Barcelona star’s 2026 World Cup snub “not due to sporting reasons”

Barcelona star’s 2026 World Cup snub “not due to sporting reasons”

This summer, many Barcelona players will be heading to North America with their respective national teams for the 2026 World Cup, but one of them won’t be Roony Bardghji. The 20-year-old, who has been linked with a summer move away from the newly-crowned La Liga champions, was not called up by Sweden manager Graham Potter, which was a shock to many from the Scandinavian nation.

Bardghji has had a relatively tough first season at Barcelona, given that he’s not played as much as he would have liked. Nevertheless, his performances have been impressive enough for him to be in the Sweden setup, as he was included in the squad for the play-off success in March.

But despite having featured more regularly for Barcelona in recent weeks, Bardghji won’t be heading to this summer’s World Cup. Interestingly, it’s been reported by Aftonbladet (via 3cat) that Potter’s decision to exclude him stemmed from non-sporting reasons.

Potter unimpressed by Bardgjhi’s attitude

According to the report, Bardghji left a bad impression on the Sweden coaching staff during their March camp. After sealing qualification for the 2026 World Cup, the Barcelona winger is alleged to have shown a bad attitude at the team’s hotel, which stuck with Potter when making his decision.

When speaking to the media after announcing his 26-man squad, Potter’s reaction to overlooking Bardgjhi does play into the claims that the decision was not based on sporting decisions.

“From a competition perspective, there are others ahead right now. It is also about how 26 players travel together, how they manage their free time together, how they act and the different profiles according to age and experience. I love them both. They have incredibly exciting careers ahead of them.”