Update on this. I tested the "disable first window" option and it mostly worked as previous versions, however CPU is still able to make free agent signings. Pretty sure this didn't happen on FC24.
So if it doesn't get fixed, the only way we can play with real squads in career mode is wait for January transfer window to pass in real life. Then we can start our career with the "starting point" selecting a week in February.
Such a shame this issue gets overlooked. There's no way they don't know about it. It's the first thing I noticed when I started a career.
