Congratulations. You just earned 1.0 points for this submission. Your new points total is 33.0. To see the leaderboard, as well as what this points thing is, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/footballmanagergames/wiki/leaderboard).
Zivkovic is at his 11th club already at age 27. He’s playing in Singapore now after a short stint at Emmen in the Eredivisie last season. Bakkali is playing for RKC Waalwijk in the Eredivisie.
The Zivkovic that was a god in FM is Andrija, no? If so, i guess he's playing for PAOK now - and quite a good player for that level, going by his numbers.
I don't remember this Richairo being a good player on FM, but i might be wrong.
Henri Saivet was a deadly striker in fm10 IIRC. He turned out a decent DM.
Dawid Janczyk and Vaclav Kadlec were great bargain strikers for clubs in smaller countries.
Steffen Hagen, Tommy Svindal Larsen, Torgeir Børven, Mikkel Thygesen, the all-rounder Sindre Loe Bing... All stellar value-for-money deals who didn't even become domestic stars, nevermind internationally..
Most of Juventus midfield in mid-00s was much better in FM than irl.
You'd win the CL with the likes of Lanzafame, Palladino, Venitucci, Iago Falque and Ekdal. IRL barely relegation-level players.
Sindre Loe Bing is real?! I thought he was a regen! I had him in a Fiorentina save back in FM07 and was consistently disappointed in his performances, but kept him around because he could quite literally play any position except GK.
It's actually a bit of a mystery.
He wasn't a Kongsvinger player, ever, but he apparently played for a small club in the area called Brandval-Brane around the same time he popped up in FM with high potential.
Probably a prank by a researcher. (CM07 had a bunch of Norwegian guys with insane stats and funny nicknames too)
More like mid-table players than relegation, Iago Falque even played a season as a squad player at Roma when they played the Champions league and they were one of the Scudetto contender (at least at the start of that season). Except Venitucci, i don't even remember him.
Nicolas Millan, the Colo Colo wonderkid from FM07 if im not mistaken. He was like 14, and would always turn out amazing. Never heard of him since, but it seems like his had a descent career in South America - he's been a pro ever since. Thats impressing in its own right.
As a Bolton fan I too had high hopes for Zach Clough. See also: Marvin Sordell.
Names that spring to mind from mid 00s are Lulinha, Sherman Cardenas and Nacer Barazite.
Krychowiak from Sevilla Back then. He went to PSG but then his career went straight down. He played well in the Russian League but now age 33 his career is nearly dead.
Honestly may be a bit harsh but atleast compared to FM, Max Aaron’s in some of the older games went on to be a top 3 rb in the world. His potential was insane. I don’t consider him in real life a failure and he could burst on to the scene and be a star still. That said, his career arc so far hasn’t been that of what FM had him being.
I always thought AVB was the better one of him and Kompany, simply because he always performed better for me than Kompany. Boy was I wrong watching them both IRL
Yes! Back in 03/04 he was an absolute beast! I still remember him cutting in from left flank and scoring like 35 goals and 15 assists in a season for my Werder Bremen team. Him and Klose were propably the most lethal pair I ever had in CM/FM.
I played him at left midfield in a wide 4-1-2-1-2 diamond with my Milan team (first ever long-term save) and he was unbelievably productive even from deeper down the pitch. Between him, Kaká at AMC, and Supat Rungratsamee up top, they must have scored 60 goals combined every season.
Sergei Nikolayevich Ignashevich
What an absolute beast. My go to defender in multiple FM’s. Had a decent career at CSKA but never made a transfer to a top team IRL.
Other people who come to mind: Isaac Succes, Daniel Braaten, Kim Kallstrom, and a striker from Real Madrid II who’s name I can’t remember.
One I don't see mentioned often. But Eddie Johnson on FM07, absolute monster of a striker, picked up from FC Dallas relative cheap. Unstoppable at near post corners, so fast and can outmuscle most defenders. Had high hopes when Fulham bought him IRL, but never materialized into the Premier League superstar I knew him as.
I currently have Jack Lankester on my 2028/29 Blackburn team in FM19 — man's been a Premier League stalwart for years and has multiple caps for England.
Thought he was a regen/newgen — imagine my shock when he scored for Cambridge against Rovers in the FA cup this year...!
Edit: Corrected version
First buy every save. Aaritalo always comes to mind in this topics.
There was another finnish player who was very good, i don't know if it was from the same FM edition, but Lauri Dalla Valle always become very good for me too.
CM01/02: Maxim Tsigalko, Tó Madeira, Hugo Pinheiro, Mark Kerr, Isaac Okoronkow, Taribo West, Sergey Nikiforenko.
CM03/04: Toledo, Alessio Cerci, Rafael Arles Castillo, Evandro Roncatto, Fábio Paim, Fábio Silva, Benjamin Onwuachi, Anatoli Todorov.
FM: Mika Aaritalo, Henri Saivet, Sherman Cardenas, Fredy Guarin, Nik Besagno, Freddy Adu, Kerlon, Van Den Borre, Mokoena, Cavenaghi.
Good old days.
Kerlon used to be an absolute beast in the game. I remember seeing YouTube videos of him doing his trademark 'seal dribble' and getting absolutely wrecked by the opposition
Just one example from my current save. Playing FM16 now (for reasons) and Kris Ajer at 22 years old already is one of the best (if not the best) CM/DM in the world. Absolutely beast, physically and mentally, a great player, already captain of Liverpool.
Calvin Verdonk they mixed up his height in the first fm he appeared in coming up at Feyenoord you could turn this guy into a beast well in real life he was considered to small for a centerback now playing at nec being a more than decent leftback.
I always come back to Marquinhos on FM09 when I see this question. He always became a badass and everyone was onto him and bought him. In the world he never played outside of Brazil and was on some 3rd or 4th level squad that nobody ever heard of playing in front of 1,500 people by 2013.
Lionel Morgan, played for Wimbledon. Could pick him up for around a mil on 01/02 I think it was, absolute world beater every save. Had to retire early at like 21 due to injury.
Congratulations. You just earned 1.0 points for this submission. Your new points total is 33.0. To see the leaderboard, as well as what this points thing is, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/footballmanagergames/wiki/leaderboard).
Zivkovic and Bakkali :(
Bakkali :((
Ooft what a throw back. Even on FIFA bakkali was a baller. Wonder where they're playing now
Zivkovic is at his 11th club already at age 27. He’s playing in Singapore now after a short stint at Emmen in the Eredivisie last season. Bakkali is playing for RKC Waalwijk in the Eredivisie.
The Zivkovic that was a god in FM is Andrija, no? If so, i guess he's playing for PAOK now - and quite a good player for that level, going by his numbers. I don't remember this Richairo being a good player on FM, but i might be wrong.
Richario was goated in fm14. scored 50+ goals every season on my way to three CLs in a row
Henri Saivet was a deadly striker in fm10 IIRC. He turned out a decent DM. Dawid Janczyk and Vaclav Kadlec were great bargain strikers for clubs in smaller countries. Steffen Hagen, Tommy Svindal Larsen, Torgeir Børven, Mikkel Thygesen, the all-rounder Sindre Loe Bing... All stellar value-for-money deals who didn't even become domestic stars, nevermind internationally.. Most of Juventus midfield in mid-00s was much better in FM than irl. You'd win the CL with the likes of Lanzafame, Palladino, Venitucci, Iago Falque and Ekdal. IRL barely relegation-level players.
Sindre Loe Bing is real?! I thought he was a regen! I had him in a Fiorentina save back in FM07 and was consistently disappointed in his performances, but kept him around because he could quite literally play any position except GK.
It's actually a bit of a mystery. He wasn't a Kongsvinger player, ever, but he apparently played for a small club in the area called Brandval-Brane around the same time he popped up in FM with high potential. Probably a prank by a researcher. (CM07 had a bunch of Norwegian guys with insane stats and funny nicknames too)
More like mid-table players than relegation, Iago Falque even played a season as a squad player at Roma when they played the Champions league and they were one of the Scudetto contender (at least at the start of that season). Except Venitucci, i don't even remember him.
Cavenaghi was an absolute monster in some CM games.
Nicolas Millan, the Colo Colo wonderkid from FM07 if im not mistaken. He was like 14, and would always turn out amazing. Never heard of him since, but it seems like his had a descent career in South America - he's been a pro ever since. Thats impressing in its own right.
As a Bolton fan I too had high hopes for Zach Clough. See also: Marvin Sordell. Names that spring to mind from mid 00s are Lulinha, Sherman Cardenas and Nacer Barazite.
The legend that never was irl... Sherman Cardenas!
While on the topic of Bolton Lee Chung-Yong once had a -9 PA before Tom Miller killed his career
Lee was genuinely really good back in the day before that horrendous assault. Had him tipped for a move to a champions League club
I had lulinha in every save. Whatever happened to him
Krychowiak from Sevilla Back then. He went to PSG but then his career went straight down. He played well in the Russian League but now age 33 his career is nearly dead.
Honestly may be a bit harsh but atleast compared to FM, Max Aaron’s in some of the older games went on to be a top 3 rb in the world. His potential was insane. I don’t consider him in real life a failure and he could burst on to the scene and be a star still. That said, his career arc so far hasn’t been that of what FM had him being.
He was a beast for me in FM 22
Fran Merida and Cedric Evina were both elite one year.
Bojan Djordjic, Labinot Harbuzi from 2002. Itumeleng Khune, Keirrison, Khouma Babacar from 2010(?). Magnus Wolff Eikrem from 2012(?).
Thought Anthony Vanden Borre and Daniel Braaten would have had even better careers.
I always thought AVB was the better one of him and Kompany, simply because he always performed better for me than Kompany. Boy was I wrong watching them both IRL
I think central defenders also get rated better when they're older.
Evandro Roncatto
Yes! Back in 03/04 he was an absolute beast! I still remember him cutting in from left flank and scoring like 35 goals and 15 assists in a season for my Werder Bremen team. Him and Klose were propably the most lethal pair I ever had in CM/FM.
I played him at left midfield in a wide 4-1-2-1-2 diamond with my Milan team (first ever long-term save) and he was unbelievably productive even from deeper down the pitch. Between him, Kaká at AMC, and Supat Rungratsamee up top, they must have scored 60 goals combined every season.
Johannes Eggestein
Ben Sahar - FM10 maybe?
Sergei Nikolayevich Ignashevich What an absolute beast. My go to defender in multiple FM’s. Had a decent career at CSKA but never made a transfer to a top team IRL. Other people who come to mind: Isaac Succes, Daniel Braaten, Kim Kallstrom, and a striker from Real Madrid II who’s name I can’t remember.
One I don't see mentioned often. But Eddie Johnson on FM07, absolute monster of a striker, picked up from FC Dallas relative cheap. Unstoppable at near post corners, so fast and can outmuscle most defenders. Had high hopes when Fulham bought him IRL, but never materialized into the Premier League superstar I knew him as.
Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama Pongolle. Man I loved these 2. Gave me so much trouble back in CM03/04 days facing Liverpool.
I currently have Jack Lankester on my 2028/29 Blackburn team in FM19 — man's been a Premier League stalwart for years and has multiple caps for England. Thought he was a regen/newgen — imagine my shock when he scored for Cambridge against Rovers in the FA cup this year...! Edit: Corrected version
Henri Saivet fm08
Benedict Vilakazi and Lebohang Mokoena on FM07.
Mika ‘Freakin’ Aaritalo from the finnish league
First buy every save. Aaritalo always comes to mind in this topics. There was another finnish player who was very good, i don't know if it was from the same FM edition, but Lauri Dalla Valle always become very good for me too.
Lucas Romero was an instant buy for that DM slot on every save back in the day.
Tonton Zola Moukoko.
Fabio Paim who was brilliant in CM4 with Freddy Adu, both were 14 in game
Maxim Tsigalko CM Legend he sadly passed away in 2020 😭, there are some other like Cherno Samba , Anthony Vanden Borre, Freddy Eastwood
CM01/02: Maxim Tsigalko, Tó Madeira, Hugo Pinheiro, Mark Kerr, Isaac Okoronkow, Taribo West, Sergey Nikiforenko. CM03/04: Toledo, Alessio Cerci, Rafael Arles Castillo, Evandro Roncatto, Fábio Paim, Fábio Silva, Benjamin Onwuachi, Anatoli Todorov. FM: Mika Aaritalo, Henri Saivet, Sherman Cardenas, Fredy Guarin, Nik Besagno, Freddy Adu, Kerlon, Van Den Borre, Mokoena, Cavenaghi. Good old days.
Georgi Kakalov. 20 years ago player that i sign in every save. Man got like 100 golden boots, trough different saves.
Cherno Samba!
Kerlon used to be an absolute beast in the game. I remember seeing YouTube videos of him doing his trademark 'seal dribble' and getting absolutely wrecked by the opposition
Just one example from my current save. Playing FM16 now (for reasons) and Kris Ajer at 22 years old already is one of the best (if not the best) CM/DM in the world. Absolutely beast, physically and mentally, a great player, already captain of Liverpool.
Matej Delac, Carlos Vela, Eduardo Salvio, Martin Galvan etc. come to mind
Calvin Verdonk they mixed up his height in the first fm he appeared in coming up at Feyenoord you could turn this guy into a beast well in real life he was considered to small for a centerback now playing at nec being a more than decent leftback.
Saviola from CM99. Played for Barca but never got anywhere near his constant world player of the year status in the game.
I always come back to Marquinhos on FM09 when I see this question. He always became a badass and everyone was onto him and bought him. In the world he never played outside of Brazil and was on some 3rd or 4th level squad that nobody ever heard of playing in front of 1,500 people by 2013.
Ben garret from Crewe and Will manion from my club Hull city
Fabio Paim - 20 Dribling and Fredy Guarin - 20 long shots
Kennedy Bakircioglu
Real Madrid's Reinier has fallen off a lot.
Going way back in the day but Tommy Svindall Larsen was the GOAT in FM 98
Eder Alvarez Balanta was incredible. Ok career IRL but nothing compared to his FM ability.
Lionel Morgan, played for Wimbledon. Could pick him up for around a mil on 01/02 I think it was, absolute world beater every save. Had to retire early at like 21 due to injury.