7 Football Manager 2016 wonderkids who were overhyped & faded into obscurity

Over 10 years ago, Football Manager 2016 was released to the world and bore gifts of wonderkids and unknown gems. Some of those unknowns became superstars, while some of the wonderkids failed to live up to their massive potential.

Some still became solid players for top clubs, but not the world-beaters they would develop into in the game, but others completely fell off and effectively disappeared from the footballing world without anyone noticing.

From academy prospects at the world’s biggest clubs to scouted gems who were must-buys in the game to take your team to glory, we’ve picked out seven wonderkids from the game who vanished into thin air.

Sergi Samper

When Samper broke through at Barcelona, he was hailed as the eventual successor to Sergio Busquets.

In most people’s FM 2016 saves, he would develop into a hybrid of Busquets and Andres Iniesta, making him a must-sign midfielder.

Samper famously turned down a move to Arsenal in 2017, and he probably regrets that now.

“I did not want to listen to Wenger,” Samper told Granada’s website. “I told him clearly that I wanted to stay, I wanted to succeed at Barcelona, and what would make me happy was succeeding at Barcelona in the future.”

In reality, he now plays for Motor Lublin in the Polish Ekstraklasa.

Max Meyer

During his early years with Schalke, Meyer was regarded as one of the top prospects in European football. A nippy playmaker with an eye for goal, plenty of top sides were tracking him during his formative years.

While his career never quite took off like some had predicted, he’s still enjoyed a good career for the likes of Crystal Palace and Fenerbahce.

Along with the fact that he now plays in Cyprus, we were also surprised to learn that he’s still just 30 years old.

Jordon Ibe

Ibe never quite made the grade at Liverpool or kicked on at Bournemouth, with his £15million sale to the south coast ultimately proving excellent business by FSG.

Ibe himself has spoken honestly about his mental health struggles off the pitch and continues playing lower in the English football pyramid.

Over the past 12 months, he has played for non-league sides Hayes & Yeading United and Hungerford Town, appeared in the Baller League, and had a trial with Swedish second-tier outfit Umea.

Kenedy

After Kenedy starred for Fluminense in Brazil, Chelsea won the race for his signature in a £6.3 million deal in the summer of 2015.

The winger showcased glimpses of his talent and made 20 appearances in all competitions during a promising debut season at Stamford Bridge.

But he’s since become one of their perennial loanees, spending time at Watford, Newcastle United, Getafe and Granada.

The Brazilian signed a new contract with Chelsea in 2021 before returning to his homeland to represent Flamengo on a season-long loan deal, but was recalled in January 2022 as they struggled for cover at wing-back.

He finally left Stamford Bridge six months later and now plays for Pachuca in Mexico.

Lazar Markovic

Symptomatic of Liverpool’s largely disastrous post-Suarez business, Markovic arrived on Merseyside off the back of an excellent season at Benfica, where he was talked up as one of the most talented young prospects in Europe.

But he rarely demonstrated that potential at Liverpool and was eventually moved on after four unsuccessful loans away.

Nowadays, he’s turning out for Apollon Limassol, having spent the last five years back in Serbia (Partizan), Turkey (Gaziantep and Trabzonspor) and the UAE (Baniyas).

QUIZ: Can you name Liverpool’s 20 youngest Premier League debutants?

Jesus Vallejo

Vallejo was signed by Real Madrid as an 18-year-old, after impressing at Real Zaragoza, and was given a suitably high ceiling on FM 2016.

A hot prospect to be moulded into a future star for the Merengues. Five loan spells later, the Spaniard was released by Madrid this summer after a total of 22 appearances.

He’s still only 28 and Vallejo now plays for Albacete in the Segunda Division.

Donis Avdijaj

Of all the young strikers on FM 2016, only Anthony Martial had a higher ceiling than Avdijai. Yet his career has been one of frustration and unfulfilled hope.

Contracted to Schalke when the game was released, Avdijai was loaned out several times before eventually being sold to Willem II in 2018.

From there, the striker has played his club football in the Netherlands, Turkey, Scotland, Cyprus, Austria and Switzerland without ever threatening to catch fire.

Now aged 29, Avdijai has recently joined Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC. He also has six international caps for Kosovo.

READ NEXT: 11 Championship Manager legends who were useless in real life: Adu, Samba…

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 25 youngest goalscorers in Premier League history?