The 549th Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world with the highest estimated transfer value, as calculated from the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model. FC Barcelona’s young Spanish prodigy, Lamine Yamal, crushes the competition with a valuation of €358 million. Ahead of Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland (€227 million).

No other player is valued at over €200 million, with Kylian Mbappé in third place (€166 million). The following players are at the top of the list for the other positions : Gianluigi Donnarumma (goalkeepers), Pau Cubarsí (centre backs), Nico O’Reilly (wide backs), Pedri González (central midfielders) and Arda Güler (attacking midfielders).

Compared with last January, the largest increase was recorded for Yan Diomandé (+€75 million to €119 million), whilst the largest decrease was for Alexander Isak (-€54 million to €41 million). Compared with June’s 2025 ranking, the largest changes were registered again for Yan Diomandé on the positive side (+€116 million) and Jude Bellingham on the negative one (-€113 million).

>>> Top 100

Top valued player per club in 7⃣0⃣ leagues 👉 https://football-observatory.com/Tool-Value

New Prospect Sheet with Impect: Lucas Herrington

The 548th Weekly Post from the CIES Football Observatory ranks clubs worldwide according to their number of followers on the main social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X). Two clubs stand out: Real Madrid (488 million followers) and Barcelona (442 million). England’s Manchester United complete the top three (239 million), ahead of Paris Saint-Germain (208 million).

Among teams ranked in the top 10 positions, German side Bayern Munich recorded the strongest growth over the past year both in absolute (+16.1 million followers) and relative terms (+11%). Clubs in the top 10 have a combined total of 2.36 billion followers, up 3.8% on last year, broken down as follows among the platforms selected: Instagram (31%), Facebook (31%), TikTok (17%), X (16%) and YouTube (5%).

Twenty-six countries from every continent except Oceania are represented in the top 100, with the highest number of clubs located in the following three nations: Spain (21 teams, often with a large following on TikTok), England (16) and Brazil (11). Outside Europe, the top three are Brazil’s Flamengo (€71.6 million), Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr FC (€66.0 million) and Egypt’s Al-Ahly SC (€60.1 million).

>>> Top 100

The 547th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the Team of the Season (4-2-1-3) for 34 leagues reaching their conclusion. The selection was made by taking into account players’ performances (eight game areas for outfield players and the difference between goals expected goals and conceded for goalkeepers ; Impect data), the results of matches in which players’ participated, and playing time.

At big-5 league level, the following goalkeepers are part of the Best XIs : David Raya (Arsenal), Joan García (Barcelona), Hervé Koffi (Angers), Alexander Nübel (Stuttgart), and Marco Carnesecchi (Atalanta). At the forefront of the attack are the top scorers : Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), Estéban Lepaul (Stade Rennais), Harry Kane (Bayern), and Lautaro Martínez (Inter).

The CIES Football Observatory Team of the Season in the Premier League is made up of five Arsenal players (Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães and Rice), three from Manchester City (Cherki, Haaland and Doku), two from Manchester United (Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes), as well as Adrien Truffert from Bournemouth. More information about the method used is available here.

>>> All Best XIs

>>> New Prospect Sheet with Impect: Pedro Zarza

The 546th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 50 nations worldwide with the highest number of expatriates* currently playing in 135 professional leagues across the globe. As last year, Brazil remains the leading exporter (1,455 players abroad, +37), but is being hotly pursued by France (1,275, +86), with reigning world champions Argentina in third place (1,016, +27).

Since 2021, the largest increase in absolute terms has been recorded for France (+332 expatriates), with a steady rise (+35% in five years). In relative terms, the sharpest growth among the top 10 exporting nations was observed for Portugal (+198 players abroad, +66%), Spain (+255, +60%) and Nigeria (+211, also +60%).

Only 9 of the top 50 exporting countries have seen a decline in the number of their nationals abroad since 2021, reflecting the general increase in international migration flows. The sharpest decline was recorded for Serbia (-53 expatriates, -12%). To find out the main foreign destinations for each country of origin, please consult our Migration Atlas.

* Origin is defined as the association where the player grew up and which he left following recruitment by a foreign club.

>>> Full data

>>> Video analysis of the evolution of origins in Europe’s big-5 over the past 20 years

The 545th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post shows that 65.2% of teams across 55 leagues worldwide have changed their head coach at least once over the past year. This proportion is close to that recorded on the same date last year (see here). This finding reflects chronic instability in most clubs.

By league, the figures range from 100% of clubs having changed their manager over the past 365 days in the Cyprus top division (14 out of 14) to just 18.8% in Norway’s top tier (3 clubs out of 16). These disparities reflect the existence of considerable differences in the way clubs are managed, which are also visible at player level in terms of squad stability (see our Demographic Atlas).

The Post also presents data on the age of coaches (in this case, excluding those currently serving in an interim capacity). The overall average is 49.5 years, with the highest average age in Bulgaria (55.6 years ; no coach under the age of 40) and the lowest in Sweden (43.5 years). With respect to age too, the geographical differences are striking.

>>> Full study

>>> New Prospect Sheet with Impect : Thomas Jörgensen

Dear subscribers,

Many of you have already taken part in our survey to share your views on various topics relating to men’s professional football. Thank you very much!

However, we would still like to expand the sample of respondents. That is why we are writing to you one last time to invite those who have not yet taken part to do so.

The results of the survey, which is completely anonymous, will be published ahead of the next World Cup. Please take three minutes at most to complete this questionnaire, thank you!

>>> TAKE PART

The CIES Football Observatory team