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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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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