Roony Bardghji fires back at “nonsense” rumors after being left out of Sweden’s World Cup 2026 squad

Photo by Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images Roony Bardghji is not going through an easy period. After a challenging end to the season with Barcelona where regular minutes were hard to come by, the 20-year-old winger received a massive psychological blow when Sweden manager Graham Potter left him off the 26-man roster for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in North America. Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reported that Bardghji was excluded due to an incident during the team’s qualification celebrations after defeating Poland.

According to their report, Bardghji was visibly upset and complaining about his lack of playing time under Potter. Potter later tried to downplay the drama in public, claiming he noticed nothing unusual during the party because he was too busy celebrating. He said that it was a simple matter of other players being currently ahead of Bardghji in the pecking order.

Now, Bardghji has decided to share his side of the story in an interview with Expressen , one of Sweden’s top newspaper, forcefully denying any locker-room misconduct. “I decided to not make comments about the fact I was not selected for the World Cup, as I understood that it was the manager’s decision. I have always respected the decisions of my coaches, whether I agreed or not,” Bardghji said.

However, the nature of the rumors pushed him to speak out. “I understood that I had to speak because the rumors spread in that article had no foundation. I was very happy and proud that we qualified for the World Cup, despite the fact I did not participate on the pitch.