Issue number 489 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post forecasts the results up to the end of the season of teams in 42 leagues around the world according to their performance level. The latter was measured on the basis of a statistical model including the number and location of the passes and shots made and conceded so far by teams (Wyscout data), regardless of the results obtained.

In the five major European leagues, the best progress in terms of points per match should come from Toulouse and Monaco in Ligue 1 (with Auxerre and Strasbourg at the opposite end), Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga (RB Leipzig at the opposite), Cagliari and Como in Serie A (Empoli at the opposite), Tottenham and Manchester City in the Premier League (Newcastle at the opposite), as well as Girona and Getafe in La Liga (Leganés at the opposite).

Across all leagues, the greatest positive gaps between the points per match achieved so far and those predicted up until the season end were measured for Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia (+0.66), United Arab Emirates’ Al-Wasl FC (+0.54) and Cyprus’ APOEL FC (+0.5). Conversely, Serbia’s FK Mladost (-0.62), the Emiratis of Ittihad Kalba (-0.52) and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyadh SC (also -0.52) are expected to experience the biggest drops in form.

>>> Full data

The 488th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players who have scored the most goals in official club or national team matches (senior, U23 or U21) over the last year. Sporting CP’s Swede Viktor Gyökeres is clearly at the top of the list with no fewer than 64 goals: 54 for his club and 10 at national team level.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway) and Harry Kane (Bayern Munich and England) complete the podium with 52 and 47 goals respectively. In terms of goal frequency, the top three are Irishman Garbhan Coughlan of Cashmere Technical in New Zealand (one goal every 43 minutes), Japan’s Tomoyuki Doi of Geylang United in Singapore, and Uruguay’s Martín Cauteruccio of Sporting Cristal in Peru.

The Post also presents the rankings for the last two and three years. Over the last two years, nobody has scored more goals than Erling Haaland (101), while Kylian Mbappé tops the last-three-year list with 147 goals. The youngest player in last year’s top 100 is the Spaniard Chupete (Atlético Malagueño), while the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr and Portugal) is the oldest.

>>> Full data

The 487th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the U23 players not yet in Europe’s big-5 who are most ready to take the next step in their careers. The selection is based on an index considering the footballers’ playing time over the last year, the sporting level of matches played, as well as their performances in six game areas (Wyscout data).

Sporting CP’s Belgian full international Zeno Debast tops the table with an index of 87.5 out of 100. Another centre back, PSV Eindhoven’s Dutchman Ryan Flamingo, ranks second, while his teammate Malik Tillman (86.2) round up the podium. Ukrainian Georgiy Sudakov (Shakhtar Donetsk) is fourth, ahead of Portugal’s Álvaro Carreras (Benfica). Sixth-placed Brazilian Wesley França (Flamengo) is the top-ranked player outside Europe.

The Post presents the overall top 100, as well as the ten highest-ranked players in 60 leagues worldwide. The following footballers head the rankings in their respective league: Christos Tzolis (Belgium), Manfred Ugalde (Russia), Mario Mitaj (Saudi Arabia), Martin Vitík (Czech Republic), Oscar Gloukh (Austria), Victor Guzmán (Mexico), Thiago Fernández (Argentina) and Semih Kiliçsoy (Turkey). For all players, the Post also unveils the estimated transfer value.

>>> Full data

>>> More information on the technical analysis of performance

>>> Scientific paper on the statistical model for transfer estimates

The CIES Football Observatory is the world leader in the scientific evaluation of professional players’ transfer values. Issue number 486 of the Weekly Post presents the 100 best-valued footballers in the world today. Englishman Jude Bellingham, under contract with Real Madrid until 2029, tops the list with a value of €251 million.

Manchester City’s Norwegian Erling Haaland (€221m) and Real Madrid’s Brazilian Vinícius Júnior (€206m) complete the podium despite contracts extending only until 2027. Fourth-placed Spaniard Lamine Yamal (€180m) is tied to his club for even less time (June 2026), which would facilitate a possible departure from Barcelona. Now aged 26, despite a contract with Real Madrid until 2029, Kylian Mbappé’s transfer value (€175m) is only the fifth-highest.

Three Premier League players, England’s Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, one from the Bundesliga, Germany’s Florian Wirtz, and a fourth Real Madrid footballer, Brazil’s Rodrygo, also feature in the top 10. The highest value for goalkeepers was recorded for Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove), while Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City) tops the list for defenders and Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting CP) for players from outside the big-5.

>>> Top 100

>>> Best-valued player per club in 65 leagues worldwide

>>> Scientific paper on the CIES Football Observatory method

Thanks to the collaboration with Wyscout, the CIES Football Observatory has developed a robust and innovative method for comparing player performance. This report presents the footballers from 65 leagues around the world born in 2004 or later with the best performance index in the current or last completed season for the leagues alredy finished.

The performance index used to establish rankings is calculated on a 100-basis from player activity in six areas of the game: ground defence, aerial play, distribution, chance creation, take on and finishing. This other study details the methodology exclusively developed to measure performance in each of these areas.

The scouting report presents the 20 best performing young footballers for 20 categories defined according to players’ main position and technical characteristics. For each player, we alspo present his estimated transfer value according to the exclusive CIES Football Observatory statistical model. At the top of the list in their respective categories are:

Goalkeepers: Guillaume Restes (Toulouse) and Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduro (AZ Alkmaar).

Centre backs: Abdukodir Khusanov (Lens), Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona) and Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo Kyiv).

Full/wing backs: Jorrel Hato (Ajax), Malick Diouf (Slavia Prague), Oliver Braude (Heerenveen), Martim Fernandes (Porto) and Geovany Quenda (Sporting CP).

Midfielders: Warren Zäire-Emery (Paris St-Germain), Aleksandar Pavlović (Bayern Munich), João Neves (Paris St-Germain), Kendry Paez (Independente del Valle) and Aleksey Batrakov (Lokomotiv Moskow).

Wingers: Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Thiago Fernández (Vélez Sarsfield), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Arda Güler (Real Madrid).

Centre forwards: Samu Aghehowa (Porto) and Kauã Elias (Fluminense).

>>> Top 20s per category (update if the file is not displayed)

The 485th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 20 outfield footballers in 66 leagues around the world who played the most official game minutes in 2024, either for clubs (at senior level only) or national teams (A, U23 or U21). Up to December 15, the most-used outfield player in absolute terms is FC Barcelona’s French international Jules Koundé: 5,872 minutes spread over 69 matches.

Fluminense’s Colombian Jhon Arias and Real Madrid’s Uruguayan Federico Valverde complete the podium. The next three places are occupied by players over the age of 30: Dutchman Virgil van Dijk (33.4), Argentina’s Nicolás Otamendi (36.8) and Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka (32.2). Reading FC’s New Zealander Tyler Bindon is the only footballer under the age of 20 in the top 100, demonstrating the sensitivity of coaches when it comes to balancing the efforts of younger players.

Also with respect to the top 100 outfield players overall, a clear majority of minutes were played in domestic club competitions: 73.2% of the total. The remaining playing time spread almost equally between international club competitions and national teams: 15.1% for the former and 13.4% for the latter (including the Olympic Games). These reports provide more exclusive analysis on the hot topics of match calendar and player workload.

>>> Top 20 per league

The 484th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks clubs worldwide according to the monetary balance of transfer transactions concerning non-academy players signed since 2015 and no longer owned by the club. The figures presented include any add-ons regardless of whether they have actually been paid or received, as well as revenues generated through sell-on clauses.

LOSC Lille has the most positive result, with €234m spent over the last decade on players no longer owned by the club, compared with €617m of revenues and a balance sheet of +€384 million. The French outfit are ahead of the Dutch side of Ajax (+€289m) and the Germans of RB Leipzig (+€288m). Three other clubs recorded a positive balance of over €200m: Eintracht Frankfurt, Atalanta and Benfica.

Another French club has had the worst trading record of the last decade: Paris St-Germain. The team from the capital has a deficit of €646 million, almost half of which is linked to the transfers of Kylian Mbappé (-€180m) and Neymar (-€122m). Two English teams also totalled a deficit in excess of €500 million: Manchester United (-€584m, maximum loss of €110m for Paul Pogba) and Chelsea (-€580m, maximum loss of €70m for Romelu Lukaku).

>>> Full data

Issue number 483 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post compares 144 men’s senior national teams in terms of the average age of line-ups fielded in 2024. Values range from a high of 30.38 years of age for Peru (ahead of Iran) to a low of 23.05 years of age for the Cayman Islands (ahead of Puerto Rico).

At UEFA member association level, the three men’s national A-teams having fielded the oldest players on average were Montenegro (28.94 years of age), Slovakia (28.92) and Switzerland (28.79). In contrast, the lowest values were recorded for San Marino (24.31 years of age), Northern Ireland (24.39) and Estonia (25.82).

The Post also presents the percentage of minutes by age group. Players aged 21 or under at the time of the matches played up to 14.5% minutes for European champions Spain. Worldwide, this proportion is around 10%. At confederation level, the lowest percentage of minutes by U21 players was recorded in South America (about 7%).

>>> Full data

The 482nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players under the age of 20 (as of 27 November) with the most playing experience* in 2024, while having played fewer than 900 official game minutes at senior level in the previous year. Despite being just 17.8 years old, Barcelona’s centre back Pau Cubarsí tops the list.

England’s Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United) and Argentina’s Julio Soler (CA Lanús) complete the young revelations’ podium. They are ahead of Brazilian Estêvão Willian (Palmeiras, owned by Chelsea) and Turkey’s Semih Kiliçsoy (Beşiktaş JK). Belgium’s Konstantinos Karetsas (KRC Genk) is the youngest player listed, ahead of Ayyoub Bouaddi (LOSC Lille), Gabriel Carvalho (SC Internacional), Franco Mastantuono (River Plate) and Chris Rigg (Sunderland AFC).

No fewer than 38 leagues are represented in the top 100, with a maximum of 11 players from the Brazilian Serie A, followed by eight in the Argentinian top flight. The highest experience value of any player under the age of 20 was recorded for Lamine Yamal. However, the Spanish prodigy was already an established professional in 2023. More complete rankings are accessible on request.

* Projected on a basis of 100, the experience score takes into account the minutes played in official matches at senior level in 2024, weighted by the sporting level of the games and the results. More information on the exclusive CIES Football Observatory methodology is available in this note.

>>> Top 100

While a consultation was opened following the regulatory changes requested by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the context of the ‘Diarra’ case, the 481st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the financial statements* of the transfer operations carried out over the last decade by the clubs of the world’s main leagues.

The analysis highlights the Premier League’s unique status as a provider of funds for teams around the world. The clubs in England’s top flight have indeed accumulated a net deficit of €11.6 billion over the last ten years, far more than the two other leagues with the most negative balance sheets: the Saudi Pro League (-€1.8 billion) and Italy’s Serie A (-€1.5 billion).

In contrast, the Portuguese Primeira Liga is the competition whose clubs have financially most benefited from transfer deals over the last ten years (+€2.4 billion), ahead of the Dutch Eredivisie, the Brasileirão and the English Championship (all around +€1.5 billion). Any future drop in transfer fees could therefore mainly affect teams in these leagues.

* The figures published include fixed transfer fees, any add-ons regardless of whether they have actually been paid, as well as sums paid in the context of paying loans. Within the limits of available information, the data on beneficiaries considers sell-on fees negotiated by previous clubs.

>>> Full data

>>> More data, including for clubs, in this report

The 480th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the Wyscout data on shots taken and conceded from the danger zone (the central rectangle of the penalty area) by teams in 63 leagues around the world. With 6.9 more shots from this zone attempted than conceded per game, former Rúben Amorim and Portugal’s Sporting CP have the best record in absolute terms.

As for the European big-5, the most positive gaps were recorded for Manchester City in the Premier League (with Leicester City last), Barcelona in La Liga (Real Valladolid at the opposite end), Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga (Bochum at the other extreme), Monaco in Ligue 1 (Montpellier at the bottom) and Atalanta in Italy (Monza in last position).

The Post also presents the difference between points achieved and expected according to a statistical model built on the basis of the difference in shots taken and conceded from the danger zone per match and club. The most positive gap in absolute terms was measured for Scotland’s Aberdeen (1.58 more points per game than expected according to shooting statistics), which reflects above-standard efficiency and may foreshadow a decline in performance.

>>> Full data

>>> More performance stats

The Weekly Post number 479 presents the 100 players in the world who have not yet celebrated their 21st birthday with the highest transfer value according to the CIES Football Observatory statistical model. The Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, €180.9m*) outranks Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United, €114.8m) and Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris St-Germain, €109.0m). A fourth youngster is valued at over €100 million: Sávio Moreira (Manchester City, €101.0m).

In defensive positions, Guillaume Restes (Toulouse, €28.8m) tops the list for goalkeepers, Lucas Beraldo (Paris St-Germain, €70.3m) for centre backs and Rico Lewis (Manchester City, €87.2m) for full/wing backs. Three other U18 players in addition to Yamal feature in the top 100: Ecuadorian Kendry Paez (Independiente del Valle, on loan from Chelsea), Brazilian Estevão Willian (Palmeiras, also on loan from Chelsea) and Spaniard Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona).

Seventeen leagues are represented in the top 100, with a maximum of 26 players for the Premier League, followed by Ligue 1 (17) and La Liga (12). In terms of the clubs to which top-ranked footballers belong, Brighton & Hove (6 players) are ahead of Chelsea, Paris St-Germain and Barcelona (4). This open access and peer reviewed scientific paper details the methodology used to determine fair prices for professional football players worldwide.

* All figures mentioned include eventual add-ons and refer to 100% of transfer rights.

>>> Top 100 U21 players

>>> Click here to see the estimates for the best-valued players per club.