The 538th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the global ranking of clubs whose squad management is most focused on the long term, based on an index combining four indicators: the number of players used in league matches over the last three years (the lower the better), the average stay of current players in the first team squad, the average remaining contract length of those same players, and their average age at the time of signing (the lower the better)*.

www.football-observatory.com
Contact us

Editors:
Raffaele Poli
Roger Besson
Loïc Ravenel

Real Madrid recorded the highest score, reflecting a strategy of signing young players and retaining them over the long term. The Spanish side are ahead of Brentford, who can still dream of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, and the Basque side Athletic Club, whose season has been rather disappointing so far but who remain well-equipped to quickly return to winning ways. Two teams from the MLS compete the top 5: Seattle Sounders and Philadelphia Union.

Four other teams not belonging to the Europe’s big-5 feature in the top twenty: Shakhtar Donetsk, Club Brugge, AZ Alkmaar and FK Zenit. Sixty-first overall, Palmeiras is the top ranked South American club. For each indicator, the following clubs have the best values: Seattle Sounders (stay), SJK Seinäjoki (recruitment age), Chelsea FC (contract duration), as well as Dynamo Kyiv and Club Libertad (non-academy players use).

* Méthodology: For players used, we have considered the last three years for non-calendar year leagues, and the seasons from 2023 to 2025 for the others, not including players from the club academy. The latter were also excluded from the calculation of the average age at recruitment, as well as from that of the average stay for those under 22. For remaining contract length, we have assigned a duration of one year where information was missing and current season end for players on loan.