Thanks to the data meticulously collected by our partner Impect, this Weekly Post presents the U23 players from 52 leagues around the world who are most skilled at advancing their team’s play with passes towards the opposition’s goal*. The study reveals the extraordinary abilities of Belgium’s Jorne Spileers, who completes an average of 11.8 ‘progressive’ passes per 90 minutes, with a record success rate of 84% and a progression index of 100.

Two other centre backs complete the podium: Spain’s Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid) and Portugal’s António Silva (Benfica). Fourth, Norway’s Häkon Volden (Rosenborg) is the youngest player in the top 10 (18.5 years). Two other players under the age of 20 feature in the overall top 10: Gambia’s Abubacarr Sedi Kinteh (Tromsø) and France’s full international Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain).

Among wide backs, the top three are Álvaro Carreras (Real Madrid), Michal Gurgul (Lech Poznań) and Joaquin Seys (Club Bruges), with Luca Bombino (San Diego) being the youngest in the top 50. For midfielders, Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo) leads the way ahead of Warren Zäire-Emery (PSG) and Amadou Koné (Neom SC). The youngest midfielder in the top 50 is Argentina’s Álvaro Montoro (Botafogo).

* At least 30 meters if starting and finishing position in own half, 15 meters if in different halves and 10 meters if in opponent half.

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The 523rd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the world’s smartest clubs on the transfer market since January 2021 in terms of the financial balance sheets of players recruited as professionals (i.e. excluding youth academy signings) and already permanently transferred to other teams. Eintracht Frankfurt tops the list with a positive balance of +€286m : €364m in revenue and €78m in expenditure.

The Germans are ahead of Brighton & Hove (+€221m) and Stuttgart (+€178m). Atalanta (+€150 million) and Benfica (+€147 million) round out the top five. In contrast, the most negative trading balances for players signed and transferred over the last five years were recorded for two Saudi clubs, Al-Hilal (-€197m) and Al-Nassr (-€104m), followed by three English teams : West Ham (-€99m), Aston Villa (-€85m) and Manchester United (-€74m).

If we add fist team squad recruits since 2021 who are still under contract with their signing clubs, and subtract their acquisition price from the current estimated value according to our statistical model, Eintracht Frankfurt is once again the best club with a balance of +€670m (+€286m for players recruited and already sold ; +€384m for those recruited and still owned), ahead of Real Madrid (+€591m), with Manchester United at the opposite end (-€482m).

* The rankings only include clubs whose total transfer spending and income since 2021 exceeds €10 million. The balance sheets take into account add-ons regardless of whether they have actually been paid or received, as well as sums earned through sell-ons.

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The 522nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 50 top divisions worldwide according to the percentage of minutes played by U21 footballers eligible for the national team of the league’s country over the 2025 calendar year. The Australian A-League Men’s leads the rankings (17.7% of minutes).

Serbia’s Super Liga (15.8%) and Danmark’s Superliga (11.7%) round up the podium of the leagues where U21 eligible footballers played the greatest proportion of minutes in 2025. Among the five major European leagues, the figures range from 7.8% for France’s Ligue 1 (17th overall) to 1.9% for Italy’s Serie A (second lowest figure), with a particularly low rate also in the English Premier League (2.4%).

The Post also presents the number of U21 players eligible for the countries of the 50 leagues analysed who played in one of these championships in 2025. In this case, Argentina (213 U21 eligible players for a total of 112,455 minutes and a cumulative experience* of 74,236) is ahead of Colombia (185, 88,706 minutes, 50,047) and Brazil (173, 73,325 minutes, 44,558). France is fourth in terms of number of players and minutes and third in terms of cumulative experience.

* The cumulative experience was calculated by weighting the total number of minutes by the average sporting level of the matches played according to this method.

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>>> Video resuming the eight first Prospect Sheets with Impect on the best talents worldwide (all Sheets)

The 521st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world who should earn the highest salaries according to a statistical model* taking into account sporting variables over the last year (playing time, sporting level of matches and rate of games in the starting 11), as well as the primary position played. Kylian Mbappé tops the list with an estimated deserved gross annual salary of €22.8 million (fixed part only).

This amount is 40% lower than that received, thanks to the fact that Real Madrid did not have to pay a transfer fee when he was signed in the summer of 2024, as well as the superstar effect allowing star players to monetise their status beyond their sporting performances. Mohamed Salah and Jude Bellingham complete the podium of the players deserving the highest salaries with respect to the variables included in our model.

Offensive players earning generally more than players in other positions, centre forwards and wingers are overrepresented at the top of the rankings. For other positions, Thibaut Courtois ranks first among goalkeepers, Virgil van Dijk among centre backs, Achraf Hakimi among full backs, João Neves among central or defensive midfielders, while Dominik Szoboszlai is second only to Jude Bellingham among attacking midfielders.

*Built on almost 2,000 salaries negotiated by players for permanent transfers or contract extensions, the CIES Football Observatory proprietary statistical model used in this study explains 83% of the differences in the amounts observed.

>>> Top 100

>>> New Prospect Sheet with Impect : Kader Meïté (Stade Rennais)

The 520th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the players who have not yet celebrated their 20th birthday with the highest transfer value according to our statistical model. In four cases, the estimate exceeds €100 million (with add-ons and for 100% of rights) : Lamine Yamal (€350 million), Estêvão Willian (€118 million), Pau Cubarsí (€113 million) and Franco Mastantuono (€102 million).

The top ten also includes Frenchman Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain), Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly from England, Portugal’s Geovany Quenda (Sporting CP, already signed by Chelsea), another Brazilian, Endrick Felipe (Real Madrid), and Sweden’s Lucas Bergvall (Tottenham).

In total, 113 teenagers playing in 25 leagues and 80 clubs around the world are estimated to be worth at least €10 million. The English Premier League is the best represented (23 players), ahead of the German Bundesliga (16) and the French Ligue 1 (11). This exclusive tool presents the most valuable player per team in 67 leagues.

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Issue number 519 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 50 nations in the world whose clubs have generated the most revenue over the last ten years from the international transfer of players trained in the country (including add-ons and sell-ons). France is clearly in the lead with €3.98 billion, an average of almost €400 million per year.

Clubs in two other countries have generated more than €2 billion from the international transfer of locally trained players over the last decade : Brazil (€2.60 billion) and Spain (€2.24 billion). Revenues exceeded €1 billion in six other countries : five European (Portugal, the Netherlands, England, Germany and Italy) and Argentina.

Transfers of players aged 20 or under account for almost one third of total revenue. Among the top 20 nations, this percentage is particularly high for Serbia (64.7%), Brazil (50.1%), Denmark (48.4%), Sweden (47.9%) and Belgium (43.8%). These figures reflect the early international transfer of players trained in these countries.

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The CIES Football Observatory is also happy to disclose its 7th Prospect Sheet in collaboration with Impect highlighting the great KRC Genk’s talent Konstantinos Karetsas.