Football Manager is a now one of the key pillars of society.

Before the days of lockdown and self-isolation, the game was something you glanced at every so often or put in some serious hours on those rare weekend days you were attempting to save money.

But with the outside world virtually shut off for most of us - barring shopping for essentials and daily exercise - Football Manager is simply a must right now.

There's nothing better to kill time than by taking a team from League Two all the way to the Champions League, a feat which is mighty hard to achieve.

So the prospect of being handed some financial support in-game would be most welcoming and players will be receiving a message today declaring that they have been handed a £500m bonus.

Too good to be true, right? Sadly, yes. Football Manager officially win the award for cruellest April Fool's Day prank, with fans across social media tweeting out their despair.

The message in-game reads: "In a display of incredible generosity, the board have decided to award you a sum in the region of £500 million to spend on players and a new stadium."

'Finally, I can sign all those wonder-kids and build the best team around!' That initial reaction is quickly brought back down to reality, with a little pop-up window following suit.

The crushing purple box reads: "You didn't think we make things that easy, did you?"

Touche Sports Interactive, touche.

Cruel, but also very funny.

So if you're a Football Manager addict and load up the game today to see an unread message in your mail box, don't say you haven't been warned!