Ganbold Ganbayar Signs Professional Contract with Puskás Akadémia FC, Makes History

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Ganbold Ganbayar has earned an early birthday gift. The-soon-to-be 18-year old has signed his first professional contract, Puskás Akadémia FC announced today.

Ganbayar has been with the club since August 2016 after he was selected to join the youth ranks of Puskás Akadémia FC as part of a partnership between the Mongolian Football Federation and the Hungarian Football Federation.

Although three other rounds of invitees have come and gone since then, Ganbayar remains.

Despite his already-long tenure with the club, he has yet to feature in official matches such as youth leagues or cups. He has however consistently appeared for the club in friendlies and youth tournaments, most notably being a member of the bronze-winning team at the 2017 Puskás Cup.

Ganbayar returned to top flight football during a brief loan to Ulaanbaatar City FC. However, the deal which was originally announced as lasting until October 2018 was surprisingly cut short without explanation in late July. Only a few days later, Ganbayar was back in the fold at Puskás as he made three appearances for the club at the 2018 Honved Cup.

Details about the deal have been scarce but it was announced that the deal is a professional youth contract which will likely mean that Mongolian fans will soon see Ganbayar competing in various leagues in Hungary.

As reported earlier by Mongolian Football Central, there have been several players who have played for European clubs without fanfare. However, this is certainly the most significant deal signed by a Mongolian player in Europe as he becomes the first fully professional Mongolian at a fully professional top-flight club in Europe.

Now that Ganbayar has made the breakthrough, his career progress will likely accelerate. After being left off of the roster for Mongolia's upcoming EAFF Championship qualification roster, a callup for friendlies announced for October 2018 against Laos and Singapore seems more and more likely.