Issue number 228 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analysed InStat data to unveil teams having scored the most goals within ten seconds from free kicks per domestic league minute played this season. Fresh Swiss champions Young Boys scored a goal from these situations every 277 minutes. This is the best value measured for the 31 European competitions included in the study.

Girona (318 minutes) tops the big-5 league table ahead of Italian champions Juventus (354 minutes) and Schalke 04 (360 minutes). However, the most positive gap between goals scored (8) and conceded (1) from free kicks situations was recorded for Spanish champions Barcelona (+7). Tottenham and Stade Rennais (both +6) rank second. Only Arsenal and Werder Bremen did not concede goals within ten seconds from free kicks.

Heidenheim (322 minutes) heads the table for second division leagues of countries hosting the five major European championships. The German team outranks Oviedo (341 minutes) and Queens Park Rangers (346 minutes). Young Boys is ahead Xanthi and Göztepe for countries between the 6th and 15th position in the UEFA rankings, while Radni?ki Niš tops the table for less performing leagues.

Issue number 227 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks footballers having played at least 1,800 big-5 league minutes over the season (1,440 for Germany) according to their performance level. Lionel Messi heads the table ahead of David Silva and Paulo Dybala. Six Manchester City players are in the top 10 list.

Robert Lewandowski ranks the table for German Bundesliga players (10th overall), while Edinson Cavani heads the French Ligue 1 rankings (21th overall). Per position, the best-ranked footballers are Marc-André ter Stegen for goalkeepers, Nicolás Otamendi for defenders, David Silva for midfielders and Lionel Messi for forwards. The methodology used is available in this research note.

The English Premier League is the most represented competition in the top 100 positions (30 footballers), while Bayern Munich is the most represented club (11 players). In total, 26 teams have at least one squad member in the top 100 list. The youngest footballers are Kylian Mbappé, Houssem Aouar, Malcom Filipe, Tanguy Ndombélé, Davinson Sánchez and Leroy Sané.

The last CIES Football Observatory study analyses the presence of expatriate players in the world. With 1,236 representatives abroad, Brazil is at top the table (+42 compared to 2017). France (821, +45) overtook Argentina (760, -26) as the second biggest exporter. The top 50 list is available in the 35th edition of the Monthly Report.

Brazilians are present in a record number of 78 associations out of the 93 covered by the study. The international path with the most expatriates involved goes from Brazil to Portugal. On the 1st of May 2018, 240 players from Brazil were playing in Portugal at professional adult level. The main destination for the French is England (99 players), while that of the Argentineans is Chile (106).

If we take population into account, the highest rate of expatriates per million of inhabitants was recorded for Iceland (180). This figure is above 100 only for one other association: Montenegro (134). It is also very high for double world champions Uruguay (96) and Croatia (80). In total, expatriates account for 21.2% of squads. This is 1.2% more than on the 1st of May 2017.

The average transfer value of Manchester City’s first team squad members estimated by means of the exclusive CIES Football Observatory algorithm reached a record high of €62.9 million. This is the greatest value measured at big-5 league level ahead of Barcelona (€55.3m) and Tottenham (€51.3m). The figures for all big-5 league teams are available in issue number 226 of the Weekly Post.

English Premier League economic power, outstanding performance, long-term contract duration and youthfulness are the key criteria explaining Manchester City’s first position. Seven of their players have an estimated transfer value of more than €100 million: Kevin de Bruyne, Leroy Sané, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Ederson Moraes, Bernardo Silva and Sergio Agüero.

Among the 31 teams whose players have an average estimated transfer value greater than €10 million are nine clubs from the Premier League, eight from the Serie A, six from the Liga and four from both the Bundesliga and the Ligue 1. The lowest ranked Premier League team, West Bromwich Albion, is 55th out of 98. This also reflects the economic dominance of the English top division.

Issue number 225 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post reveals the most likely World Cup winners according to an exclusive power index. This index combines the average percentage of matches played at domestic league level since July 2017 by the 23 most fielded players per team in the qualifying campaign with the average sporting level of employer clubs. Spain tops the list ahead of Brazil.

During current season, the 23 Spanish footballers most fielded in the qualification stage have on average played 81.1% of domestic league matches. This is the highest figure measured among all participating teams. The average sporting level of the clubs employing Spanish players is also the greatest overall: 1.37. According to these criteria, Spain is well placed to repeat its 2010 success. Three other teams have a power index of more than 80: Brazil, France and Germany.

At the opposite end of the table, the lowest power index was recorded for Panama. Two other nations have a score inferior to 25: Iran and Saudi Arabia. For all these countries, reaching the last 16 stage would be a great achievement. For more information about the features of players employed during the qualifications, please refer to the 30th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report.

Issue number 224 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the best performing big-5 league players whose contract runs out at the end of the season. Pepe Reina ranks first ahead of two other goalkeepers (Vicente Guaita and Gianluigi Buffon), as well as Arjen Robben. Only footballers having played at least 1,000 domestic league minutes during the current season are included in the rankings.

For outfield players, the CIES Football Observatory performance index takes into account the production and efficiency in six different areas of the game: rigour, recovery, distribution, take on, chance creation and shooting. For goalkeepers, it includes the minutes per goal conceded, as well as the number and percentage of saves. Results achieved for matches played are also considered as a weighting factor.

In the top 50 list are many relatively young full international players such as Emre Can (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Leon Goretzka and Max Meyer (Schalke 04), Sanjin Prci? (Stade Rennais) and Stefan de Vrij (Lazio). As for Goretzka, who already signed for Bayern Munich, all these players will most probably be able to negotiate lucrative contracts in prestigious teams.