Like falling into a Cup with low quality

[Teda]

I did not sell all but only some of them to keep my top 14 as low as possible.

I did keep all my best players but to make the average of your top 14 low you have to sell some good ones to make it happen.

You don't have to sell all your players.
Keep your best 6 or 7 and always have around 5 one * academy players who you have had for a long time. That way they bring your average way down compared to buying 3* players at the end of the season.
I play this way every season and it's easy to keep within the 35T budget.
Here's a screenshot of my end of season team from a couple of seasons ago, one of the 1* players has been with me for 11 seasons so is 55Q less than a 3* player.
It takes planning long term, but it works for me.