Gaming
Gaming
6 top players Football Manager spotted first
The stars that Sports Interactive are proud of discovering before they were famous.
Football Manager 2016 is out now. The game is more than just a management sim for the present, though. It also offers a chance to glimpse tomorrow's top footballing talent, before they're famous.
Boot up its database, have a mooch around, and the chances are you'll find the next generation of great players. For instance, did you know that Alex McLeish's son tried to make him sign Lionel Messi for Rangers? All because the then-14-year-old Argentine was devastating on Football Manager.
Of course, the game hasn't always got it right. There have been players like Cherno Samba and Freddy Adu who never quite fulfilled their potential, but there are many, many more brilliant players that Football Manager’s team of scouts spotted first. Here are the players that Football Manager director Miles Jacobson is proud of spotting before they became stars. They’d make a good six-a-side team...
Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive's studio boss
© Sports Interactive
Lionel Messi
In the days when we could have players under the age of 16 in our games, Leo Messi appeared as a 14-year-old, already tipped to become a world star. That’s despite suggestions at the time that he wouldn’t be kept on by Barca due to his height.
Wayne Rooney
As a youngster in Everton’s youth team, our researchers had already seen enough of Wayne to predict his ‘future England captain’ credentials.
Robert Lewandowski
An absolute bargain to buy when at Znicz Pruszkow in the Polish third division, although he had been in the game before that when at Delta Warsaw. Clubs could have saved a bit of money by buying him early.
Anthony Martial
He’s been an FM favourite for many years. Not just because of his skill, but also his versatility to fit most formations.
Danny Murphy/Neil Lennon
Neither became global superstars, but in our first year of having a research team back in 1992, these two were just starting to break through into Crewe’s reserve team. They were the first two to show that computer games providing data to real life clubs was going to become something real in the future.
