On 10 December 2024, Guoan announced that head coach Ricardo Soares has left the club. On the same day, the club appointed Quique Setién as head coach for the 2025 season. Setién said that he would like to team to play possession-based attacking football, and that he believed that the team should not be 20 points behind league leaders like it was in the 2024 season.
The team began a two-week pre-season training in Kunming starting on 15 December with players out on loan returning to participate as well. Newly appointed head coach Setién was not present during this phase with training instead being led by assistant coach and Spanish former beach soccer player Ramiro Amarelle.
On 21 December 2024, Guoan suffered a temporary transfer ban from FIFA that prohibited incoming player transfers pending the result of certain financial disputes. The ban was lifted on 30 December 2024 following the resolution of the financial dispute, and Guoan was free to continue player transfer activities.
On 27 December 2024, Guoan played a training match in Kunming against Shandong Taishan's U-18 team. As the opponent is much younger, Guoan played with a 10-man team. Guoan won 4–0 with two goals from Yan Yu and one each from Wang Ziming and Fang Hao. The training camp officially concluded on 28 December 2024.
News reports on 31 December 2024 confirmed that the club had signed a 2-year contract extension with Zhang Xizhe and 1-year extensions with Wang Gang and Chi Zhongguo respectively. Bai Yang, Nebijan Muhmet, and Cao Yongjing's contracts were also extended by the club. It was also reported that Samuel Adegbenro, Mamadou Traoré, and Zhang Chengdong's contracts would not be extended and the players have left the club. Club also announced the retirement of long-time captainYu Dabao and his subsequent transition to youth coaching roles within the club. On 7 January 2025, Li Ke announced his departure from Beijing Guoan after a six-season long spell. The following day, Shanghai Shenhua announced Li Ke's arrival at the club on a free transfer. Ahead of the season, long-term club youth players including He Xiaoqiang, Ruan Qilong, Ma Yujun, Duan Dezhi and others also left the club.
Guoan began its second phase of winter training in Haikou on 6 January 2025 under head coach Setién. This phase of training is set to last 21 days with multiple friendlies. The first friendly took place on 14 January against Changchun Yatai, which Guoan won 2–0 through a penalty from Zhang Xizhe and a goal from Jiang Wenhao. On 17 January, Guoan played its second training camp friendly against China League One club Chongqing Tonglianglong. Abreu, Fang Hao, Zhang Xizhe, and Nebijan helped Guoan to a 4–2 win. On 21 January, Guoan lost 2–3 to Dalian Yingbo in the team's third training match. Abreu and an opposition goal put Guoan up in the firs half, but the team conceded three in the second half after rotating. Guoan won its fourth training match, played against old rivalShanghai Shenhua, 4–1 thanks to two goals from Fang Hao and one each from Feng Boxuan and Zhang Yuning. Former Guoan player Gao Tianyi scored Shenhua's lone goal. Guoan's last training match before the team's Lunar New Year break took place on 26 January against Nantong Zhiyun. Lin Liangming scored the lone goal, with Guoan winning 1–0.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: Soccerway Rules for classification:
During season: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Rankings in the previous season. (Rules 2 to 4 are only applied when teams concerned have finished both/all the matches against others.)
After season: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card = 3 points); 8) Drawing of lots.
^Player became a naturalised Chinese citizen before joining Beijing Guoan
References
^"官方：国安主帅苏亚雷斯离任 执教一年半&本赛季获联赛第4" [Official: Guoan Head Coach Soares Leaves, Coached for One and a Half Years and Achieved 4th Place League Finish]. Sohu Sports (in Simplified Chinese). 10 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
^ ab"主打传控！ 北京国安官宣：前巴萨主帅塞蒂恩担任球队新帅" [Focusing on Control! Beijing Guoan Announces Former Barcelona Coach Setien as new Head Coach]. Sohu Sports (in Simplified Chinese). 10 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
^Liu, Xiangyu (2025-01-20). "专访国安主帅塞蒂恩：合理的选择，比奔跑更重要" [Interview with Guoan Head Coach Setién: Good Choices are Better than Running Around]. k.sina.cn. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
^腾讯网 (2024-12-16). "冬训 | 昆明集合开练 外租球员悉数归队". news.qq.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2024-12-16.
^ abZhang, Kunlong (2024-12-11). "北京国安本周日昆明正式开启冬训 新帅新年后到队" [Guoan to Begin Winter Training Camp This Sunday, New Coach to Arrive after New Year]. Sina Sports (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2024-12-11.
^ ab"官方：36岁于大宝退役 转任国安青训教练" [Official: 36-Year Old Yu Dabao Retires, to Transition to Guoan Youth Coach]. Sina Sports. 2024-12-31. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
^"李可：是时候和国安说再见了，这六年岁月对我来说意义非凡" [Li Ke: It's time to say goodbye to Guoan, these six years were extraordinary to me]. Dongqiudi. 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2025-01-07.