Selection and properties of Perseus-like clusters from the TNG-Cluster simulation suite. Top: distribution of clusters in the L_X − M_500c plane at z = 0, from TNG-Cluster (grey) and TNG300 (blue), in comparison with the Chandra observed data of Perseus from Giacintucci et al. (2019). In the Perseus mass range, M_200c = 10^{14.7 − 15.0} M_⊙ (or M_500c = 10^{14.4 − 14.87} M_⊙), there are 135 TNG-Cluster halos. Bottom: intrinsic thermodynamical profiles of the selected clusters within the Perseus mass range in comparison – i.e. at face value, without replicating the observational measurements – with the XMM-Newton observed data and analytical approximations from Churazov et al. (2003; red). From left to right, we show the 3D radial profiles of electron number density, temperature, and entropy ($K_{\mathrm{e}}\equiv k_{\mathrm{B}}{T}_{\mathrm{e}}/n_{\mathrm{e}}^{2/3}$). The selected clusters are further classified according their core status: non cool-core (orange), weak cool-core (green), and strong cool-core (blue). All profiles are computed as averages weighted by bolometric X-ray emission. In this paper, we focus on Perseus-like clusters, namely those that are strong cool cores (blue profiles, based on central cooling time) and in the Perseus mass range.