Observatoire du football CIES

Top U23 outfield players: 67 leagues

Roger Besson — 2026-04-15T05:05:59Z

The 542nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the U23 outfield players currently active in 67 leagues worldwide who have performed best over the last six months. The rankings have been compiled based on players' performances across eight game areas (Impect data), the sporting level of matches played, results and playing time.

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Top development clubs: use of U21 players

Roger Besson — 2026-04-08T04:41:22Z

The 541st CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post highlights the clubs currently competing in 50 top divisions worldwide where footballers who had not yet turned 21 have played the highest percentage of minutes in domestic league matches over the last five years. Denmark's FC Nordsjælland top the list with no less than 44.7% of minutes by U21s.

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Most profitable football academies: last decade

Roger Besson — 2026-04-01T05:20:13Z

The 540th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 clubs worldwide that have earned the most from the transfer of players from their youth academies over the last ten years. The top three are Portugal's SL Benfica (€589 million), Netherlands' AFC Ajax (€454 million) and England's Chelsea FC (€442 million).

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Transfer to a top flight club: most expensive U23s

Roger Besson — 2026-03-25T06:17:39Z

The 539th Weekly Post presents the hundred U23 players not yet under contract with one of the ten most powerful clubs worldwide* with the top estimated transfer value according to the CIES Football Observatory's statistical model.

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Long-term squad management: global index

Roger Besson — 2026-03-18T06:18:26Z

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 (...)

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Value of players owned: Chelsea in the lead

Roger Besson — 2026-03-11T05:57:15Z

The 537th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 teams in the world with the highest aggregate transfer value of players owned, estimated according to our statistical model. Chelsea tops the ranking with a total of €1,732 million spread across 54 players, ahead of Manchester City (€1,608 million, 47 players) and Real Madrid (€1,541 million, 36 players).

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Most decisive players: Messi in world form

Roger Besson — 2026-03-04T06:23:02Z

The 536th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the players having scored or assisted the most goals in matches played over the last year in 67 leagues around the world.

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Heaviest pressure on opponents: global rankings

Roger Besson — 2026-02-25T06:25:37Z

The 535th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks teams from 56 leagues around the world according to the level of pressure exerted on opponents. This was calculated using the following Impect data : distance from own goal of presses applied, speed of interrupting opponent possessions, frequency of defensive actions with respect to passes conceded, and propensity to commit fouls in the final third when not in (...)

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UEFA Champions League: fastest players

Roger Besson — 2026-02-17T06:04:35Z

The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to present the exclusive Gradient data on running speeds of players from teams still competing in the UEFA Champions League. The 534th Weekly Post displays the 20 fastest players (maximum speed in the competition) for five position categories, as well as the distribution of their distances per speed.

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Breaking open the piggy bank to win (or not)?

Roger Besson — 2026-02-11T06:45:00Z

The 533rd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks teams worldwide according to the financial results of the transfer operations completed over the current season (last two windows) and over the last five years respectively (last ten windows). Regarding the two transfer periods related to the 2025/2026 season, the most negative balance was recorded for current Premier League leaders Arsenal (-€362 (...)

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