Thanks to the data exclusively produced by our partner Impect, the 532nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the ball-friendliest teams in the world. The ranking was established according to four indicators : the proximity of passes (the shorter, the better), the pace of passing during possession, the duration of possessions and the percentage of balls received in the opponent’s third below knee height (on the ground).

Issue number 531 of the CIES Football Observatory’s Weekly Post presents the 100 teams worldwide whose academy graduates still under contract (in the club or out on loan) total the highest aggregate transfer value.

The 530th CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the outfield players not yet having turned 22 who most outperformed their teammates during the current or last completed season in 65 leagues around the world.

The 529th Weekly Post from the CIES Football Observatory presents the clubs having trained the highest number of footballers who played in the big-5 during the current season. With no fewer than 40 players in the five major European leagues graduated from La Masia, Barcelona tops the rankings. Real Madrid (35 players) and Paris St-Germain (31 players) round up the podium.

Valued at €343 million, Lamine Yamal continues to be the most expensive player in the world according to the CIES Football Observatory’s statistical model. The young Spaniard is ahead of two centre forwards who, although older, keep scoring and performing well : Erling Haaland (€255m) and Kylian Mbappé (€201m).

The last Weekly Post of 2025, the 527th in a series that began in 2012, presents the 100 players worldwide born in 2006 or later who are not yet playing for a big-5 league club having performed best this year.