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.

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.

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 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 player 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).

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.).

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.

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 Benfica are clearly in the lead with €516 million, two thirds of which has been collected in the last five years.

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.

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).

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, as well as the same indicator during phases without the ball, in all three cases per 90’ of presence on the pitch.

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) 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

The 436th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the rankings of the teams that have trained the most players active in 48 of the world’s major leagues. 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).

The 435th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the Wyscout data on passes to draw up a global ranking of the world’s top 100 midfield distributors among those who played at least 450 domestic league minutes during the current season. The top three are Rodri (Manchester City), Frankie de Jong (Barcelona) and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid).

The 434th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 851 teams in 53 top divisions worldwide according to the average age of the line-ups fielded since the start of the current season. Values range from 20.97 years of age for FK Minsk of Belarus to 32.12 years for Independiente Petrolero of Bolivia. The average for all the clubs analysed is 27.24 years.

Issue number 433 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents an analysis of the data produced exclusively by our partner SkillCorner on the type of runs made by players when their team is in possession of the ball. Clubs from 27 leagues around the world are ranked according to the percentage of runs for short or backward passes, highlighting the teams whose players like to receive the ball at their feet.

The 432nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post analyses the rich data produced by our partners Wyscout to highlight the clubs that most dominate their opponents in 69 leagues across the world. The ranking is established on the basis of the average performance ratio with respect to opponents for four game actions: shots, shots from the box, passes and passes into the opponent’s third.

Issue number 431 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 70 leagues around the world according to the average duration of matches during the current or last completed season (Wyscout data). The overall average is 100’15’’, with a maximum of over 106’ in the top two Saudi competition levels.

The 430th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the top 100 teams in the world having invested the most on transfer fees (including add-ons regardless of effective payment) to recruit players currently in their squad. Four teams head the list with investments of at least one billion euros: three English clubs (Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City) and one French (Paris St-Germain).

CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post number 429 presents the net transfer spending of the 100 most active clubs in terms of the financial volume of transactions concluded over the last decade. During this period, Manchester United has the most negative balance (-€1.396 billion), while the Portuguese side SL Benfica has the best (+€764 million).