Manchester City invested a record value of €853 million in transfer fees to assemble its current squad. This value is €850 million for Paris St-Germain and €784 million for previous record holder Manchester United. The data for all big-5 league teams is available in issue number 194 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post.

Manchester City’s total transfer fee expenditure to make up its squad went up by €242m compared to September 2016. The increase was even stronger for Paris St-Germain: +€395m (including the €180m investment for Mbappé). The figure for Manchester United is “only” €66m higher than one year ago, while that of Champions League winners Real Madrid went down by €138m.

The six biggest English teams are in the top ten positions of the rankings. The aggregated values per league are €5.7bn for the Premier League (on average €287m per team, +28% compared to previous year), €2.4bn for the Serie A (€122m per team, +26%), €2.2bn for the Liga (€110m per team, +9%), as well as €1.9bn for the Bundesliga (€107m per team, +19%) and the Ligue 1 (€93m per team, +78%).

Issue number 193 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the financial assessments of paying fee transfers carried out by big-5 league clubs during the last summer window. In total, 40 big-5 league clubs out of 98 had a credit balance. The biggest net profit was recorded for Monaco: +€289 million. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Paris St-Germain: -€343 million.

Monaco received €394 million in transfer indemnities for squad members and reinvested €105 million in new signings. Among the ten clubs with the most positive balance are three teams from Italy (Sampdoria, Lazio and Fiorentina), two from England (Swansea and Arsenal), two from France (Monaco and Lyon), two from Germany (Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen), as well as one from Spain (Real Madrid).

Paris St-Germain invested €418 million (including add-ons) to recruit new players, while it only received €75 million in transfer fees for players under contract. Six out of the 10 teams with the most negative transfer balance are from the English Premier League (Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Brighton & Hove, Liverpool and Huddersfield). A deeper analysis on net monetary flows between leagues is available in the 27th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report.

The CIES Football Observatory took advantage of the summer break to strengthen its ability to deliver unique information to its growing audience. The first output is the brand new Monthly Report published today, which tracks the money invested in transfer indemnities by big-5 league clubs since 2010.

Transfer fees paid by big-5 league teams have strongly increased. For the fifth consecutive year, a record was set in 2017: €5.9 billion (+41% in comparison with the previous year). If we only take into account the summer transfers, the increase compared to 2016 was 38%: from €3.7 to €5.1 billion. These figures include conditional payments (add-ons), as well as sums for loans with an obligation to buy.

Over the summer of 2017, similar to preceding years, the Premier League clubs have spent the most: about €1.55 billion in fixed transfer fees and €220 million in conditional payments. On average, an English top division club invested €89 million to sign new players. In the other championships studied, this figure varies between €55 million (Serie A) and €34 million (Liga).

The spatial analysis of the sums invested by big-5 league teams during the summer of 2017 shows that most of the money remains within these championships: €3.7 billion (71% of the total). However, only 52% of paid transfers carried out by big-5 league clubs involved players under contract with teams from these competitions. This imbalance is due to the fact that the most expensive transfers occur between clubs in the big-5. The cases of Neymar, Mbappé and Dembélé are perfect examples of this situation.

Rather than call into question the usefulness of the transfer system, as argued by FIFPro notably, the CIES Football Observatory analysis makes a case for the reinforcement of redistribution mechanisms. An increase in indemnities paid to training clubs, as well as an augmentation and generalisation of solidarity contributions, such as those planned by FIFA for international transfers, would constitute concrete measures for improving the system.

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The CIES Football Observatory is pleased to inform that the ratings module on its website presents the updated transfer values of all players in the five major European leagues. The most significant changes since June were recorded for full internationals, as well as for footballers transferred for big money to big clubs.

Among new full internationals, there are many German players such as Sandro Wagner, Kerem Demirbay, Lars Stindl, Marvin Plattenhardt, Diego Demme and Kevin Trapp. The transfer value of Jemerson (Monaco) went also up from €35m to €50m following his first cap with the Brazilian national A-team.

Signed for fees very close to CIES Football Observatory estimates, players such as Romelu Lukaku, Bernardo Silva, Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso have now even greater values. The future trend will depend on their ability to establish themselves as key players in their new and more prestigious teams.

Interrupted as usually during the summer, the publication of our weekly posts and monthly reports will start again with the beginning of the 2017/18 season. In the meantime, we communicate on Twitter. Do not hesitate to follow us: @CIES_Football.

The CIES Football Observatory is happy to promote the European Hackathon on Football. The event is organised by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), in collaboration with the University of Trento and the Autonomous Province of Trento. It will be held on the 14th and 15th October 2017 in Trento (northern part of Italy).

The hackathon is a meeting point where virtuous high-tech people, people passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship (as well as football) gather and aggregate in order to create and submit to the evaluation of a jury of experts applied solutions and/or projects in the field of the “theme” of the contest: match analysis and community of FIGC members.

Parallel to the hackathon, a series of public events, conferences and meetings on innovation, technologies, football and sports will be organised. They will involve players, managers, sponsors, partners, communication experts and journalists. The CIES Football Observatory’s head and founder, Dr. Raffaele Poli, will participate as a guest speaker.

Participation is free but previous registration is needed. More information is available here.

The CIES Football Observatory research team has developed a powerful approach to estimate on a scientific basis the transfer value of professional football players. Issue number 192 of the Weekly Post presents the list of the 110 big-5 league footballers with an estimated value of more than € 40 million. Barcelona’s Neymar tops the table ahead of Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Harry Kane.

The exclusive CIES Football Observatory algorithm is based on the thorough analysis of almost 2,000 paying fee transfers. The variables through which transfer values are modelled notably include the performance of both players and employer clubs, international status, contract, age and position. More information is available in the 16th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report.

The English Premier League is over-represented among footballers listed. The estimated transfer value of the tenth most expensive Premier League player is € 85 M. This figure is € 73 M for the Spanish Liga, € 51 M for the Italian Serie A, € 47 M for the German Bundesliga and € 40 M for the French Ligue 1. The youngest player in the rankings is the French prodigy Kylian Mbappé (€ 93 M), while the oldest is the evergreen Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (€ 112 M).

The ratings module on the CIES Football Observatory website presents the estimated transfer value for all big-5 league players. Deeper analysis is undertaken on a consultancy basis. More information is also published through the official CIES Football Observatory Twitter account. For further enquiries, please contact us at football.observatory@cies.ch.

Women’s football is currently undergoing a welcome development. At the elite level, the process of professionalisation is well underway in several countries worldwide. Following in the footsteps of the CIES Football Observatory studies, Monthly Report number 26 analyses the composition of squads in five of the world’s most developed leagues: four European (Germany, Sweden, France and England), as well as the Women’s National Soccer League in the United States.

The report notably highlights that women’s football is generating more and more international movements. On the 1st June 2017, 274 footballers were expatriated in the 55 clubs analysed (5.1 per team). Only 5 clubs out of 55 did not field expatriate players. Conversely, expatriates played a majority of minutes in five teams: SC Sand, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg in Germany, as well as Rosengård and Vittsjö in Sweden.

The study also underlines that the most successful women’s teams field almost exclusively players with international status. The highest values in absolute were measured at Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais (97.7%) and Wolfsburg (97.4%). Full internationals also played more than 80% of match minutes at Rosengård, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain and Eskilstuna United.

While the general level of women’s football grows, the increase in the means at the disposal of the wealthiest clubs poses a problem in terms of competitive balance. The eventual creation of international leagues bringing together the richest teams is an option. However, this should not occur at the expense of the multiple actors having historically worked, and often struggled, so that the women’s game could progress and reach its current level.

Weekly Post number 191 of the CIES Football Observatory presents turnover strategies followed in domestic league matches of the 2016/17 season by clubs from 27 top division European leagues. Chelsea FC holds the record for the highest percentage of minutes played by the 11 most employed footballers: 85.5%. Conversely, Manchester United is among the 50 clubs with the highest turnover rate.

Many Champions League participants are part of the 50 clubs in which the 11 most fielded footballers played for the highest percentage of minutes: Tottenham, Napoli, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Monaco and Atlético Madrid. Europa League finalist Ajax also features in the list. This finding shows that it is possible to be successful both at domestic and European level without high turnover rates.

However, Manchester United followed a radically different strategy. José Mourinho’s team is among the 50 teams in the 27 leagues surveyed with the lowest percentage of minutes played by the 11 most fielded footballers: 62.8%. This reflects an unusually high level of changes in line-ups selected. In the future, more stability is probably needed to sustainably improve results.

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Issue number 190 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks footballers from the five major European leagues according to the number of minutes played in official games since July 1st 2016. The French and Atlético Madrid star Antoine Griezmann tops the table ahead of Wilfred Ndidi (Genk, Leicester and Nigeria) and teammate Koke.

Apart from Griezmann, Ndidi and Koke, five other footballers played for more than 5,000 minutes: Danijel Subaši? (Monaco and Croatia), Kamil Glik (Monaco and Poland), Neymar (Barcelona and Brazil), Paul Pogba (Manchester United and France), as well as Marquinhos (Paris St-Germain and Brazil).

In the top 100 positions of the rankings are ten players of the two Champions League finalist teams: five from Juventus (Higuaín, Buffon, Bonucci, Mandžuki? and Khedira) and five from Real Madrid (Kroos, Ronaldo, Ramos, Marcelo and Navas). While some fatigue certainly exists, it should not prevent players from producing an enjoyable show on Saturday.

Issue number 189 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks big-5 league players according to their tackling skills. The tackling index is calculated by multiplying the average number of tackles attempted per 90 minutes and their success rate. Only players fielded for at least 1,500 domestic league minutes are included in the analysis.

Players from three different championships figure in the top three positions of the rankings: Valentin Rongier (Nantes), Carlos Casemiro (Real Madrid) and Idrissa Gueye (Everton). The top ranked Bundesliga player is Douglas Santos (Hamburg), while Gastón Brugman (Pescara) tops the Italian Serie A table.

In quantitative terms, the big-5 league who player who attempted the most tackles is Sergio Álvarez (Sporting Gijón): 138. Idrissa Gueye (Everton) achieved the most: 99. The highest success rate among players in the top 100 list was recorded for Pedro Obiang (West Ham): 89%. A successful tackle is defined by our data provider OptaPro as tackles resulting in winning possession or the ball being put out of play.

Issue number 188 of the Weekly Post presents the best players of the 2016/17 big-5 league season. The rankings were elaborated according to the exclusive CIES Football Observatory’s approach to measure player performance on an objective and comparable basis. Lionel Messi outranks Cristiano Ronaldo in the table for wingers.

Three Bayern Munich players top the rankings in their respective position: Manuel Neuer for goalkeepers, Javi Martínez for centre backs (ahead of teammate Mats Hummels), as well as Thiago Alcântara for central defensive midfielders. Only footballers who have played at least 2,000 minutes in domestic league games are included in the analysis.

Alex Sandro and Marcelo (full backs), Kevin de Bruyne (central attacking midfielders), Lionel Messi (wingers) and Dries Mertens (centre forwards) head the rankings for the other positions considered. Except for de Bruyne and Marcelo, all these players are also to be found in the CIES Football Observatory’s 4-3-3 best XI of the season alongside Bruno Peres (right full back), Paul Pogba and Naby Keita (box-to-box midfielders), as well as Cristiano Ronaldo (left winger).

Follow us on Twitter to find out the best XI for each of the big-5 leagues.

The 25th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the presence of expatriate footballers in 137 leagues from 93 national associations at worldwide level. In total, 12,051 expatriates originating from 174 national associations are currently present in the 2,120 clubs studied. Brazilians are the most numerous abroad (1,202 players), ahead of French (781) and Argentineans (753).

The report also presents the main destinations for the principal exporting countries. While the main destination of Brazilians is Portugal (221 players), that of French is England (107 players). The most numerous contingent of Argentineans is to be found in Chile (106 players). Also well represented in foreign associations, English footballers mainly go to Wales (143 players) and Scotland (114).

Expatriate players are present in all of the 93 countries and 137 leagues surveyed. Their overall percentage in squads is 21.6%. The CIES Football Observatory Digital Atlas provides data on their playing time in 31 top division leagues of UEFA member associations. For more information, please contact us at football.observatory@cies.ch.

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