Here's a list of players that Football Manager predicted to be big when they were just a bunch of youngsters trying to make it in the professional football.
A lot of effort goes into arriving at the right stats for players. Football Manager employs real scouts to get them player details to work on attributes, strengths, weaknesses of every player.
Judging the ability of an unproven youngster (wonderkid in FM terms) is particularly difficult and challenging.
Here are 5 examples where Football Manager got is spot on.
1. Sergio Aguero
Back in 2005-2006, Aguero was a 17-year-old youngster who was playing for Independiente a club in the Argentinian Primera Division. It was surprising to see a 17-year-old youngster having excellent stats all across and a high potential ability to boot especially considering that he had just scored 5 professional goals at that time.
Fast forward a few years, Aguero is one of the best strikers in the world with a goal tally of 378 across multiple leagues. He has also netted 41 goals for his country and is regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. He has also enabled his clubs to win multiple trophies and has collected various accolades along the way.
2. Cesc Fabregas
Even before Fabregas became a regular starter for Arsenal, he was one of the best wonderkids in the game in the FM05 edition. He had the maximum potential ability in the game and would develop into a beast of a creative midfielder. His ratings were probably a reflection of Fabregas winning the golden ball in the Fifa U17 championships of 2003.
15 years later, Fabregas has had one of the most illustrious careers and is regarded as one of the best creative players to have ever played the game. He has also his club/country win several trophies and has collected several individual honours along the way. He still leads the assist charts in the English Premier League despite playing far fewer minutes than many other superstars.
3. Sergio Ramos
FM06 was a goldmine for top young players and one of the best among the best on that list was Sergio Ramos. He was already regarded as a top prospect in Spain and was a record signing for Real Madrid at that time. Ramos’ potential was so high in the game that he had a higher ceiling than Lionel Messi. He had the ability to play as both Right Back and Centre back at that time and was regarded as the best prospect out of Spain by the game.
Currently, Ramos is one of the most decorated players in the world, having played for Real Madrid for over 600 games. He is also the captain of both his national team and his league side and has collected every single trophy there is to be won for a European footballer. His leadership skills are also very prominent with Ramos being the only captain to have won the UEFA Champion’s League 3 times in a row.
READ ALSO: 5 Times Football Manager Got it Wrong
4. Radja Nainggolan
Back in FM2009, Nainggolan was in Piacenza, a rather unknown club in the Italian league often playing in the 2nd or 3rd division. Yet the game rated Nainggolan pretty highly and he was one of the best box to box midfielders in the game at that time.
After a transfer to Cagliari, Nainggolan’s career has never looked back and had established himself as one of the most sought after midfielders in Serie A. He found most of his success with AS Roma and found himself in the Serie A team of the year 4 times in a row from 2014-2018. He is also an established international with Belgium and has represented his nation 30 times.
5. Vincent Kompany
Going back to FM05, Kompany was an eager 19-year-old defender from Anderlecht who had unbelievably good stats and potential in the game. In fact he was one of the highest-rated defenders and was a favourite of many since he could be acquired for a relatively low transfer fee.
Despite his career being hindered by injuries, Kompany is regarded as one of the best defenders to play in the English Premier League and has captained his side to 3 PL trophies. He has also captained his national side Belgium to several tournaments and is an inspirational leader.
There are definitely more players out there who’s career graph FM has predicted most accurately. This is probably why the game’s player engine is regarded very highly and is being purchased by clubs as a means to scout talent.
READ ALSO: 7 Facts You Didn't Know About Football Manager
