The percentage of footballers imported from abroad has reached a new record high in European football according to a study by the CIES Football Observatory. Of the top 32 division leagues of surveyed Uefa member associations, 36 per cent of all squad members grew up in a different national association to that of the employer club.
The percentage of footballers imported from abroad has reached a new record high in European football according to a study by the CIES Football Observatory. Of the top 32 division leagues of surveyed Uefa member associations, 36 per cent of all squad members grew up in a different national association to that of the employer club.
The percentage is particularly high among forwards at 44.3 per cent. Their percentage is above 50 per cent in six championships out of the 31 surveyed (Belgium, Cyprus, England, Italy, Portugal and Turkey). The level observed in the top Cypriot league is the highest ever recorded at 74 per cent.
Brazil remains by far the top exporting country. However, the overall number of Brazilians has fallen slightly during the last year from 524 to 515. During the last year, the highest growth was recorded in Bulgaria and the Ukraine. At the other end of the spectrum is Greece where the economic crisis has led to a 15 per cent fall in the rate of expatriates.
Other data include the revelation that the Barcelona squad contains the smallest players (177.74 cm) among leading clubs. It is also made up of players who have been together for longest in the first team squad, with five years the average. Manchester United are in 7th position for the most stable team (4.3 years).