by MaddFM.
Igor Akinfeev. Matt Le Tissier. Alan Shearer. Players who were repeatedly linked with big money moves throughout their careers but for one reason or another ended up staying at their respective clubs and ultimately concluded their careers having never played at an “elite” club or brought home a major trophy (and that’s coming from a Newcastle fan).
Is that type of loyalty no longer of value in the modern game? Footballers are often criticised for their perceived lack of loyalty whenever they are approached by or pushing for a move to a bigger club, and perhaps rightly so at times given the treatment and platform provided by their current club at the time; that said, the lifespan of a player’s career is relatively short on the grand scheme of things and opportunities to move to that elite-tier level can often be few and far between. Is it not understandable that some players are keen to capitalise on these opportunities knowing that they may never get a second chance at a similar move? The same can be said for the selling club in question - it’s not every day an elite club comes knocking at the door willing to handover an exorbitant amount of cash for one of your best assets; do you risk keeping that door closed when it’s possible the same offer may never come your way again?
Here are 5 players who despite being repeatedly linked with a big money move somehow still remain at their clubs and as such are very much due the big move they deserve before it’s too late and the opportunity passes them forever. How are these guys still there?
1. Dominik Livaković (Dinamo)
We FM enthusiasts have of course known all about Livaković all along, particularly as he has been one of the best and most solid goalkeeping bargains for several renditions of Football Manager at this point. Fresh from his World Cup exploits (where he equalled the record for most penalties saved at World Cup finals tournaments) he was again linked with with a move to a host of European clubs including Bayern, Chelsea, Man Utd and (ahem) Nottingham Forest, however for one reason or another he finds himself still playing for Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian league. At 27 he still has plenty of time as a goalkeeper, however as each season passes one could argue opportunities may become fewer and fewer as may his transfer fee and salary demands..if you need a keeper in FM23 you need look no further 🧤.
2. Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
You will do well to find a more consistent attacker in Serie A over the last 4 or 5 seasons than Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi. Between 2019 and 2022 he racked up 46 goals and 31 assists in 90 odd starts over 3 seasons in Serie A, which led to him becoming a mainstay in the Italian national side making 6 appearances for the Azzurri during their successful Euro 2020 victory - not bad considering his competition for a place included Federico’s Chiesa and Bernardeschi. The problem? He is still at Sassuolo, who having sold the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Giacomo Raspadori and Jérémie Boga last summer now find themselves languishing in 14th place with the future looking somewhat bleak for Neroverdi fans. In FM23 he is still a master-technician and can do a job in almost any role across the attacking-midfield strata; at 27 he still has his best football in him, give him a way out won’t you? 🙏
3. José Gaya (Valencia)
Another player we can consider to be FM royalty. It might be me but I reckon Gaya is Football Manager’s most favoured of all left-backs, not once have I had a save over the past 6 or 7 versions where Gaya hasn’t been quickly snapped up by one of the elite European clubs and gone on to become one of the best Left-Backs in-game year-on-year (even in my own save he has persistently been ranked in the Top 50 players in the world following a move to Real Madrid). In the save that is real-life however, Gaya remains at the absolute chaos factory that is Valencia who at the time of writing sit in 19th place and are in an absolute shambles from the top down in South-East Spain - though he commands a substantial transfer fee in-game, he is worth it should you find yourself managing at a club where money isn’t an issue and you are noble enough to release him from the shackles of Valencia 🔓.
4. Ibrahim Sangaré (PSV)
At one point the PSV midfielder was linked with a move to pretty much every top club in Europe, so impressive was his breakout season in the Netherlands and the two seasons he has put in since then. Highly versatile with the unique ability to play as a 6, 8 or even a 10 at times, Sangaré was rumoured to be on the verge of a move to Liverpool last year while he was also heavily linked to Chelsea and Man Utd in the summer transfer window, however no bids seemed to ever truly materialise resulting in Sangaré extending his contract until 2027 at PSV who themselves are in somewhat of a transition following the departures of Cody Gakpo, Noni Madueke, Donyell Malen and Denzel Dumfries in the last two seasons and though the squad is promising with the likes of Xavi Simons and Fabio Silva shining in a youthful squad, Sangaré is arguably a cut above the rest in Eindhoven and looking at his quality in FM23, is more than deserving of a move to a bigger club or risk finding himself settled in the Dutch league for the best years of his career.
5. Ricardo Horta (Braga)
We’ve analysed Ricardo Horta previously here at 5 Star Potential, particularly referencing Braga’s excellent track record and pedigree in producing top tier talent as seen through the likes of Pedro Gonçalves, Pedro Neto, Pizzi, Xadas and Francisco Trincão. The one obvious issue here is that it is quite literally a conveyor belt at Braga meaning these players are brought through and sold on for profit - while the club does extremely well in their efforts to keep up with the “Big 3” of Porto, Sporting and Benfica, this is a thankless task with the annual exodus of their star players each year. The one exception to that is Ricardo Horta who has been ever-present for Braga since he arrived from Malaga in 2016 notching up 73 goals and 35 assists in 180 starts for the club (equally impressive considering he largely plays off the left or as a #10). Still only 27 years old, Horta remains Braga’s best player and in his 7th season has very much become settled at the club despite being linked with a move in each of the last three seasons (Newcastle and Benfica the most heavily rumoured suitors). A key contributor for Horta remaining at Braga is reported to be the fact that despite moving permanently to Braga from Malaga, the Spanish club still own 66% of his economic rights and therefore Braga have been holding out for a fee sufficient enough to line their own pockets as well as Malaga’s - whatever the case, Horta is clearly a class above at Braga and definitely deserves to be liberated from North Portugal - LOOK AT THOSE ATTRIBUTES 🔥.
There we have it. Five players who despite multiple rumours and reports linking them with some of the biggest clubs in Europe over the past few seasons still find themselves operating at clubs somewhat below their true ability and potential levels, and as a result are in need of rescuing in Football Manager 2023 such is the risk that they and their club may already have missed the boat in terms of capitalising on a big money move elsewhere. There are others of course - we could easily include the likes of Rúben Neves or James Ward-Prowse in here such is the loyalty vs ambition crossroads they each may soon find themselves at; regardless, these are players that are primed and ready for a big move and with the new Winter Data Update now officially out, there’s no better time to become the hero that they may not necessarily want, but the hero they need nonetheless.
Thanks for reading.
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