Manu Bueno has a Europa League winner's medal from the age of 18 and less than a year left on his Sevilla contract. That is an odd combination. The academy midfielder from Jerez has been close to the first team for years, but he still hasn't had the run of games that would settle his future.
His deal runs to June 2027, so this season counts. Sevilla can extend him, sell him, loan him or watch the contract run down. Each option says something about how the club rates a player it has developed since he was a boy.
Name, number, foot and the rest
| Full name | Manuel Bueno Sebastián |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 July 2004, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain |
| Age | 22 |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Height and weight | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in), about 73 kg (161 lbs) |
| Position | Central midfield, also used as an attacking or holding midfielder |
| Stronger foot | Left |
| Club and shirt | Sevilla FC, number 28 |
| Contract | Until June 2027 (last extended May 2023) |
| Estimated market value | Around 1.5 million euros |
| Agency | Gersh |
Jerez to the Sánchez-Pizjuán
Bueno grew up in Jerez de la Frontera, in Andalusia, and came through Sevilla's youth system. That academy has a strong record of producing players, and he followed the usual route. He played for Sevilla Atlético, the reserve side, before he started appearing in senior squads.
He was part of the squad that won the UEFA Europa League in 2022/2023, and the group that won the UEFA/CONMEBOL Club Challenge in 2023. He wasn't a regular starter in either campaign, and nobody should pretend he was. Still, spending that season around a trophy winning dressing room is a real education for a teenager. Plenty of academy players never get that close.
Seventy-eight minutes is not a season
The awkward number is from 2025/2026. Bueno played about 78 minutes of La Liga football across a handful of matches. His average FotMob rating was 6.45, which is respectable but doesn't tell you much. A tiny sample produces tidy averages and very little evidence.
That is the honest summary of his career so far. He has the profile of a useful midfielder: left footed, comfortable on the ball and able to play deeper or further forward. He just hasn't been given, or hasn't taken, enough minutes to show it at the top level. At 22 that isn't a crisis. It is the point where a young player usually needs a loan or a proper role.
The money, labelled as estimates
Bueno isn't paid like an established La Liga midfielder. Reported figures put his Sevilla salary at around 310,000 euros a year, or about 5,900 euros a week. That is modest for the division and about what you'd expect for a player on the edge of the first team.
Icon Polls estimates his net worth at $1 million to $2 million, taking in salary and bonuses. There is no official figure, and he has no public endorsement deals to point to. Treat that range as an informed guess. If he earns regular minutes, his next contract is where his finances would really change.
June 2027 and the problem it creates
His real world market value sits at roughly 1.5 million euros by valuation site estimates. That figure reflects his age, his limited minutes and, increasingly, his contract. A player with less than a year left is worth less to his club, because the buyer knows the alternative may be signing him for nothing.
Sevilla still have some leverage. He's their product, and clubs tend to protect academy players longer than signings. But the window is closing. Players in the final year of a deal can usually agree pre-contracts with foreign clubs from January, so the club will want a decision before then. At our last update there was no confirmed transfer. A loan or a short extension looks more likely than a major sale.
What the games think of him
On SoFIFA, Bueno's EA Sports FC 26 card was rated 67 overall after the May 2026 update, up from 65 at launch. His potential is listed at 78, and some versions show 79. SoFIFA sees him as a CAM first, with a best overall of 69 there, and he can also cover CM and CDM.
- Skill moves and weak foot: 3 stars each
- Acceleration type: Controlled
- In game value: about 2.2 million euros
- In game wage: 9,000 euros a week
- Release clause: 5.1 million euros
- International reputation: 1 star
In Ultimate Team he won't change a meta squad. Career Mode is where he makes sense. A 67 rated midfielder with a 78 ceiling and a small price is the kind of player smaller clubs build around, and the controlled acceleration suits a patient, possession style team. You'll need to give him minutes and training, so he rewards the same thing in the game that he needs in real life.
Football Manager is more generous
FM26 rates him more highly, at least on price. It lists him as a central midfielder whose preferred role is Advanced Playmaker in possession, earning about 7,000 pounds a week with a market value of 9 million. In the game's first season his Sevilla contract runs only to June 2026, a year earlier than the real deal, so it's worth deciding early whether to renew him.
The gap between FM's 9 million and the real world 1.5 million is large. Football Manager rewards profile and potential, while valuation sites punish limited minutes and a short contract. The truth is probably that Bueno has the talent the games see and lacks the career the market sees.
Where this goes
He hasn't had a senior call up to Spain, and that won't come without regular club football. His next year matters more than the last three. If Sevilla give him a role, he could still become the midfielder his academy years suggested. If they don't, a move elsewhere might do more for him than another season of short cameos.
For the bigger debate about which footballers truly earned their place among the best, have your say in our vote on the best football players of all time.
Three things people ask
How tall is Manu Bueno?
He's 1.78 m, about 5 ft 10 in, and weighs roughly 73 kg. That's a standard build for a central midfielder.
Is Manu Bueno worth signing in FC 26 Career Mode?
Yes, if you're working with a tight budget. He starts at 67 with a potential of 78 or 79 and costs little, but he needs game time to grow.
Has Manu Bueno won a trophy?
He was in the Sevilla squad that won the 2022/2023 Europa League and the 2023 UEFA/CONMEBOL Club Challenge, though not as a regular starter.
