This report presents the CIES Football Observatory’s approach to assessing the level of performance of outfield players in six different areas of the game: ground defence, distribution, take on, chance creation, finishing and aerial play. For each of these areas, indices have been created by considering players’ related actions, both in terms of their frequency in relation to the minutes played and, where relevant, their success rate.

This report analyses the data on high intensity pressure produced by the French company SkillCorner. It presents several statistical models highlighting the link between teams’ styles of play, the level of pressure experienced by players and their ability to retain possession. It shows the importance of contextualising individual performance in relation to that of the team and the position occupied.

This report analyses from a spatial perspective the origin of transfer revenues collected by clubs worldwide between 2014 and 2023 according to their parent association. In total, clubs earned no less than €75 billion: around two-thirds from international transfers and the rest from domestic ones. However, this proportion varies greatly from country to country.

This report studies the fielding of minor footballers, under 18 years of age, in matches of the five major European leagues played over the 15-year-period between the 1st January 2009 until the 31st December 2023. The analysis covers the differences observed between leagues, the evolution over time, as well as the characteristics of the players concerned.

This report highlights the players born in 2003 or later who have accumulated the most playing experience over the last year (as at 11 December 2023), according the exclusive CIES Football Observatory ‘experience score’ metrics, in nine positions: goalkeepers, centre backs, left backs, right backs, holding midfielders, attacking midfielders, left wingers, right wingers and centre forwards.

The 89th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report compares 48 leagues around the world according to the demographic characteristics of the players in their squads: 31 top divisions of UEFA member associations, nine of CONMEBOL, six of AFC and two of CONCACAF: the American MLS and the Mexican Liga MX.

Thanks to the new ’game intelligence’ data produced by our partner SkillCorner, it is now possible to understand all the types of runs made by players during a match. This report analyses the distribution of eight categories of ‘call-for-the-ball’ runs in 27 competitions around the world, highlighting different styles of attacking play at both club and league level.

This Monthly Report analyses the financial flows of football transfers on a global scale during the decade between 2014 and 2023. It presents the evolution of transfer fees incurred by clubs, their breakdown according to the age and position of the players concerned or the geographical area of recruiting teams, as well as the economic balance sheets of transfer operations, at both league and club level.

This report is a comparative analysis of the composition of squads of the eight clubs having reached the quarter-finals of the 2022/23 edition of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. It notably presents the average age of line-ups fielded by each team and their league of belonging, as well as the origins of the expatriate players active in the ten main domestic leagues worldwide.

The 85th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory studies the presence of expatriate footballers in 2,200 clubs participating in 135 leagues around the world: 83 from UEFA member associations and 52 from associations belonging to other confederations. In total, we analysed the origin of 62,610 players who were in the first team squad of their employer club on May 1st, including 14,405 expatriates.

The 84th CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report analyses the dialectic between positional and fast attacks using data collected by InStat. The data refers to the current season for 52 leagues with more than ten games played, and the last completed season for 23 additional ones. The analysis thus covers no less than 18,000 matches.

The temporary transfer of players is a practice much in vogue in professional football. It is used, notably, to allow the development of young players who do not yet have sufficient playing experience or a good enough sporting level to play in their owner club. But to what extent are young players concerned? And more generally, what is the percentage of players on loan? What are the differences according to leagues and positions played? Which clubs loan the most players?
This report answers these questions through the analysis of the characteristics of players present on the 1st March 2023 in the first team squads of 1,254 teams in 75 leagues from 57 associations worldwide.

This report analyses the transfer fees invested over the past ten seasons by clubs worldwide so as to measure the evolution of the sums involved and the inflation at the level of players’ prices. The latter is measured both in a global manner for all footballers whatever their characteristics, as well as for particular market segments.

This report identifies 200 players – the top 10 in 20 classification categories – who were born after the 1st January 2002 and have gained the most playing experience in 2022. It is a showcase of the exclusive CIES Football Observatory approach for player scouting, gathering within a coherent framework different and complementary information such as playing time, competitive level, positions, technical domains of activity, age, contract duration and transfer value.

This report traces the development paths of players selected for the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup. It analyses the current clubs and leagues of World Cup participants (chapter “Employment”), the clubs and associations where these footballers have been for at least three years between their 15th and 21st birthday (chapter “Training”), as well as the teams and senior leagues where they have played official matches up until they turned 23 (chapter “Development”).

Since 2009, the CIES Football Observatory carries out a census of players from clubs in 31 top divisions of UEFA member associations, enabling us to better understand the dynamics at work in the European football players’ labour market. This report presents the demographic portrait of players, clubs and leagues across Europe, as well the main trends observed.

This report compares the recruitment policies of big-5 league teams from the perspective of the age of players signed. The first part analyses the average age of recruitment of players currently in squads, both by league and by club. The second part studies the policies pursued over the past decade by the fifty clubs always present in the big-5 over this period.

This report analyses transfer fees paid by big-5 league teams (chapter “investments”), the clubs and leagues having benefited from these indemnities (chapter “receipts”), as well as the net balances at both teams’ and leagues’ level (chapter “net spending”) for transactions occurred between January 2013 and August 2022.