The 477th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post compares clubs in 49 leagues around the world according to the average age at which the players in their current squad were signed (not including youth academy graduates). Two BlueCo clubs are among the four big-5 league teams most focused on young players: RC Strasbourg (1st, 21.8 years) and Chelsea FC (4th, 22.5 years).

The 476th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the top 50 players in take on area, both in the European big-5 and in 60 other leagues around the world. The top three for the five major European championships is made up of Mohammed Kudus (West Ham), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton) and Nuno Tavares (Lazio).

The 475th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs worldwide whose footballers under contract have the highest aggregate transfer value (including players on loan to other teams). With a squad featuring many young stars bound by long-term contracts, Real Madrid clearly leads the way with the highest aggregate transfer value ever recorded for a football club: €1.728 billion.

The 474th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the top 50 creators of chances in today world football, both in the Europe’s big-5 and in 60 other leagues around the globe, according to an exclusively developed index (see below). The top Portuguese talent João Neves (Paris St-Germain) outranks the iconic Lionel Messi (Inter Miami).

The 473rd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents SkillCorner data on the midfielders with the best statistics for keeping the ball in high-pressure situations in 18 European top divisions, the Brasileirão and Mexico’s Liga MX.

The 472nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks clubs in 58 leagues around the world according to the percentage of minutes by footballers who did not yet turn 21 in domestic league matches played over the last three years. Barcelona leads the European big-5 league table (22.6% of minutes by U21 players), while Ukrainian side Rukh Lviv are the most youth-oriented club in absolute terms (41.1%).

The 471st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the top 100 of players worldwide who did not yet turn 20 in terms of their relative experience level. Lamine Yamal tops the list with 2.75 times more experience than the average measured for players of the same age and position.

The 470th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 teams in the world having committed the most money in transfer fees to recruit their current squad members (both permanently or on loan). Chelsea tops the list with €1.28 billion including add-ons (regardless of their actual payment) and €1.15 billion without them.

The 469th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post compares the transfer fees invested by clubs worldwide (including add-ons) between the summers 2023 and 2024. In both cases, the period taken into account runs from 1 June to the Monday of the last week of the transfer window (28 August in 2023 and 26 August in 2024).

The 468th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the teams qualified for the Euro 2024 from multiple perspectives. The analysis of squad competitiveness, calculated through an index weighting the minutes played over the last year by footballers selected by the sporting level of their matches, highlights Germany and Spain as the favourites.

The 467th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs in the world with the most followers on four social media: Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok. Recent UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid lead the way with 411 million followers, ahead of Barcelona (361 million) and Manchester United (216 million).

England’s Jude Bellingham is currently the player in the world with the highest value on the transfer market. According to the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model, after a very successful first season at Real Madrid, with just a few days to go before the Champions League final, his fair price has now reached €280m.

Good squad planning is a key factor in the success of clubs. The 464th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks more than 700 clubs from 59 leagues around the world according to a continuity index that considers the stability of the squad, its age structure and the contract policy. This allows us revealing the teams that are both the most stable and the best prepared to maintain a good level of stability in the seasons to come.

The 464th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the outfield footballers whose performances have had the greatest impact during the 2023/24 season in 54 leagues around the world.

The 463rd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks attacking players (wingers and centre forwards) in 30 leagues around the world according to the amount of defensive work performed.

Issue 462 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the territorial anchorage of almost 1,000 teams in 58 leagues around the world from the point of view of the proportion of national players and club-trained footballers among those fielded in the domestic league over the last year. The territorial anchorage index reflects the gap from the general average for these two variables, with a maximum score for Athletic Club (100% of nationals and 62% of ‘trained’).

The 461st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 players in the world who have not yet celebrated their 20th birthday having accumulated the most playing experience* during the last year. The highest ’experience capital’ score was recorded for Benfica’s midfielder João Neves. The Portuguese international has played no less than 4,905 official game minutes, of which 97% as a starter, at an excellent level over the last 365 days.

Issue number 460 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 30 leagues around the world according to a ’fast runs’ index based on three physical variables produced exclusively by SkillCorner: sprints, speed and accelerations.