Shock Premier League star is the most signed player on Football Manager

The most purchased player on Football Manager plies his trade in the Premier League.

Football Manager and their comprehensive database is used in the real-life footballing world, with many coaches and clubs using it to build reports on players.

And when it comes to exciting wonderkids, the game tends to be bang on the money.

Those who play FM religiously always seem to be ahead of the curve in knowing who the next best talents are.

And Valentin Barco fits into that category. The Argentine left-back was bought by Brighton in January, with the Seagulls fending off plenty of competition to secure his signature.

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City were said to be keen on the 19-year-old, who made his Argentina debut in March.

He played seven times for Brighton last term but that pales in comparison to his contributions on FM.

Barco has been announced as the most-signed player on this year's game and has been presented with a special commemorative shirt.

Brighton to X to share the snap, with the caption: "Officially the most signed player on #FM24!"

Image: Brighton

Attributes like dribbling, bravery, natural fitness and vision made him a must-buy.

According to the official FM X account, his virtual player has played in 8.9 million matches and scored 1.2 million goals.

Moreover, he has registered a whopping 2.8 million assists and notched 11,295 hat-tricks.

Barco signed a contract until 2028 and Brighton's technical director David Weir claims they beat a slew of big clubs for his signature.

“Valentin’s signing is a really good example of us competing at the top end with some bigger, historic clubs," Weir told the official Brighton website.

“By putting our case forward, by being on the ground and being in front of the people to try and explain what our process is, what our idea is and why we think it would be a good idea for Valentin to come here takes time, effort and support from the club to facilitate.

“It reflects well on a lot of aspects of the club that we can go and compete with very big, successful clubs to persuade the player and help them to understand that we could be a good opportunity for them.