In addition to auctions, packaging and purchases and collections, the game also limits your time through "endurance", which is the time spent on competitions and short-term events.
To be fair, this is usually "regenerated" at an early stage, but I think at some point you need to spend MUT coins to play any number of games.
You can participate in a short-lived "live" match that you change frequently, or you can play against the match schedule of your favorite team. Remember, you are not using the team's players, but are using your team.
You can also play the game face to face, but it's asynchronous - you attack the opponent's AI control, switch and re-run the drive.