Issue number 161 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post compares big-5 league teams according to the number of players in their current squad signed after January 1st 2016. The best performing teams recruited fewer footballers than the less competitive ones. German champions Bayern Munich only signed two players.

Among the eleven least active clubs on the transfer market are seven teams competing in the UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Lyon, Leverkusen, Paris St-Germain, Tottenham and Atlético Madrid. Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Manchester United and Real Sociedad also are in the top eleven positions of the rankings.

The 18th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report presents an in-depth analysis of the recruitment policies followed by clubs from the five major European championships. The study notably highlights that the most competitive teams focus on the fee paying transfer of young players with high potential and hold on to those who perform best over the long term.

Issue number 160 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the percentage of domestic league minutes played by national footballers since the start of the season. At the top of the table is Osasuna (97%), while Udinese is at the bottom (1%).

In the top ten rankings of the lowest figures are many competitive teams, such as Chelsea (16%), Manchester City (17%) and Arsenal (23%). In total, national footballers played less than 50% of minutes in 51 clubs out of 98. This proportion is 16 out of 20 in the English Premier League.

Everton is the only English team currently ranked in the top third of the Premier League table who fielded national players for more than half of minutes (52%). National footballers played 41% of domestic league minutes at both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Transfer expenditure at the top of the football pyramid has significantly grown in recent years. Issue number 159 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the sums spent in transfer fees by big-5 league teams to assemble their current squad. In football history, no club has invested as much as Manchester United this season to make up its roster: €718 million (+€185 million compared to last season).

The fees paid to assemble Manchester United’s squad vary from €110 million for new signing Paul Pogba to zero for a few players among whom Zlatan Ibrahimovi?. At second and third positions of the squad cost table are Real Madrid (€634 million, + €47 million with respect to 2015/16) and Manchester City (€611 million, + €78 million).

Generally speaking, the correlation between the squad cost from a transfer fee perspective and the final position in the domestic league table is very high. However, last season, Leicester City won the English Premier League title with the 17th costliest squad out of 20.
 

The 158th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the beneficiaries of transfer investments made by big-5 league clubs. Between 2010 and 2016, roughly two thirds of the fees were paid out to other teams taking part in the five major European championships. This percentage varies between 63% in Italy and 70% in England.

Out of the €19.5 billion spent by big-5 league clubs over the seven years analysed, €12.9 billion benefited teams from the same competitions. To be able to generate considerable incomes on the transfer market, it is necessary to have sufficient economic clout and prestige to attract the best talents either young or adult.

In the current state of play, clubs without the necessary economic muscle have little chance of earning consistent amounts. A good access to dominant transfer networks is also of crucial importance. The main beneficiaries are presented in issue number 157 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post.

More data and insights are available in the 17th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report.

Issue number 157 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 teams having generated the most income from the transfer of players to big-5 league clubs since 2010. Liverpool tops the rankings with €442 million, ahead of Valencia (€432 million) and Juventus (€415 million).

The comparison with the figures on expenditure published last week shows that the transfer balance for Liverpool was negative: -€221 million (not including sales to non big-5 league clubs). However, this is a much lower net loss than for Manchester City (-€777 million), Manchester United (-€659 million) or Chelsea (-€513 million). The figures for Arsenal and Tottenham are -€279 million, respectively -€88 million.

Only nine clubs outside the big-5 league countries are in the top 50 positions for transfer incomes: Benfica (4th), Porto (5th), Ajax (30th), Sporting Lisboa (33rd), Santos (42nd), PSV Eindhoven (45th), Dinamo Zagreb (47th), Shakhtar Donetsk (49th) and São Paulo (50th).

More data and insights are available in the 17th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report.

The 17th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses monetary flows related to the transfer of players within European football. Since 2010, big-5 league club investments have grown almost continually year after year to reach a new record of €4.2 billion in 2016.

Over the seven years analysed, the clubs from the five major European championships have paid €19.5 billion in transfer fees. Premier League teams have spent €7.5 billion, which accounts for 39% of total expenditure. This percentage reached 42% in 2016.

Issue number 156 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the table of clubs who spent the most on transfer fees since 2010 and in 2016. In both cases, Manchester City heads the rankings: €1 billion since 2010 and €231 million in 2016 (including add-ons). In the former table, Guardiola’s team outranks Chelsea (€871 million) and Manchester United (€841 million).