In other works of life, obsessing about a teenager could well see you in hot water. However, in FM, there seems to be a growing love for a certain Swedish wonderkid named Roony Bardghji.
The Copenhagen youngster is a familiar name to FM players, as he has been in the game as a wonderkid for the last few editions.
At just 18 (17 at the start of the game), he is regarded by many as one of the best wonderkids of FM24. Quite frankly, his potential is through the roof on the game. However, who is Roony Bardghji?
The short story of Roony Bardghji
The winger was born in Kuwait to a Syrian family, but at the age of 12, he and his family moved to Sweden. Bardghji’s talent for the beautiful game didn’t take long to shine through, and he played youth football in his adopted homeland at Kallinge SK, Rodeby AIF and Malmo FF.
However, his big move came in 2020 when he joined Danish giants FC Copenhagen. Bardghji made history when he became Copenhagen’s youngest-ever player in a Superliga encounter with AGF at the age of 16 years and six days. It didn’t take him long to score his first goal for Copenhagen either, as seven days later, he found the net against AaB.
Bardghji’s talents were not just confined to the Danish SuperLiga, though, as in 2022, he made his Champions League debut as a substitute in a 3-0 defeat by Sevilla. Having signed a new deal with Copenhagen early in January 2023, Bardghji made his mark in European football’s elite competition when he scored the winning goal in a 4-3 Champions League win over Premier League Manchester United.
Incredibly, at the age of just 17, Bardghji has already made 57 appearances for his club team, scoring a respectable 15 goals. He has also featured for Sweden’s u-17s and U-21s, scoring two goals in seven appearances for the latter.
Why is he so popular on FM?
The youngster has already illustrated his real-life potential on the biggest club stage, which is a factor in his popularity in Football Manager. His high ceiling is the most significant factor in why so many FM players flock to sign the winger.
Bardghji can potentially become one of the best players in the game. However, unlike many young players, he can be a part of a decent-level first-team squad in the first few seasons of the game. For instance, on my personal save, I signed Bardghji in my second season as Everton’s boss after we finished second place in the table. He rejected the chance to sign in the first transfer window as he doubted the quality of our squad. How dare he question my managerial acumen!
Anyway, I signed him for £10m plus future add-ons. In truth, it was a steal, and that is another massive factor why players sign him. For his price and already impressive attributes, you cannot get more bang for your buck, as it were.
One of the best things about the winger is that his stats improve very quickly; as he plays more football, his attributes grow immensely. Before you know it, you have a four-star player on your hands. In my save, he is four-and-half stars at 19 years of age. In his first season at the club, he scored 23 goals and was simply outstanding. The next 20-odd goals and nearly the same number of assists.
Quite simply, even in a team that wasn’t world-class, he shone and outperformed many of his much older and more developed teammates, which will be of little surprise to anybody who has played FM24 or even FM23, for that matter.
Is Roony Bardghji the real deal?
Throughout the years, as FM fans, we have seen so many players look like world beaters in the game, and then, in real life, they do not really fulfil their potential. We all remember the likes of Kerlon, Cherno Samba and arguably the most famous FM wonderkid, Freddy Adu, who was touted for stardom at the age of just 13.
Despite the failures, some FM wonderkids have gone on to achieve stardom in real life. All the signs from Bardghji’s short real-life career so far suggest that the youngster could well fulfil his potential and become a star at the elite level of the game.
He seems to have all the attributes to become a real star of the beautiful game. For now, though, FM players are grateful that we can still sign the young winger at a reasonable price before he earns a big move and is out of our reach forever.
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