with no installation. Every skin we tested on FM27 is in our FM27 skins index.
- System: Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit. It does not work on Mac or Linux.
- Game: Football Manager 27 on PC. Tested on the Steam version.
- Disk: about 65 MB for the program, plus the space of the skins in your library (some are hundreds of MB).
- Other programs: none. You do not need to install .NET or anything else.
- Internet: not required. It is used for the catalogue, the new-version notice and the deals column.
Download – FMPT Skin Manager 27.0.0
- First, download the .rar and extract “FMPT-Skin-Manager-v27.0.0.exe” to a folder of your choice.
- Next, open the program and check that it found your FM27 (it shows at the top right).
- Then drop the skins you already downloaded onto the window.
- After that, close FM27, pick the skin in the library and click “Activate this skin”.
- Then open FM27. If the “Default” skin shows up, pick the new one under Preferences, in the skins list. The game remembers the choice for the next ones.
- Finally, to go back to the original game, use “Game tools” › “Restore original game files”.
As the program is new, Windows may show the “” warning. If so, click “” and then “”.
The program has no signing certificate, so Windows does not recognise it. For that reason, we scanned the executable on VirusTotal: none of the 69 antivirus engines flags it (see the report). To check you have the same file, the SHA-256 of “” is ca803a58f7927d48efc8bc419752d359846e3d34be602dc209ed1eef8d6c7f6e.
Tell us what you think
The FMPT Skin Manager is an FMPortugal production and it will grow with your ideas. Is there a skin the manager does not recognise? Did you find a bug? Then tell us on the FMPortugal forum. Looking for more tools? See the FMPT Chief Analyst too, our scout and editor for FM27.
Did you make this download? Manage it on FMPortugal →
