According to the CIES Football Observatory’s 2023 survey on men’s professional club football, respondents believe that the fight against money laundering should be a top priority for regulatory bodies. More than six out of ten respondents (62.1%) consider indeed that action to counter money laundering through football is highly needed.

Fan racism (60.3%) and state-owned clubs (58.5%) are the other two areas where there is the strongest consensus that action is needed, followed by corruption (53.5%) and violence (51.8%). Almost one in two respondents also felt that action is highly needed in relation to commissions paid to agents and frauds in connection with transfer operations.

In contrast, of the 32 issues addressed, the three areas where respondents felt the least need for action are the quality of matches, their balance, as well as players’ aggressiveness. Among the societal issues surveyed, fan racism (action highly needed for 60.3% of respondents) is of greater concern than violence (51.8%), homophobia (42.1%) and sexism (29.0%).

The questionnaire was sent out in two languages to our subscribers, resulting in 1,100 valid responses. The main findings are published on our X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts or available on request.

Issue 437 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the top 100 dribblers* in the world among players who have not yet celebrated their 23rd birthday. FC Barcelona’s prodigy Lamine Yamal (2007) tops the rankings in the European big-5, while Club Brugge’s superb Norwegian talent Antonio Nusa (2005) heads the list in the other 65 leagues analysed.

At European big-5 league level, Lamine Yamal is ahead of Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Luca Koleosho (Burnley), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli) and Girona’s Sávio Moreira (on loan from Troyes, as part of the City Group galaxy). Also in the top 10 notably are Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), Buyako Saka (Arsenal) and Frosinone’s young Argentinean talent Matías Soulé (on loan from Juventus).

Outside the big-5, behind Antonio Nusa, there are two Brazilian prodigies: Luis Guilherme (2006) of Palmeiras and Wesley Gassova (2005) of Corinthians. Two other U20 players are in the top 10: the Ghanaians Issahaku Fatawu of Leicester City (on loan from Sporting CP with an option to buy) and Ibrahim Osman of Nordsjælland.

* Calculated from Wyscout data, the index used was obtained by multiplying the frequency of successful dribbles in domestic league matches, the success rate of dribbles attempted, as well as the sporting level of the matches played (as a percentage deviation from the overall average). The rankings only include footballers who played at least 450 domestic league minutes in current season.

>>> Top 100 list

The 436th Weekly Post of the CIES Football Observatory presents the rankings of the teams that have trained* the most players active in 48 of the world’s major leagues (list in the Post). Ajax (86 players trained) is ahead of Benfica (85) and Sporting CP (83), while the Uruguayans of Defensor SC (82 trained) top the table among non-European teams ahead of Boca Juniors (81) and River Plate (79).

Ajax also has the highest score in the weighted training index (method in the Post), which takes into account the sporting level of the players trained. The Dutch team is ahead of Benfica and Barcelona, with Boca Juniors leading the table for non-European clubs ahead of city rivals River Plate. Two Ukrainian (Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk) and a Croatian team (Dinamo Zagreb) are in the top 10 positions of the weighted table.

The Weekly Post also presents the rankings for players active in four league sub-categories: the European big-5, with Real Madrid in first place (44 players trained); 31 top divisions of UEFA associations, with Ajax at the top (84); eleven American leagues, with SC Defensor first (70); as well as six Asian leagues, with the Chinese of Shandong Taishan heading the table (37).

>>> All the tables

* Training clubs are those where players have been for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21 (including the seasons of the 15th and 21st birthdays).

The 88th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the brand new SkillCorner data on players’ run types during possession to classify the teams from 27 leagues worldwide according to the tendency of calling for the ball ‘at feet’ or ‘in space’. The study thus reveals the dominant strategies used by teams to organise attacking play.

Across the 27 leagues analysed, the highest proportion of ‘calls-for-the-ball’ runs into space (to receive the ball in front of the ball carrier) was measured in Mexico’s Liga MX, while the greatest percentage of ‘calls-for-the-ball’ runs at feet (to receive the ball mostly behind or laterally to the ball carrier) was recorded in Italy’s Serie A. At club level, the extreme values were observed for Cercle Brugge (‘in space’) and Burnley FC (‘at feet’).

Combined with physical data such as top speeds, number of accelerations or distances covered, SkillCorner’s ‘game intelligence’ statistics are very useful for clubs both on an individual and collective level. The possible applications range from defining a style of play and the tactical preparation of matches, the measurement of performance and its improvement, to recruitment choices and strategies.

>>> Access the Report

The 435th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the Wyscout data on passes to draw up a global ranking of the world’s top 100 midfield distributors* among those who played at least 450 domestic league minutes during the current season. The top three are Rodri (Manchester City), Frankie de Jong (Barcelona) and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid).

The top-ranked players outside the European big-5 are Aschraf El Mahdioui (Al-Taawoun, 6th), Álvaro Fidalgo (CF América, 8th) and Yahya Jabrane (Wydad AC, 10th). Two players who have not yet celebrated their 21st birthday rank in the top 100: João Neves of Benfica (34nd) and Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid (71th). Two footballers aged over 40 also feature in the top 100 places: Felipe Melo of Fluminense (38th) and Yasuhito Endo of Jubilo Iwata (77th).

* The index used takes into account the number of successful passes per match, the percentage of successful passes, the ratio of passes compared to teammates, as well as the average level of matches played. The methodology behind this last metric is explained in this note. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information about our services.

>>> Go to the Post

The 434th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 851 teams in 53 top divisions worldwide according to the average age of the line-ups fielded since the start of the current season. Values range from 20.97 years of age for FK Minsk of Belarus to 32.12 years for Independiente Petrolero of Bolivia. The average for all the clubs analysed is 27.24 years.

In the five major European leagues, the average age on the pitch ranges from 24.16 years for Toulouse FC to 30.19 for Rayo Vallecano. In the English Premier League, the extreme values were measured for Burnley FC (24.57 years), Chelsea FC (24.95) and Arsenal FC (24.96) on one side, and for Fulham (29.28 years) on the other.

The publication also presents the percentage of minutes by player age category (21 or under, 22 to 25, 26 to 29, and 30 or over). In eight teams, players aged 21 or under at the time of the matches played a majority of minutes. These notably include RB Salzburg (60.7%), FC Nordsjælland (56.1%) and AFC Ajax (53.3%).

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Issue number 433 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents an analysis of the data produced exclusively by our partner SkillCorner on the type of runs made by players when their team is in possession of the ball. Clubs from 27 leagues around the world are ranked according to the percentage of runs for short or backward passes*, highlighting the teams whose players like to receive the ball at their feet.

Raków Czestochowa’s players proportionally make the most runs for short or backward passes (31.1% of total runs). The Polish club is ahead of two European football giants: Manchester City (29.6%) and Paris Saint-Germain (28.5%). Eintracht Frankfurt (27.5%), Girona (26.5%) and AC Milan (25.9%) top the table in the other big-5 leagues. In absolute terms, the maximum runs for short or backward passes was recorded for Paris St-Germain (7.13 per match).

Using innovative tracking technologies, SkillCorner provides physical data for over 60 football leagues and competitions worldwide. Its new ‘Game Intelligence’ data focuses on the contextualisation of the game and notably includes ten categories of runs that can be used to qualify the style of play of teams and players, as we have done in this publication.

*Runs for short or backward passes are runs (>15 km/h for at least 0.7 seconds) made with the aim of offering a passing option to teammates, whether towards its own goal (‘drop off’) or to shorten the passing distance to the ball carrier (coming short).

>>> Go to the Post

The 432nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the rich data produced by our partners Wyscout to highlight the clubs that most dominate their opponents in 69 leagues across the world. The ranking is established on the basis of the average performance ratio with respect to opponents for four game actions: shots, shots from the box, passes and passes into the opponent’s third.

Levski Sofia tops the table with an average dominance ratio 3.31, ahead of another Bulgarian side, Ludogorets (3.26), Red Star Belgrade (2.99), Olympiacos (2.90) and Feyenoord (2.78). At the top of the rankings for the big-5 European leagues are Bayern Munich (ahead of Bayer Leverkusen), Naples (ahead of Inter), Paris St-Germain (ahead of LOSC Lille), Barcelona (ahead of Real Madrid) and Manchester City (ahead of Chelsea).

Outside Europe, the best ratios were recorded for two Saudi Pro League teams - Al-Hilal (2.29) and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr (2.13) – and Ecuador’s Independiente Del Valle (2.27). RB Bragantino (1.45) heads the table in Brazil, River Plate (1.92) in Argentina, CF América (1.60) in Mexico and New York RB (1.39) in the MLS. Over and above the rank currently occupied by the clubs, the dominance ratio helps in most cases understanding the position that teams can realistically hope to achieve.

>>> Go to the Post

Issue number 431 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 70 leagues around the world according to the average duration of matches during the current or last completed season (Wyscout data). The overall average is 100’15’’, with a maximum of over 106’ in the top two Saudi competition levels.

The Spanish Liga is the competition where referees add the most injury time among the European big-5 (on average 13’03’’), ahead of the English Premier League (11’46’’) and the Italian Serie A (11’04’’). The lowest additional time value overall was recorded in the Finnish top flight (6’07’’), with less than 10% of fixtures lasting more than 100’.

Overall, the percentage of matches that last over 100’ is 52.4%. This proportion varies greatly between leagues: from 100% in the top division of the United Arab Emirates to just 6.7% in the Swiss second division. The share of games with a duration of over 100’ in the European big-5 stretches from 84.6% in Spain to 61.1% in France (71.8% in England).

>>> Go to the Post

Dear friend of the CIES Football Observatory,

we warmly thank the >1k of our subscribers that have taken the time to answer the anonymous survey through which we aim at understanding what actions football fans consider to be a necessity to improve the men’s professional football club environment.

This a second and last invite to participate in the survey, which will only take you about one minute. The results will be made available to the general public via our website and social networks.

>>> Survey in English

>>> Questionnaire en français

Thank you for helping us, and long live football!

The CIES Football Observatory research team

The 430th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the top 100 teams in the world having invested the most on transfer fees (including add-ons regardless of effective payment) to recruit players currently in their squad. Four teams head the list with investments of at least one billion euros: three English clubs (Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City) and one French (Paris St-Germain).

Saudi side Al-Hilal (18th) is the club from outside the European big-5 that has invested the most on transfer indemnities to assemble its squad (€382m), ahead of Leicester City (26th, €281m) and Ajax (32nd, €236m). By position, the biggest spenders are Liverpool for goalkeepers (€73m), Manchester United for defenders (€383m), Real Madrid for midfielders (€447m) and Paris St-Germain for strikers (€557m).

Clubs from nineteen different leagues feature in the top 100, with a maximum of 19 teams for the English Premier League (all clubs except Luton), followed by the Italian Serie A (15 teams), the Spanish Liga (12), the French Ligue 1 (11) and the German Bundesliga (also 11). Among non-European competitions, the Saudi Pro League is the most represented (4 clubs), ahead of Mexico’s Liga MX (3) and Brazil’s Serie A (2).

>>> Explore all the resources available on our website

CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post number 429 presents the net transfer spending* of the 100 most active clubs in terms of the financial volume of transactions concluded over the last decade. During this period, Manchester United has the most negative balance (-€1.396 billion), while the Portuguese side SL Benfica has the best (+€764 million).

Two other teams have had transfer losses of more than €1 billion over the last ten years: Chelsea and Paris St-Germain. Chelsea also has the most negative balances in the post-COVID period (-€993 million) and the calendar year 2023 (-€558 million). In contrast, SL Benfica outranks AFC Ajax (+€434m) and RB Salzburg (+€422m) over the last decade, while Villarreal CF has the most positive net spending in the 2023 calendar year (+€129m).

Also published today, the 87th CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report presents an even more detailed analysis of transfer-related financial flows in world football over the last decade. In particular, it shows that the amount of transfer fees incurred by clubs in 2023 (around €12.4 billion) was almost 25% higher than in the previous record year of 2019. This is essentially due to the sharp increase of English Premier League and Saudi Pro League clubs’ investments.

* The figures published include fixed transfer fees, any add-ons regardless of whether they have actually been paid, as well as sums invested in the context of paying loans. Amounts negotiated for loans with an obligation to buy are included in the breakdown for the year of the transfer. Within the limits of available information, the data on beneficiaries considers sell-on fees negotiated by previous clubs.