Issue number 459 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the world’s top 100 players who have not yet turned 23 and whose transfer value* has increased the most over the last six months. Barcelona’s and Spain’s 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal tops the list with an increase of €134m (from €11m to €145m).

Benfica’s Portuguese João Neves (+€72m) and Girona’s new Brazilian full international Sávio Moreira (+€70m) complete the podium. Other promising youngsters in the top positions include England’s and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer (fourth), Brazil’s and Palmeiras (on loan from Real Madrid) Endrick Felipe (sixth), as well as Belgium’s and Manchester City’s outstanding winger Jérémy Doku (seventh).

Players from 12 leagues and 55 clubs feature in the top 100 rankings, with a maximum of 29 footballers from the English Premier League, followed by the Spanish Liga (17), the German Bundesliga (14) and the French Ligue 1 (11). Brighton & Hove Albion is the most represented club in the top 100 (6 players), followed by Chelsea, Tottenham, Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt (4 footballers).

*Estimated according to CIES Football Observatory statistical model.

>>> Top 100

The 458th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post highlights the teams in 61 leagues around the world having fielded U21 footballers* for the highest percentage of minutes in the domestic league matches played over the last 365 days. Two excellent training clubs from Eastern Europe top the list: Ukraine’s Rukh Lviv (52.2%) and Slovakia’s MŠK Žilina (44.5%).

The Post also presents the rankings for the age limits ranging from U19 to U23 players. The top-ranked clubs for each of these age thresholds in the five major European leagues are Toulouse for the U19s, Barcelona for the U20s (ahead of Brighton & Hove), Strasbourg for the U21s and U22s, as well as Frosinone for the U23s (ahead of Chelsea).

Among the clubs from the 24 non-European leagues analysed, the highest values were recorded for Australia’s Adelaide United at U19 and U20 levels, Colombia’s Envigado for U21 players, as well as Fortaleza CEIF for U22s and U23s. Developed exclusively by the CIES Football Observatory, this Demographic Atlas provides access to many indicators on the composition of the squads of clubs in 31 top divisions of UEFA associations.

* Players who had not yet celebrated their 21st birthday at the time of the match.

>>> All the data

Issue number 457 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks almost 800 clubs from 48 leagues around the world according to the average age of recruitment of the first team players signed over the last ten transfer windows (July 2019 to date). The lowest value overall was recorded for the Austrians of RB Salzburg (20.93 years), while the highest was measured for the Qatari side Al-Gharafa SC (30.27 years).

Another member of the Red Bull galaxy, RB Bragantino, ranks second (21.72 years). The Basques of Athletic Club (21.90) complete the podium with nevertheless few recruitments, most of their players coming directly from the youth academy. Also in the top ten are Slovenia’s NK Bravo, two Ukrainian clubs (Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv), two Belgians (Genk and Club Brugge), one Swede (Elfsborg) and one Slovakian (Ružomberok).

The Post also presents the average age of players signed during the penultimate five-year period (July 2014 to June 2019), which makes it possible to measure trends. Among the clubs having the most rejuvenated their recruitment, the top three are Athletic Club (-4.11 years), RB Bragantino (-4.07) and Brighton & Hove (-3.36). At the other end of the scale, the teams that have opted for more experienced signings notably include Fluminense (+2.95 years), Olympique Lyonnais (+2.39) and Inter (+2.32).

>>> Data for 777 clubs

The Weekly Post number 456 of the CIES Football Observatory presents the ten players with the highest estimated transfer values across 66 leagues worldwide (the most important outside the big-5). The rankings were drawn up on the basis of a powerful property statistical model*, explaining over 80% of the price differences observed for about 6,200 paying fee transfers that took place over the last decade.

Stepping stone league to the big-5 per excellence, Portugal’s Primeira Liga brings together the three footballers playing outside the world’s top five competitions with the highest estimated transfer values: António Silva (Benfica, €114m), João Neves (Benfica, €95m) and Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP, €87m). Real Madrid’s new recruit Endrick (Palmeiras, €80m) tops the list for players active outside Europe, ahead of compatriots Pedro (Flamengo, €42m) and Paulinho (Atlético Mineiro, also €42m).

The following players are the best valued in the other main leagues analysed: Jorrel Hato (€78m) in the Netherlands, Georgiy Sudakov (€52m) in Ukraine, Georginio Rutter (€41m) in the English Championship, Oscar Gloukh (€36m) in Austria, Matthew O’Riley (€31m) in Scotland, Antonio Nusa (€28m) in Belgium, Martin Baturina (€28m) in Croatia, Cristian Medina (€24m) in Argentina, Thiago Almada (€23m) in the MLS and Julián Quiñones (€21m) in Mexico.

*A scientific article referring only to transfers to big-5 league clubs, but whose approach converges with that now being deployed worldwide, is available in open access here. Transfer values for big-5 league players based on a scenario of three or more years of remaining contract are available here. Further information is available on request.

>>> Top 10s per league

The 93rd CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the high-pressure data produced exclusively by the French company SkillCorner. It notably reveals the link between the frequency with which players are subjected to high intensity pressure from opponents, the position they occupy on the pitch and the style of play of their team.

During the 2023 and 2023/24 seasons, outfield players from teams in the 28 leagues studied experienced an average of 9.2 instances of high-intensity pressure per match. The highest values were measured for dominant teams: Manchester City (15.2 pressures per game), Bayer Leverkusen (13.9) and Columbus Crew (13.5). Manchester City also tops the table for the percentage of ball retention under high pressure (84.2%), followed by Real Madrid (81.2%) and Paris St-Germain (80.8%).

The study also highlights the players who stand out most positively in terms of ball retention under high pressure, based on the residuals of a statistical model that takes into account their position and their team’s style of play. This approach is particularly useful for scouting purposes to target recruits with an unexploited potential.

Access the Report for free.

More information about Skill Corner and our services on request.

The 455th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks teams from 54 leagues around the world according to their shooting efficiency. The latter was measured from the residuals of a statistical model explaining 78% of the differences in goals scored per team (not including penalties) on the basis of three variables produced by Wyscout: the number of expected goals according to the dangerousness of the chances created (also not including penalties), the number of shots on target and in total.

With 0.69 more non-penalty goals than expected per game, Greece’s PAOK FC have the most positive gap in absolute terms, reflecting judicious shooting decisions, as well as particularly effective finishing. Portugal’s Sporting CP (+0.59) and Italy’s AS Roma (+0.52) complete the podium. The Italians outrank Inter and Arsenal in the five major European leagues, followed by Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Valencia.

In terms of the most negative gaps, with 0.63 fewer goals than expected per game, Melbourne City top the list, ahead of four particularly inefficient big-5 league teams: OGC Nice (-0.56), Olympique Lyonnais (-0.49), Rayo Vallecano (-0.48) and Montpellier (-0.47). Everton and Köln are the least effective clubs in the other leagues of the European big-5, Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Eredivisie, Vizela and Benfica in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, as well as RSC Charleroi in the Belgian Pro League.

>>> Full data

The 454th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 20 outfield players for six positions playing in 28 leagues around the world whose number of accelerations* per match (SkillCorner data) deviates most positively from the value expected with respect to their position and their team’s style of play (level of possession, pressure and verticality), according to a statistical model explaining more than half of the differences observed between players.

With 1.93 more accelerations per game than expected, Victor Osimhen (Napoli) ranks first among centre forwards. The Nigerian is ahead of Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng (Rio Ave) and Ivorian Vakoun Bayo (Watford). Among the wingers, the podium is made up of Álvaro García (Rayo Vallecano), Armand Laurienté (Sassuolo) and Felipe Anderson (Lazio). Dutchman Guus Til (PSV Eindhoven) tops the list for attacking midfielders.

As for the other positions, Sessi D’Almeida (Pau) is ahead of Josh Laurent (Stoke City) and 19-year-old Ezechiel Banzuzi (OH Leuven) among central or defensive midfielders; Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen) crushes the competition for wing or full backs with the greatest positive gap overall (x2.1 compared to the expected value) ahead of Marlon Fossey (Standard Liège); Danilo (Juventus), Ruan (Sassuolo) and Davinson (Galatasaray) make up the top three among centre backs.

>>> Full data

>>> More about SkillCorner

* Accelerations refer to runs of at least 0.7 seconds at >10.8 km/h/s. Only footballers who played at least 1,000 domestic league minutes in the current or last completed season, of which more than three quarters in the same position, are included in the rankings.

Issue number 453 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the StatsPerform and Wyscout data on the number of cards, fouls and injury time measured over the last year for 71 leagues around the world. The study shows major differences between leagues in terms of all the indicators taken into account, reflecting different ways of interpreting the game by both players and referees.

In terms of red cards, the values range from 0.61 per match in Bolivia to 0.10 in the Japanese J2. For yellow cards, the extremes were measured in Uruguay (6.07) and, again, in the Japanese J2 (2.73). As for fouls, the maximum was recorded in the Brazilian Serie B (30.3 per match), while the minimum was observed in Norway and the Netherlands (20.0 in both cases). In terms of extra time, the data ranges from almost 14’ in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to 6’ in Finland and Slovakia.

If we relate the number of fouls to yellow cards (second yellow included), the values stretch from about one card every four fouls in Chile to one every eight in Japan. Among the European big-5 leagues, this ratio is much higher in the French Ligue 1 (6.8) than anywhere else (around 5), which may reflect either a lower propensity to hand out cards or a greater tendency on the part of referees to whistle for ‘small’ fouls.

>>> All the data

The 92nd CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses from a spatial perspective the origin of the >€75 billion transfer revenues collected by clubs worldwide between 2014 and 2023. Overall, clubs have generated around two-thirds of their transfer incomes from international deals. However, this proportion varies greatly from country to country, with a minimum of 37% for English clubs and a maximum of 73% for French teams among the big-5 league associations.

Teams from only three countries other than England - among the twenty whose clubs generated the most transfer incomes during the last decade - collected less money from foreign teams than from domestic ones: China (22%), Mexico (44%) and Italy (48%). The dependence on foreign transfers is much greater for clubs in associations such as Portugal (91%), the Netherlands (90%), Belgium (87%), Brazil (86%), Argentina (83%) or Turkey (77%).

For many countries, England is the main fund provider for international transfers. Among the nine other associations whose clubs received the most indemnities between 2014 and 2023, this is notably the case for the Netherlands (38% of total transfer revenues were generated from England), France (32%), Germany (31%), Spain (30%), Portugal (30%), Belgium (25%) and Italy (14%). Brazil (Spain) and Argentina (Italy) are the only exceptions.

>>> Access the mapping

Number 452 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 169 clubs in the world whose volume of incoming or outgoing player transactions over the last five seasons exceeded the €100 million threshold, as well as their net spending for the last ten, the last five and the last season. In terms of the volume of money exchanged, Chelsea is clearly in the lead with €2.572 billion, followed by Manchester City (€1.726) and Paris St-Germain (€1.404).

In total, 14 teams from seven countries have ’shuffled’ over a billion euros in five seasons: five from England, two from Spain, two from Germany, two from Italy, one from France, one from Portugal and one from the Netherlands. Twenty-four countries, including five outside Europe, are represented among the 169 teams whose volume of transactions exceeded €100 million, with a maximum of 30 clubs for England.

In terms of balance sheets, the values for the current season range from -€384m for Al-Hilal to +€167m for Southampton. Over the last five seasons, the figures stretch from -€782m for Chelsea to +€354m for Benfica. Finally, over the last decade, the values go from -€1.348bn for Manchester United (with only Chelsea also totalling a >€1bn deficit) to +€732m for Benfica. All the sums presented include any add-ons, regardless of their effective payment.

>>> All the data

On this Valentine’s Day, the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post highlights the footballers from 60 leagues around the world who have been in the first team squad of their current club for the longest uninterrupted period. Russian international goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is the most loyal player overall: he has been defending the CSKA Moscow goal for 21 years.

In the European big-5 leagues, two Germans top the table: Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich) and Tony Jantschke (Borussia Mönchengladbach). They are currently playing their sixteenth consecutive season with their respective clubs. Three Spaniards complete the podium in the big-5: Athletic Club’s Iker Muniain and Óscar de Marcos, as well as Atlético de Madrid’s Koke Resurrección.

For the other European leagues surveyed, Akinfeev is ahead of compatriot Rizvan Utsiev (Akhmat Grozny), Scotland’s Lewis Stevenson (Hivernian) and Norway’s Steffen Hagen (Odds BK). Outside Europe, Emirati goalkeeper Ali Khaseif (Al-Jazira) tops the list ahead of the Shanghai Port duo Huikang Cai and Wenjun Lü, and Japan’s Hisashi Jogo (Avispa Fukuoka).

>>> All players

The 450th issue of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the game intelligence data produced exclusively by our partners SkillCorner to reveal the one hundred midfielders with the best statistics in terms of ball retention under high pressure* in 28 leagues around the world. The best percentage in absolute terms was recorded for a player who is relatively unknown in Europe: Darlington Nagbe (93.4%) of Columbus Crew.

Four better-known midfielders rank behind Nagbe: Rodri Hernández of Manchester City (92.1%), Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona (91.8%), Toni Kroos of Real Madrid (also 91.8%), and Granit Xhaka of Bayer Leverkusen (91.6%). Many footballers from teams playing a possession-based game are among the top-ranked ones, showing that the individual ability to keep possession also depends on the solutions offered by teammates.

The three youngest players in the top 100 are Paris St-Germain’s Warren Zaïre-Emery, Barcelona’s Pablo Gavi and Hull City’s Tyler Morton (on loan from Liverpool), followed by Gerard Yepes (Sampdoria) and Pablo Maia (São Paulo). The data refers to the current season or the last completed one for summer leagues. Only footballers who have played at least 1,000 domestic league minutes have been incldued in the rankings.

* A player is considered under pressure when he is in possession of the ball and at least one opponent player nearby him is trying to either recover the ball or limit his options. For each situation, SkillCorner determines the intensity of pressure by considering the speed of the players applying it, their distance to the player in possession and the angle of their movement. More information is available here.

>>> Top 100

The 449th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 402 footballers who played in the big-5 before turning 18 during the 15-year period from January 2009 to December 2023. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is the footballer who has played the most minutes in the five major European leagues as a minor (4,879), followed by Alban Lafont, Eduardo Camavinga, Florian Wirtz, Pablo Gavi and Warren Zaïre-Emery (ongoing).

Seven players made their big-5 league debut before the age of 16, the youngest in absolute terms being Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri (15.5 years). With 119 minors fielded by their clubs, France’s Ligue 1 is the leader in this area, as the Monthly Report number 91 also reveals. The sharp rise in the use of underage players recorded since 2022 is strongly linked to the increase observed at French Ligue 1 level.

The study also shows that early experience in big-5 leagues is no guarantee of success. Only a minority (47.7%) of footballers used in the big-5 as minors and who subsequently played in other teams were able to do so for at least one club at a better sporting level than their initial one. This finding indicates that caution is required when it comes to assessing the true potential of players launched into professional football at an early stage.

>>> The 402 minors’ list

>>> Full analysis

See also the FIFA, ECA & CIES study on the transfer of minors and their career paths.

The 448th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 50 clubs in the world with the most positive and negative transfer balances for non-academy players signed and transferred between 2014 and 2023. The figures range from a positive balance* of €386 million for LOSC Lille (Pépé, Osimhen, Botman, etc.) to a negative balance of €631 million for Barcelona (Coutinho, Dembélé, Griezmann, etc.).

With +€317 million in capital gains, Ajax (de Jong, Antony, Lisandro Martínez, etc.) are in second place. RB Salzburg (Naby Keita, Mwepu, Haaland, etc.) complete the podium, just ahead of AS Monaco (Tchouaméni, Lemar, Bernardo Silva, etc.). The top 10 of clubs having generated the most profits from player trading during the last decade also includes two German (RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt), two Italian (Sassuolo and Atalanta) and two Portuguese teams (Benfica and Sporting CP).

At the other end of the scale, Barcelona (-€632 million) are ahead of Chelsea (-€482m with the three biggest losses for Jorginho, Pulišić and Rüdiger) and Arsenal (-€436m; Pépé, Aubameyang, Lacazette). Paris St-Germain has the fourth most negative balance (Neymar, Di María, Icardi, etc.), ahead of Manchester United (Matić, Fred, Mata, etc.). Manchester City (-€59m) and Bayern Munich (-€61m) have the best balances among the most competitive teams.

* Add-ons included irrespective of actual receipt or payment, not including agent commissions.

>>> Full data

The top 100 of youth academy players’ last decade transfer incomes by club is available here.

The 447th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 centre backs in the world with the best aerial play statistics* according to an index computed from the number of aerial duels won, in relation to the playing time and the frequency of aerial duels at employer team level, the percentage of aerial duels won and the sporting level of the matches played. Liverpool’s Dutchman Virgil van Dijk is ahead of Bayern Munich’s South Korean Min-jae Kim.

Now reconverted from defensive midfielder to centre back, Paris St-Germain’s Portuguese Danilo Pereira rounds off the podium, ahead of two other players active in the five major European leagues: England’s Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle United) and France’s Dan-Axel Zagadou (Stuttgart). Argentina’s Bruno Duarte (Panatelikos) is the highest-ranked player from outside the big-5, while Joaquim Henrique (Santos) tops the table for outside Europe’s centre backs.

Cerro Porteño’s Paraguayan Lucas Quintana is the youngest player in the top 100 (19.0 years of age, 95th), ahead of Westerlo’s, on loan from Galatasaray, Turkish Emin Bayram (20.8 years, 21st) and Chornomorets’ Ukrainian Volodymyr Salyuk (21.6 years, 42nd). By contrast, the three oldest centre backs in the top 100 are Sevilla’s Sergio Ramos (37.8 years, seventh), Racing Santander’s Germán Sánchez (37.1 years, 63rd) and Deportivo Saprissa’s Kendall Waston (36.0 years, 64th).

* Wyscout statistics refer to domestic league matches in the current season or the last completed one for summer leagues. Only footballers who have played at least 900’ are included in the rankings.

>>> Go to the top 100

The 446th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs with the most profitable academies in the world in terms of revenues generated over the last ten years by the transfer of players who spent at least three seasons there between the ages of 15 and 21*. Portuguese side SL Benfica are clearly in the lead with €516 million, two thirds of which has been collected in the last five years.

AFC Ajax (€376 million) and Olympique Lyonnais (€370 million) complete the podium. As in the case of Benfica, the majority of Ajax’s revenues from the transfer of players from its academy has been generated over the last five years (66%). Despite transfer price inflation, this percentage is much lower for Olympique Lyonnais (50%).

Also in the top ten are three English clubs (Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City), a second Portuguese team (Sporting CP), as well as Real Madrid (fourth), AS Monaco (sixth, largely thanks to the revenues from Kylian Mbappé’s transfer to Paris St-Germain) and Italy’s Atalanta (tenth). Outside Europe, the clubs with the most profitable academies are Brazil’s Flamengo (thirteenth) and Argentina’s River Plate (fourteenth).

* Including add-ons regardless of their actual receipt.

>>> Find out the top 100

The 445th issue of the Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world with the highest estimated transfer values according to the CIES Football Observatory statistical model*. English youngster Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) tops the list with a transfer value of €267.5m, ahead of Norway’s Erling Haaland (Manchester City) and his two Brazilian teammates Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes.

As for the other leagues in the Europe’s big-5, Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) heads the rankings for the German Bundesliga, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (SSC Napoli) for Italy’s Serie A and, despite a contract expiring in June, Kylian Mbappé (Paris St-Germain) for France’s Ligue 1. Outside the big-5, António Silva (SL Benfica) is ahead of Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP) and Endrick Felipe (SE Palmeiras, on loan from Real Madrid).

Compared to the estimates published last June, the number of players with a transfer value in excess of €100 million has almost doubled (from 20 to 39), reflecting the sharp inflation in player prices occurred during the summer 2023 transfer window. The value of the hundredth player with the highest estimated value is now €71.3 million, compared with €53.4 million in June 2023.

* Based on more than 6’000 paying fee transactions, the CIES Football Observatory statistical model allows us to accurately predict the transfer fees that clubs are likely to pay, given the prices invested in the past for players with similar characteristics. The estimates do not take into account eventual buy-out clauses. They refer to 100% of the economic rights and include both fixed and conditional sums (add-ons).

More information on demand.

>>> Top 100 list

The 90th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory presents the 30 players born in 2003 or later for nine different positions who have accumulated the most playing experience* over the last year. With 17 footballers, the Spanish Liga is the most represented league, followed by the Dutch Eredivisie, the Belgian Pro League and the MLS in the United States and Canada (16 players in the three cases).

The following footballers head the rankings for their respective position:

• Goalkeepers: Guillaume Restes (2005), Toulouse FC, experience score 77.6 out of 100
• Centre backs: Giorgio Scalvini (2003), Atalanta BC, 92.7
• Right full/wing backs: Arnau Martínez (2003), Girona FC, 95.4
• Left full/wing backs: Alejandro Balde (2003), FC Barcelona, 95.4
• Holding midfielders: Pablo Gavi (2004), FC Barcelona, 96.0
• Attacking midfielders: Jude Bellingham (2003), Real Madrid, 96.2
• Right wingers: Xavi Simons (2003), RB Leizpig, 90.6
• Left wingers: Alejandro Garnacho (2004), Manchester United, 82.9
• Centre forwards: Rasmus Höjlund (2003), Manchester United, 88.9

All the rankings are available for free here. Thank you for your interest and happy holidays!

* Expressed on the basis of 100, the ’experience score’ was calculated from the number of official game minutes played at club (league, national cups, international cups) or national team (senior, U23 and U21) level in 2023 (limited to 2,250 minutes), the sporting level of the 25 most competitive matches in which the footballers took part (method available in this note), as well as the percentage of minutes played as first choice players.

The last CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post for 2023 ranks the clubs in 53 leagues around the world according to the average size of the line-ups fielded in the current or last completed season. Almost 13 centimetres separate the ‘tallest’ and ‘shortest’ teams: Hungary’s Kecskeméti TE (187.13cm) and Japan’s Sagan Tosu (174.18cm).

While Japanese clubs monopolise the bottom three places (Sagan Tosu, Albirex Niigata and Yokohama FC), three German clubs are in the top four positions: TSG Hoffenheim, FC Schalke 04 and FC Heidenheim. Rayo Vallecano is the only European big-5 league team with an average height on the pitch shorter than 180cm (178.61cm).

The world average is 181.46cm, with higher values in the UEFA association leagues (182.65cm) than in the other continents (179.54cm). All 55 teams where players over 185cm played a majority of minutes are from the Old Continent. More demographic data for 31 European top divisions are available in this Atlas.

>>> Data per club

Issue 443 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the exclusive data from our partners SkillCorner on the players* with record values in 40 competitions around the world for three indicators: distance covered, number of sprints during possession (>25 km/h for at least 0.7 seconds), as well as the same indicator during phases without the ball, in all three cases per 90’ of presence on the pitch.

In the European big-5, the following midfielders top the list in terms of distance covered per 90’: Sander Berge (Burnley FC), Koke Resurrección (Atlético Madrid), Daniel Boloca (US Sassuolo), Hugo Larsson (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Adrien Thomasson (RC Lens). When it comes to the number of sprints in the defensive phase, full-backs tend to come out on top, with the notable exception of the incredibly generous Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur) in the Premier League.

As for sprints in the offensive phase, the top spots notably include Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea FC) in the Premier League, the very promising Karim Konaté (RB Salzburg) in the Austrian Bundesliga, Sheraldo Becker (Union Berlin) in the UEFA’s Champions League, the Algerian arrow Mohamed Amoura (Union Saint-Gilloise) in the Europa League, Biel (EC Bahia) in the freshly terminated Brasilierão, as well as Agustín Canobbio (Athletico Paranaense) in the Copa Libertadores.

* To be included, players had to have played at least 720’ up to 7 December 2023 in national competitions and 360’ in international competitions.

>>> Full data

Issue 442 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the footballers in the world who have played the most minutes in official matches (clubs as well as national U21- and A-teams) in 2023 up until December 4th. Topping the list in absolute terms is the Paraguayan centre back Gustavo Gómez of the Brazilian side Palmeiras, with 6,213 minutes in 70 matches.

Another Palmeiras player, Weverton Pereira (6,150 minutes in 68 matches), heads the rankings for goalkeepers active outside Europe, ahead of Rafael Monteiro from São Paulo, while the most-used goalkeeper playing for clubs in UEFA associations is Luxembourg’s Anthony Moris of Union St-Gilloise (5,590 minutes in 62 matches), ahead of KRC Genk’s Maarten Vandevoordt.

Among outfield players from European teams, the top three are Manchester United’s Portuguese Bruno Fernandes (5,748 minutes in 66 matches), Feyenoord’s Slovakian Dávid Hancko (5,248 minutes in 58 matches) and Real Madrid’s German Antonio Rüdiger (5,223 minutes in 63 matches). Thirty-five-year-old Dušan Tadić (Serbia and Fenerbahçe) is the oldest player in the top 10.

>>> Top 50 per position and zone

The 441st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post crunches data from our partners Wyscout on shots attempted and goals scored during the current season to determine the best finishers* in 65 leagues on all continents. With 1.57 goals per 90’ and a conversion rate of 37% in relation to shots taken, Bayern Munich’s centre-forward Harry Kane tops the list.

Feyenoord’s Mexican striker Santiago Giménez is second (1.4 goals per game with a shot conversion of 33%), while Real Madrid’s England attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham and the new Congolese international from SC Braga, in Portugal, Simon Banza, are tied in third position. Also in the top 10 notably are Lautaro Martínez (fifth), Erling Haaland (seventh) and Kylian Mbappé (tenth).

Two players who have yet to celebrate their 19th birthday feature in the top 100: Roony Bardghji (18.0 years, 41st) of Copenhagen and Jayden Addai (18.9 years, 13th) of AZ Alkmaar’s second team. In contrast, the evergreen Óscar Cardozo (40.5 years, 30th) of Club Libertad, in Paraguay, is the oldest player in the top 100, ahead of Joaquín Larrivey (37.8 years, 23rd) of Deportes Magallanes, in Chile, and Cristiano Ronaldo (38.8 years, 56th).

*The finishing index is calculated by multiplying the number of domestic league goals scored per 90’ with the conversion rate of shots taken. The result is adjusted by the sporting level of the matches played (as a percentage difference from the overall average). Only footballers who have played at least 720 domestic league minutes for the same team during the current season are considered.

>>> Find out the top 100

The 440th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks teams from 60 leagues around the world according to the percentage of domestic league minutes played by club-trained footballers* during the current season. The Basques of Athletic Club (68.9%) top the Europe’s big-5 leagues table, while the Ukrainians of Dynamo Kiev (82.9%) have the highest proportion in absolute terms and the Colombians of Envigado (67.8%) among non-European clubs.

Olympique Lyonnais (45.6%) and Real Sociedad (45.4%) complete the podium in the big-5. The highest values in the English Premier League were measured for Arsenal (22.1%), Manchester United (20.4%) and Chelsea (19.8%), while the teams with the most confidence in youth academy graduates in the Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga are, respectively, Atalanta BC (18.7%) and SC Freiburg (34.5%).

Outside Europe, Envigado is ahead of Argentina’s Gimnasia La Plata (60.1%) and Vélez Sarsfield (52.1%), followed by Shanghai Port (51.4%) and two Mexican clubs: Pachuca (51.3%) and Chivas (48.8%). The Post also shows the number of club-trained players fielded, with a maximum of 30 for Gimnasia, as well as their average age, with a minimum of 18.56 years for the Venezuelan side UCV FC among teams having used at least ten club-trained players.

Exclusive data for more demographic indicators for clubs in 31 top divisions of UEFA member associations are available in this online tool.

* Club-trained players are those who spent at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21 years in their club of employment (seasons of their 15th and 21st birthdays included).

Issue number 439 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world with the best statistics in terms of chance creation during the current season, according to an index* developed from Wyscout data. At the top of the list is Paris St-Germain’s winger Ousmane Dembélé. The Frenchman outranks Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich) et Nico Williams (Athletic Club)

Killian Mbappé (PSG) and Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa) also are in the top 5, while Federico Dimarco (Inter) and Kieran Trippier (Newcastle) are the top-ranked defensive players. The top three footballers who have not yet turned 21 are Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven) and Ilya Kvasnytsya (Rukh Lviv).

A total of 33 leagues are represented in the top 100, with a maximum of 16 players from the English Premier League, where Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa) is ahead of Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) and Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United). The top three in the second most-represented league, the Italian Serie A (nine players), are Federico Dimarco (Inter), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo) and Felipe Anderson (Lazio).

* The creation index is calculated by adding the number of key passes (for chances) and expected assists (depending on the dangerousness of the chances created) per 90’, and weighting the result by the sporting level of the matches played (as a percentage difference from the overall average). Only footballers who have played at least 630 domestic league minutes for the same team during the current season are considered.

>>> Find out the top 100

Issue 438 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post combines SkillCorner’s physical and tactical (’game intelligence’) data with Wyscout’s technical ones to create a direct play index*. Based on 100, the latter allows us ranking teams from 27 leagues worldwide from those with the most direct attacking style to those with the most elaborated offensive play.

The highest values for direct play were recorded for Portugal’s SC Farense (100) overall, Luton Town (87) in the big-5, CA Banfield (83) for non-European teams, and Newcastle United (56) for UEFA Champions League participants. In contrast, the lowest values, reflecting the most elaborated attacking styles, were measured for two teams coached by Spaniards, Guardiola’s Manchester City (21) and Luis Enrique’s Paris St-Germain (23), with Arteta’s Arsenal (27) fourth.

Also presented in the Post, the extreme values for the specific variables of the index were observed for SC Farense (max) and SC Freiburg (min) regarding sprints during possession phases, Cercle Brugge (max) and Burnley (min) with regard to ‘call-for-the-ball’ runs into space, as well as Paris St-Germain (max) and FK Teplice (min) concerning the kilometres ‘covered’ by the ball also with the team in possession.

* The direct play index is calculated by multiplying the frequency of sprints per player (at least 0.7 seconds at over 25 km/h) during possession (projected over 90’) and the proportion of ‘call-for-the ball’ runs in space (SkillCorner data); divided by the number of kilometres ‘covered’ by the ball in possession, an indicator resulting from the multiplication between the number and average length of successful passes (Wyscout data).

>>> Go to the Post

The 89th CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report compares 48 leagues around the world according to the demographic characteristics of the players in the club’s first team squads: 31 top divisions of UEFA member associations, nine of CONMEBOL, six of AFC and two of CONCACAF. It reveals major differences in the strategies followed by clubs according to their geographical area.

In terms of age, the average measured across the 31 top divisions of UEFA associations is almost one year lower than that recorded in the 17 non-European leagues: 26 years compared to 27. With regard to the proportion of expatriates, the difference is almost 10%: 43.6% in Europe versus 23.8% elsewhere. These findings reflect the greater propensity of European teams to rely on young players, whether having grown up domestically or imported from abroad.

While the South American and Asian leagues tend to be similar both in terms of age, with relatively few young players, and origin, with comparatively few expatriates, they differ greatly in terms of squad stability. The proportion of players who have been with the club for less than a year is almost 10% higher in the nine South American leagues than in the six Asian championships analysed: 49.0% compared with 23.8%.

Also regarding stability, there are spatial specificities within Europe too, with fairly different levels emerging around a double polarity of West (more stability) – East (less) and North (more stability) – South (less). These geographical differences also reflect economic disparities, with the most competitive clubs tending to have a more stable workforce than the others.

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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.

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