With the real Ballon d’Or to be awarded today by France Football, the CIES Football Observatory has had fun ranking the 100 best players in the world over the past year using a purely statistical method. The latter takes into account the performances of outfield footballers during the last year in six game areas (see here, data from Impect), as well their employment, matches’ sporting level and results (see here).

FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal ranks first ahead of Kylian Mbappé and his teammate Pedri González. The best centre back is Virgil van Dijk (4th), while Achraf Hakimi has the highest score among full/wing backs (9th overall). One of the favourites to win the real Ballon d’Or, Ousmane Dembélé, ranks seventh in this case, also behind Michael Olise and Mohamed Salah.

The three oldest players in the top 100 are Luka Modrić, Lionel Messi, and Nicolás Otamendi, while the youngest are Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Désiré Doué. Virgil van Dijk tops the rankings in terms of experience, while the top three in terms of pure performance are Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.

>>> Top 100

Issue number 513 of the CIES Football Observatory’s Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs worldwide having committed the most money in transfer fees (including add-ons regardless of actual payment) to recruit their current first team squad players. Chelsea tops the list with a total investment of €1,314 million, of which €134 million for the most expensive signing (Moisés Caicedo, 10%).

Manchester City (€1,128 million) and Manchester United (€1,071m) round up the podium, followed by two other English clubs : Liverpool (€1,065m) and Arsenal (€1,001m). No club outside England has invested more than one billion to assemble its squad, with a maximum of €873 million for Champions League title holders Paris St-Germain (7th, just ahead of Real Madrid). Al-Hilal tops the rankings for non-European clubs (€451m, 19th).

Compared to the same date last year, the amounts committed by the ten clubs having invested the most in transfer fees to build their current first team squads increased by 15% (from 8.44 to 9.67 billion) and those of the top 100 by 12% (from 26.23 to 29.42 billion). This evolution is directly linked to the record transfer spending registered in 2025, as illustrated in this video.

>>> Top 100 of costliest squads

>>> Top valued players per club in 67 leagues as per CIES Football Observatory statistical model

>>> New Prospect Sheet with Impect: Alvaro Montoro

The 512th Weekly Post of the CIES Football Observatory presents the results of a statistical model forecasting the probability of winning the title for clubs in 29 leagues. The model combines sporting variables (Impect data on passes in the opponent’s half), economic variables (transfer fees invested to recruit players fielded) and demographic variables (players’ last year minutes and their matches’ sporting level).

The highest likelihood in absolute terms was recorded for Serbia’s side Crvena Zvezda (76.2%), followed by France’s Paris St-Germain (73.0%) and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns (70.6%). Conversely, among the 30 leagues analysed, the most open are the UAE Pro League (at most 23.5% chance of success for Shabab Al Ahli), the Italian Serie A (25.6% for Inter), and the Dutch Eredivisie (28.6% for Feyenoord).

In the Premier League, Liverpool has the highest probability of being crowned champions again (28.9%), ahead of Arsenal (18.8%) and Chelsea (16.2%). In La Liga, Real Madrid are the favourites (40.6% chance of winning the league), ahead of Barcelona (29.6%) and Atlético Madrid (22.1%). In Serie A, the top three are Inter (25.6%), Juventus (18.2%), and Napoli (17.4%). In Bundesliga, Bayern Munich stands out with 61.4%, ahead of Borussia Dortmund (8.8%).

>>> Full study

The 511th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the financial results of transfer operations carried out in 2025. In total, clubs around the world invested approximately €14.2 billion, 14% more than the previous record set in 2023. This Post presents the balance sheets for the 121 teams worldwide involved in incoming or outgoing transactions totalling more than €50 million overall.

With around €500 million invested and €255 million received (including add-ons and sell-ons), Liverpool tops the rankings in terms of fees generated (€755m). Two other English teams complete the podium: Chelsea (€754m) and, further behind, Manchester City (€556m). In terms of net spending, the most negative balances were also recorded for English clubs : Manchester City (-€369 million), Arsenal (-€366m) and Liverpool (-€245m).

In contrast, three French Ligue 1 teams totalled the most positive net spending for transactions completed in 2025 : RC Lens (+€113m), Olympique Lyonnais (+€108m) and Monaco (+€95m). In terms of the number of fee-paying transfers, whether for revenue or expenditure, the most active clubs were AC Milan (37 deals), Juventus (33) and Chelsea (32).

>>> Full data analysis

The 510th Football Observatory’s Weekly Post presents the 200 footballers worldwide who have not yet turned 20 with the best CIES ratings for matches played in 2025. The score is the average of two values : a performance index calculated from the data exclusively collected by our partners Impect, and an experience index taking into account minutes played, weighted by the sporting level of the matches.

FC Barcelona’s prodigy Lamine Yamal tops the rankings with a CIES ratings of 97.7. The Spaniard has the highest value in terms of both performance and experience indices. He outranks his compatriot and teammate Pau Cubarsí, while PSG’s French international Warren Zaïre-Emery completes the podium. Roger Fernandes (SC Braga) is the highest-ranked footballer not playing in the big-5, just ahead of Geovany Quenda (Sporting CP, already signed by Chelsea).

The highest value for a footballer playing outside Europe was recorded for Elías Montiel (CF Pachuca). The Mexican ranks ahead of Brazilian Rayan Vitor (Vasco da Gama) and Argentine Santino Andino (Godoy Cruz). No fewer than 48 leagues are represented in the top 200. The three youngest players listed are Mexico’s Gilberto Mora (Club Tijuana), Poland’s Oskar Pietuszewski (Jagiellonia Bialystok) and Serbia’s Vasilije Novičić (IMT Belgrade).

>>> Top 200

More information on the performance index.

More information on the experience index.

The fourth Prospect Sheet from the CIES Football Observatory, in partnership with Impect, presents Brazilian striker Rayan Vitor, a product of Vasco da Gama, the club where he has played since the age of six. At just 19 years old, he is already in his third season at professional level, with a record nine goals in all competitions in 2025.

A technically skilled left-footed player who is fast, powerful, and elegant, Rayan primarily plays as a right winger, but can perform well in any attacking position. He is particularly active at finishing level, but also makes significant contributions in terms of creating chances and aerial play (he is 185cm tall).

Despite a contract expiring at the end of 2026, his transfer value estimated by the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model is between €19.6 and €25.3 million, depending on the financial strength of the potential buyer club. A possible extension would significantly increase this amount. Without renewal, however, his value is likely to decrease, even if he continues to perform well.

>>> Full Rayan’s profile

>>> The other profiles published

The third Prospect Sheet compiled by the CIES Football Observatory in collaboration with Impect highlights a young centre back with a great future: Luka Vušković. Aged just 18.4, the Croatian has already played two full seasons as a professional between his training club Hajduk Split, Polish side Radomiak Radom and Belgian side Westerlo.

His last season in Belgium was particularly successful, with 36 Pro League games and no fewer than 7 goals. His performances earned him a move to his parent club Tottenham Hotspur. Already estimated at €40 million by the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model, his transfer value is destined to rise with every game played in the Premier League.

From a technical point of view, Luka Vušković has the profile of an aerial center back with attacking ability, his power being combined with outstanding technical quality. Players with similar characteristics quoted in the report include Germany’s Yann Aurel Bisseck, Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié and England’s Trevoh Chalobah.

>>> Full report

The second issue of the CIES Football Observatory Prospect Sheet, developed in collaboration with Impect, features Portuguese talent Rodrigo Mora. Born in 2007 like Lamine Yamal, the FC Porto’s attacking midfielder achieved an impressive professional career start, scoring ten goals in the Primeira Liga and earning his first call-up to the senior national team, where he should soon make his official debut.

With a contract valid until 2030, Rodrigo Mora’s transfer value, as estimated by the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model, has already reached €53.4m for a top-flight club. This value is set to increase with his future performances, and could quickly exceed the €70m buy-out clause negotiated at the time of his recent contract extension.

From a technical profile standpoint, Rodrigo Mora is particularly active in terms of finishing and take on, making him a shooting attacking midfielder with take on ability. Among the footballers with similar characteristics mentioned in the report, notably are another highly coveted player in the ongoing transfer window, Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman, and Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho.

>>> Full report

>>> Report glossary

The CIES Football Observatory is breaking new ground by launching a new publication format entitled Prospect Sheet, which provides a broad but synthetic overview of the characteristics of the world football’s most promising players in biographical (career trajectory), economic (transfer value) and technical terms (playing profile based on the data exclusively supplied by our partners Impect).

Germany striker Nick Woltemade, recent top scorer and finalist of UEFA European U21 Championship, was chosen as the first young talent to be highlighted. The VfB Stuttgart player stands out for his great skills not only in terms of finishing, but also of aerial play - thanks in particular to his height (198 cm) - and chance creation, making him a very complete and modern centre forward.

His transfer value, estimated by the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model at €56.9 million for a top European club, is in line with the fee offered by Bayern Munich according to press rumours. However, as his contract does not expire until 2028, another top-class season would allow Stuttgart to cash in on a sum equivalent to or even greater than that in a year’s time, while helping this outstanding talent to blossom once and for all.

As often, the player’s wishes will be decisive, with pros and cons both in the choice to stay at Stuttgart and in that of eventually joining an even more competitive club. In either case, Nick Woltemade can certainly dream of taking part in the 2026 World Cup, and not just as a substitute, by competing in particular with one of the five players with a similar profile listed in the document : his compatriot Kai Havertz.

>>> Prospect Sheet

>>> Metrics explanation

Issue number 509 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks the agencies representing Europe’s big-5 league players according to the aggregate transfer value of their clients as per our exclusive statistical model. According to publicly available information, one agency manages the careers of players worth more than two billion euros : the CAA Stellar/Base group, the result of a consolidation process led by the Americans of Creative Artists Agency.

Two other agencies represent players with a combined transfer value in excess of €1 billion : the Portuguese of Gestifute and another American company, also based in Los Angeles, Wasserman Group. Like CAA, Wasserman Group has acquired a dominant position in the player representation market through the purchase of a number of smaller but influential agent companies, both in Europe and beyond.

Both CAA Stellar/Base and the Wasserman Group represent the interests of more than 100 players from the five major European leagues, making them essential companies for clubs. Gestifute, on the other hand, focuses on a smaller elite of players. Only agencies representing at least two players from the big-5 have been included in the rankings. Agents who only represent members of their family have not been taken into account either.

>>> Top 100

The 508th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 teams in the world with the most subscriptions on the following social networks : X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. The Spanish side of Real Madrid tops the list with over 470 million subscriptions, just ahead of their great rivals Barcelona (424 million).

All the other clubs are much further behind. Manchester United completes the podium with 234 million, while Paris St-Germain is fourth with 199 million. In the top 10 are four other English teams (Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal), one German (Bayern Munich) and one Italian (Juventus).

The podium for non-European clubs is made up of Brazil’s Flamengo, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and Egypt’s Al-Ahly. The Post also presents the trends recorded since June 2024 (without YouTube). In relative terms, the biggest increase among the top 100 clubs was registered for Santos (+82%), certainly thanks to the recruitment of star player Neymar.

>>> All the data

Following the extension of his contract until 2031, FC Barcelona’s prodigy Lamine Yamal has become the player with the highest value on the transfer market according to the CIES Football Observatory statistical model: €402.3 million. This extraordinary figure is linked to equally extraordinary performances achieved at an age - 18 in July - when most players, even the best, are just starting out at professional level. Top 100 here.

Norway’s Erling Haaland (€239.6m) and England’s former leader Jude Bellingham (€233.8m) complete the podium of the best-valued players, ahead of Frenchman Kylian Mbappé (€192.5m), who also is the oldest player in the top 10 (26.5 years). The English Premier League is by far the most represented in the top 100 (42 players), followed by the Spanish Liga (19). Paris St-Germain, on the other hand, is the most represented club (11 players).

The highest values for defensive positions were recorded for Bart Verbruggen (€64.3m) among goalkeepers, Pau Cubarsí (€118.0m) for centre backs and Joško Gvardiol for full/wing backs (€100.7m). Only four of the top 100 footballers play outside the five major European leagues : two in Portugal (Samu Aghehowa and Viktor Gyökeres), one in Brazil (Estêvão Willian, already contracted by Chelsea) and one in Saudi Arabia (Jhon Durán).

>>> Top 100