Our analysis shows great differences between Northern (England, Germany) and Southern (Italy, France, Spain) European leagues.

In Germany, clubs have employed so far 4.4 players taller than 185cm on average. This figure is only 2.0 in Spain.

All clubs fielded at least one player over 185cm in height. However, four teams play on average with less than a footballer taller than 185 cm (Celta Vigo, Real Valladolid, Valenciennes and Montpellier).

Conversely, four teams are on average made up of a majority of players taller than 185cm (Stoke City, Hamburg, Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen).

Among current top ranked clubs, the lowest number of tall players was fielded by Barcelona (1.5 on average on the pitch), while the greatest was registered at Juventus (5.5).

The figures for all big-5 league clubs are available on the CIES Football Observatory website.

All interested users can now actively consult and access the trends observed in each of the big-5 leagues in relation to the following indicators:

• Average age

• Average height

• % of club-trained players

• % of full internationals

• % of expatriates

• Average stay

(More detailed descriptions for each indicator are available on the Football Observatory website)

For more information please contact us at football.observatory@cies.ch

On another level, we are pleased to inform our European audience that the Football Research in Enlarged Europe (FREE) project has launched an online survey about what football means to Europeans in their daily lives. You are kindly invited to participate at this link

Our predictions are based on the analysis of player profile data from the perspective of “experience” (number of matches played and results achieved), “prolificacy” (number of goals scored and level of the competition) and “stability” (number of seasons with the employer club and years remaining on contract).

Using these indicators, we have classified teams by taking into account the 11 players with the highest scores (potential “starting 11”), as well as squad members ranked between the 12th and 22nd positions (“substitutes”). The final ranking has been estimated on the basis of the average position in the two tables. In case of equality, we ranked teams according to their overall score.

Manchester United and Paris St-Germain are the only two most probable champions ranked in first position for both “starting 11” and “substitute” players. While the competitive advantage of Borussia Dortmund is mainly related to the 11 players with the highest scores, and that of Juventus is due to the quality of substitutes. The same holds true for Real Madrid with respect to Barcelona.

Monaco is the only promoted team with a real chance of finishing the season in the top three of their domestic league. Conversely, this year many prestigious teams risk being sucked into a fight against relegation (Fulham, Levante, Valenciennes, Werder Bremen, Torino, etc.).

Using the indicators described above, we were also able to identify the players with the highest scores, and whose performance levels should have the greatest impact on results obtained by their respective teams (key players).

The full predictions may be downloaded from the CIES Football Observatory website. We are at your disposal for more information at football.observatory@cies.ch

With xxx million euro invested for new players, English teams were the most active. It is the highest level ever recorded. A new record high was also measured in France (383 million euro) and Germany (259 million).

The transfer expenditure of the 10 clubs that spent the most account for 49.2% of fees paid. This figure is at an all-time high and reflects the growing concentration of wealth in top level football. The percentage of fees paid by the three most active clubs per league varies from 85.8% in France to 45.6% in England.

More information is presented in the issue 45 of the Big-5 Weekly Post. For further enquiries, please contact us at football.observatory@cies.ch

The new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is now available here (issue 44).

The Post includes the 20 latest paying transfers concerning players who were employed by big-5 league teams during the second semester of the season 2012/13.

The CIES Football Observatory estimation takes into account a multitude of variables such as players’ pitch performances (notably the number of matches and goals), length of contract remaining, age, position and international experience.

More information is presented in the 2013 edition of our Annual Review. The publication is on sale in the online shop of the International Centre for Sports Studies.

Students, academics and journalists may ask for a discount by writing to football.observatory@cies.ch

The publication presents a comparative analysis of clubs and players in the big-5 European leagues at demographic, economic and pitch performance levels. An excerpt of the study is to be found on the Football Observatory’s website.

The Annual Review is on sale as a pdf on the CIES online shop. Journalists, students and academics may obtain a discount by writing to football.observatory@cies.ch. Please write to the same address for more information.

The Annual Review notably reveals that Lionel Messi would largely break the 94-million euro transfer fee record. Estimated on the basis of an exclusive econometric model, his value is between 217 and 252 million euro. With an estimated value between 102 and 118 million, Cristiano Ronaldo would probably also break his own record.

At club level, the analysis shows that Barcelona holds the greatest assets from a player economic value perspective: 658 million euro. This figure is three times higher than that spent on signing the players used during the 2012/13 season. This reflects the extraordinary ability of the Catalan side to train, launch and add value to home-grown players.

Lionel Messi is not only the most expensive big-5 league player, but also the most decisive one for the 2012/13 season. The ranking is based on the performances for five key indicators: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution and recovery. The Argentinean outranks Champions League winner Franck Ribéry and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The most decisive young player was Mario Götze. The new Bayern Munich signing is followed by two very promising Belgian footballers belonging to Chelsea: Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. They definitively both deserve to have a chance to play for the London club.

The performance analysis at club level shows that Bayern Munich’s fantastic season was the result of the unmatched balance between attack, distribution and defence. The Champions League winner tops the German Bundesliga rankings for the three key team performance indicators covered by our analysis: defensive solidity, grip on the game and attacking incisiveness. No other champion was able to do so.

The 2013 Annual Review also investigates the evolution in competitive balance within leagues since 2003/04. With the exception of Italy, point gaps between teams are on the increase. This trend is particularly marked in Spain and Germany. Over the last decade, the three most successful clubs achieved more than 60% of podium ranks in all the leagues, up to 80% in Spain and England (24 out of 30).

In 2012/13, money spent in transfer fees to sign first team players was highly correlated to club results in all the leagues. All the champions were among the three biggest spenders in their respective league. This confirms the strong influence of money on success.

Without new regulatory mechanisms to improve income distribution, competitive balance will be further jeopardised by the transformation of top level clubs into global brands, their regular participation in the increasingly lucrative Champions League and investments made by wealthy owners.

The Annual Review is on sale as a pdf on the CIES online shop. Journalists, students and academics may obtain a discount by writing to football.observatory@cies.ch. Please write to the same address for more information.

Furthermore, two teams that we categorised as main outsiders for a podium finish also achieved this goal: Chelsea and Lyon. The remaining team which finished in the top three, Bayer Leverkusen, was forecast to finish 5th according to our model. Of the clubs that we expected to be classified on the podium, the worst result was obtained by Lille (6th), while Arsenal and Schalke 04 just missed this objective (4th).

Generally speaking, our objective was to have an average gap between ranking estimated and obtained of “lower than 4 in all the leagues”. This target was achieved with the following average ranking gaps: Italy 2.4, England 2.9, Germany 2.9, France 3.1 and Spain x.x.

The highest positive gaps per league between ranking achieved and estimated were measured for the following clubs: Nice (+11), Freiburg (+11), Rayo Vallecano and Betis Sevilla (+10), Norwich (+8) and Cagliari (+7). Conversely, the highest negative gaps were recorded for Mallorca (-10), Sunderland (-9), Brest (-8), Stuttgart (-8) and Sampdoria (-6).

With regard to the eventual league champions, it was impossible to do worse than the previous season (0 out of 5). This year we are pleased to have forecast four title winners (all except Manchester United). This is one more than in the previous record season (2010/11). However, the proportion for the three last seasons is still inferior to 50% (7 out of 15).

We are also pleased to announce that the eighth edition of the Annual Review will be published on the 13th of June. It will for the first time include an estimate of the economic value of big-5 league players according to a cutting-edge econometric model exclusively developed by the CIES Football Observatory academic team.

Based on data provided by our partner OptaPro, the CIES Football Observatory rankings take into account pitch productivity in five key areas of the game: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution and recovery (see below for more details). By weighting each indicator according to the strength of its correlation with club results, we obtain a general index highlighting the most decisive footballers.

Rankings of the ten best performing players in the five major European championships can be found in the final Big-5 Weekly Post of the season. This can now be downloaded from the CIES Football Observatory website.

Barcelona players feature at the top of three rankings out of the five concerning the key areas of the game covered by our analysis: Messi for shooting, Iniesta for chance creation and Xavi for distribution. This demonstrates that the recent success of the Catalan side is not only due to great individual talent, but is also the result of optimal labour division and the distribution of complementary skills amongst their team. Ribéry was the most productive and efficient player for take on, while Chielllini tops the ranking for recovery.

An in-depth analysis of big-5 league clubs and players will be available in the forthcoming eighth edition of the CIES Football Observatory Annual Review. The new Review will be launched on the 13th June 2013. For the first time, this exclusive reference publication will present the economic value of big-5 league players using a new econometric model. This is based on the detailed analysis of the characteristics of nearly 1,000 players transferred for a fee by big-5 league clubs since 2009/10. The development of such a model marks a crucial step in the evolution of our research project.

For more information on our work and to pre-order the Annual Review, please write to football.observatory@cies.ch

Methodological note: specifications of indicators

Shooting measures the effectiveness of players to shoot and score goals, excluding penalties. Chance creation refers to the ability of players to put teammates into shooting positions, with particular emphasis on goal assists. Take on highlights footballers who are both productive and efficient in dribbling, crossing and winning corners. Distribution refers to the ability of players to make accurate passes, above all in the opposition half. Finally, recovery brings to the fore players whose tackling and interceptions minimise the chances for opponents to score goals and shoot, especially from close range.

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of footballers running out of their contracts.

Leagues with the most / least percentage of minutes played by footballers running out of their contracts (last week-end)

Italian Serie A 27.6 / English Premier League 6.7

Clubs with the most percentage of minutes played by footballers running out of their contracts (last week-end

1. AC Siena (ITA) 71.2 - 2. Rayo Vallecano (ESP) 65.9 - 3. Pescara Calcio (ITA) 63.6

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: P. Coutinho (Liverpool)/ ESP: É. Banega (Valencia) / FRA: Brandao (Marseille) / GER: F. Ribéry (Bayern) / ITA: A. Ljaji? (Fiorentina)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of African players (players who grew up in a African country and who went abroad following recruitment by a club overseas).

Leagues with the most / least percentage of minutes played by African players (last week-end)

French Ligue 1 13.2 / Italian Serie A 1.4

Clubs with the most percentage of minutes played by African players (last week-end

1. Stade Rennais FC (FRA) 35.5 - 2. Valenciennes FC, Lille OSC (FRA) 27.3

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: D. Sturridge (Liverpool)/ ESP: A. Guardado (Valencia) / FRA: R. Rodelin (Lille) / GER: F. Ribéry (Bayern) / ITA: A. Vidal (Juventus)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

Dear Subscriber, the CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that the latest issue of the Big-5 Weekly Post is now available to download for free on our website. This issue presents the most productive players in the big-5 leagues during April.

Thanks to the data provided by Opta Pro, our analysis concerns five key areas of the game: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution, and recovery. The general index is the weighted sum of all these specific indicators. In April, the most productive players overall were:

• Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool FC) in England
• Alexis Sánchez (FC Barcelona) in Spain
• Rémy Cabella (Montpellier HSC) in France
• Claudio Pizarro (FC Bayern München) in Germany
• Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo US) in Italy

Some players from middle or bottom ranked clubs also performed particularly well in specific areas of the game. For example, Andros Townsend (Queens Park Rangers FC) was the most productive player in take on for England and Thiago Xavier (ES Troyes) is at the top of the table in recovery in France.

The CIES Football Observatory academic team is at your disposal for more information.

Kind regards

Raffaele Poli, head of CIES Football Observatory

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of expatriate footballers under 21 years of age.

Leagues with the most / least percentage of minutes played by U21 expatriate players (last week-end)

Italian Serie A 6.9 / Spanish Liga 0.9

Clubs with the most percentage of minutes played by U21 expatriate players (last week-end

1. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (GER) 25.3 - 2. Sampdoria UC (ITA) 21.8 - 3. Bologna FC (ITA), Internazionale Milano FC (ITA), Hamburger SV (GER) 18.2

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: D. Sturridge (Liverpool)/ ESP: G. Castro (Real Sociedad) / FRA: S. Kalou (Lille) / GER: Diego (Wolfsburg) / ITA: P. Osvaldo (AS Roma)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of national footballers under 21 years of age.

Leagues with the most / least percentage of minutes played by U21 national players (last week-end)

German Bundeliga 10.7 / English Premier League 0.7

Clubs with the most percentage of minutes played by U21 national players (last week-end

1. FC Schalke 04 (GER) 27.3 - 2. FSV Mainz 05 (GER) 25.3 - 3. SpVgg Greuther Fürth (GER) 24

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: L. Suárez (Liverpool)/ ESP: C. Ronaldo (Real Madrid) / FRA: T. Mangani (Nancy) / GER: C. Pizarro (Bayern) / ITA: D. De Rossi (AS Roma)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of footballers over 30 years of age.

Leagues with the most / least percentage of players over 30 on the pitch (last week-end)

Italian Serie A 32.2 / German Bundeliga 18.4

Clubs with the most / least percentage of players over 30 on the pitch (last week-end

Atalanta Bergamo (ITA) 57,8 / Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP), Aston Villa FC (ENG), SV Werder Bremen (GER) 0

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: C. N’Zogbia (Aston Villa)/ ESP: T. Alcântara (Barcelona) / FRA: Y. Jouffre (Lorient) / GER: J. Blaszczykowski (Dortmund) / ITA: L. Muriel (Udinese)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of transfer fees spent for players fielded.

Leagues with the most / least total sum of transfer fees spent for players fielded during last week-end (by club)

English Premier League 90.8 M°€ / French Ligue 1 19.9 M°€

Clubs with the most / least total sum of transfer fees spent for players fielded during last week-end

Real Madrid (ESP) 410.3 M°€ / Ajaccio, Bastia (FRA), Levante, Rayo Vallecano (ESP) 0 M°€

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: J. Rodriguez (Southampton)/ ESP: F. Fàbregas (Barcelona) / FRA: S. Kalou (Lille) / GER: J. Draxler (Schalke 04) / ITA: A. Di Natale (Udinese)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

Dear Subscriber, the CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that the latest issue of the Big-5 Weekly Post is now available to download for free on our website. This issue presents the most productive players in the big-5 leagues during March.

Thanks to the data provided by Opta Pro, our analysis concerns five key areas of the game: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution, and recovery. The general index is the weighted sum of all these specific indicators. In March, the most productive players overall were:

• Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC) in England
• Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) in Spain
• Yohan Mollo (AS St-Etienne) in France
• Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München) in Germany
• Rodrigo Palacio (Internazionale Milano FC) in Italy

Some players from middle or bottom ranked clubs also performed particularly well in specific areas of the game. For example, Antolín Alcáraz
(Wigan Athletic FC) was the most productive player in recovery for England and Roberto Trashorras (Rayo Vallecano de Madrid) is at the top of the table in distribution in Spain.

The CIES Football Observatory academic team is at your disposal for more information.

Kind regards

Raffaele Poli, head of CIES Football Observatory

The paper is available to download for free here. footballperspectives.org brings together research - or experienced-based contributions - from academics studying the game and from people working within it on issues affecting football today.

Driven from data collected within the context of the latest Demographic Study, the CIES paper shows the impact of financial inequalities on squad make-up throughout Europe.

The authors notably report that “the proportion of full internationals drops from 46% for big-5 clubs to 15% for fourth echelon leagues”. At club level, during the first semester of the current season Manchester City FC has fielded 24 full internationals, the highest figure in Europe. Manchester City is also the team employing the highest number of players with international caps in 2012 (19).

These figures raise the issues of player hoarding and competitive balance in European football. This is a growing problem which will be addressed in the 2013 edition of the CIES Football Observatory Annual Review to be published next June - shortly after the end of the five major championships.

The full Demographic Study and other publications of the CIES Football Observatory may be purchased here.

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of passing accuracy.

Leagues with the most / least passing accuracy percentage during last week-end

English Premier League 76.9 / French Ligue 1 73.9

Clubs with the most / least passing accuracy percentage

Swansea City AFC (ENG) 86.57 / FC Augsburg (GER) 54.12

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: E. Hazard (Chelsea)/ ESP: L. Messi (Barcelona) / FRA: R. Boudebouz (Sochaux) / GER: N. Sahin (Dortmund) / ITA: G. Pandev (Napoli)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of percentage of minutes played by the 11 most fielded footballers per club.

Leagues with the most / least % of minutes played by the 11 most fielded footballers per club

German Bundesliga 76.6 / Italian Serie A 71.5

Clubs with the most / least % of minutes played by the 11 most fielded footballers

Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 87.4 / Pescara Calcio (ITA) 59.7

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: A. Townsend (QPR)/ ESP: D. Alves (Barcelona) / FRA: Y. Mollo (St-Etienne) / GER: P. Lahm (Bayern) / ITA: A. Carvalho (Parma)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

Dear Subscriber, the CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that the latest issue of the Big-5 Weekly Post is now available to download for free on our website. This issue presents the most productive players in the big-5 leagues during February.

Thanks to the data provided by Opta Pro, our analysis concerns five key areas of the game: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution, and recovery. The general index is the weighted sum of all these specific indicators. In February, the most productive players overall were:

• Santi Cazorla (Arsenal FC) in England
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) in Spain
• Dimitri Payet (Lille OSC) in France
• Ibrahima Traoré (VfB Stuttgart) in Germany
• Stevan Joveti? (AC Fiorentina) in Italy

Some players from middle or bottom ranked clubs also performed particularly well in specific areas of the game. For example, Florian Thauvin (Bastia SC) was the most productive player in take on for France and Matteo Rubin (AC Siena) is at the top of the table in chance creation in Italy.

The CIES Football Observatory academic team is at your disposal for more information.

Kind regards

Raffaele Poli, head of CIES Football Observatory

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of Big-5 Experience (average number of big-5 league matches since the start of the player’s career).

Leagues with the most / least experienced players (last week-end)

English Premier League 138.6 / German Bundesliga 94.9

Clubs with the most / least experienced players (last week-end)

Manchester United (ENG) 258.7 / SpVgg Greuther Fürth (GER) 20.4

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: S. Cazorla (Arsenal)/ ESP: Beñat (Betis) / FRA: D. Payet (Lille) / GER: A. Robben (Bayern) / ITA: D. Conti (Cagliari)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of non-european players (expatriates players who originate from a non-UEFA country).

Leagues with the most / least non-european players (percentage of minutes played by non-european players during last week-end)

Italian Serie A 29.3% / French Ligue 1 16.1%

Clubs with the most / least non-european players (last week-end)

Calcio Catania (ITA) 68.9% / Stade Brestois (FRA), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) and Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP) 0.0%

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: not available / ESP: A. Colunga (Getafe) / FRA: J. Cavalli (Ajaccio) / GER: M. Reus (Dortmund) / ITA: S. Joveti? (Fiorentina)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform you that a new edition of the Big-5 Weekly Post is available to download for free on our website. The latest issue considers the subject of average height of defenders.

Leagues with the tallest / shortest defenders (average height of defenders on the pitch during last week-end)

German Bundesliga 185.6 cm / French Ligue 1 182.2 cm

Clubs with the tallest / shortest defenders (last week-end)

Fulham FC (ENG) 190.7 cm / SC Bastia (FRA) 175.6 cm

We are also pleased to present you the most productive players for each of the big-5 European leagues in last week-end matches.

Most productive players, general index (last week-end)

ENG: Michu (Swansea) / ESP: C. Ronaldo (Real Madrid) / FRA: R. Cohade (St-Etienne) / GER: S. Kiessling (Leverkusen) / ITA: E. Lamela (AS Roma)

The most productive players per area of the game also available on our website. Enjoy the read!