In the last two transfer windows, only one team has had a negative net spending* of more than €250 million: Brighton & Hove. Now firmly established in the Premier League, the English club recorded a deficit of €197 million during last summer and €56 million this winter. Premier League newly-promoted Ipswich Town and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr round out the podium of the teams with the worst balance sheets.

Issue number 489 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post forecasts the results up to the end of the season of teams in 42 leagues around the world according to their performance level. The latter was measured on the basis of a statistical model including the number and location of the passes and shots made and conceded so far by teams (Wyscout data), regardless of the results obtained.

The 488th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players who have scored the most goals in official club or national team matches (senior, U23 or U21) over the last year. Sporting CP’s Swede Viktor Gyökeres is clearly at the top of the list with no fewer than 64 goals: 54 for his club and 10 at national team level.

The 487th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the U23 players not yet in Europe’s big-5 who are most ready to take the next step in their careers. The selection is based on an index considering the footballers’ playing time over the last year, the sporting level of matches played, as well as their performances in six game areas (Wyscout data).

The CIES Football Observatory is the world leader in the scientific evaluation of professional players’ transfer values. Issue number 486 of the Weekly Post presents the 100 best-valued footballers in the world today. Englishman Jude Bellingham, under contract with Real Madrid until 2029, tops the list with a value of €251 million.

The 485th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 20 outfield footballers in 66 leagues around the world who played the most official game minutes in 2024, either for clubs (at senior level only) or national teams (A, U23 or U21). Up to December 15, the most-used outfield player in absolute terms is FC Barcelona’s French international Jules Koundé: 5,872 minutes spread over 69 matches.