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1

1. Introduction

Over the decade that is about to end, 42 clubs have always been present within the five ma-jor European leagues. The 50th Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the make-up of these teams over the course of the decade with questions such as: how many players did they use? What was the age of players fielded? Their height? Their origins?

The analysis also includes an economic di-mension by taking into account the transfer fees spent or received (including bonuses) since the 1st January 2010 by the 42 clubs studied. For all variables, the data for 2019 re-fer to the period from the 1st January to the 15 November.

Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

Drs Raffaele Poli, Loïc Ravenel and Roger Besson

CIES Football Observatory Monthly Reportn°50 - December 2019

Figure 1: study sample

AS ST-ETIENNE

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

LOSC LILLE

MONTPELLIER HSC

OGC NICE

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

STADE RENNAIS

TOULOUSE FC

LIG

UE

1 BAYER LEVERKUSEN

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

FC SCHALKE 04

FSV MAINZ 05

TSG HOFFENHEIM

VFL WOLFSBURG

WERDER BREMEN

BU

ND

ES

LIG

A

ACF FIORENTINA

AS ROMA

GENOA CFC

INTERNAZIONALE

JUVENTUS FC

MILAN AC

SS LAZIO

SSC NAPOLI

UDINESE CALCIO

SE

RIE

A ARSENAL FC

CHELSEA FC

EVERTON FC

LIVERPOOL FC

MANCHESTER CITY

MANCHESTER UNITED

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

PR

EM

IER

LE

AG

UE

ATHLETIC CLUB

ATLÉTICO MADRID

FC BARCELONA

RCD ESPANYOL

REAL MADRID

SEVILLA FC

VALENCIA CF

LIG

A

Monthly Report 50 - Historical analysis of compositional strategies for squads (2010s)

2

2. Turnover

A first element of analysis is the turnover with-in squads. Very important differences exist between clubs. At one extreme, Athletic Club Bilbao only used 77 footballers in domestic league matches played during the decade studied. This result reflects the crucial impor-tance given to the question of identity in the policies of the Basque club.

The great stability observed at Athletic Club is contrasted with that of Genoa. Enrico Prezio-si’s club used 205 players in Serie A fixtures between 2010 and 2019. Sevilla and Rome, the two teams where Monchi worked as a sport-ing director, are also among those who fielded the most footballers. These findings illustrate the emphasis placed on trading players in the strategies of these clubs.

Figure 2: number of players used in domestic league games (2010-2019)

ATHLETIC CLUB

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

FC BARCELONA

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

REAL MADRID

MANCHESTER CITY

ARSENAL FC

MANCHESTER UNITED

EVERTON FC

CHELSEA FC

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

MONTPELLIER HSC

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

SSC NAPOLI

LIVERPOOL FC

ATLÉTICO MADRID

SS LAZIO

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

JUVENTUS FC

LOSC LILLE

FC SCHALKE 04

WERDER BREMEN

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

FSV MAINZ 05

TOULOUSE FC

TSG HOFFENHEIM

VFL WOLFSBURG

VALENCIA CF

UDINESE CALCIO

AS ST-ETIENNE

MILAN AC

STADE RENNAIS

RCD ESPANYOL

INTERNAZIONALE

OGC NICE

AS ROMA

SEVILLA FC

ACF FIORENTINA

GENOA CFC

77

83

90

91

92

93

93

95

96

97

98

99

103

104

104

106

109

112

114

115

117

121

122

123

123

123

124

124

125

127

127

131

131

133

135

135

139

144

149

160

161

205


3

Despite the 2016/17 season at Crystal Palace, Steve Mandanda is the footballer who played the greatest percentage of domestic league minutes for one of the 42 teams of the sample. During the decade studied, the French goal-keeper took part in 84.2% of minutes played by Olympique de Marseille. The highest value for an outfield player was recorded for Lionel Messi at Barcelona (83.4%). Paris St-Germain is among the six teams whose most used footballers during the decade took part in less than half of the minutes played (Thiago Silva, 49.6%).

Figure 3: % of domestic league minutes of the most used player by club (2010-2019)

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

FC BARCELONA

AS ST-ETIENNE

MANCHESTER UNITED

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

REAL MADRID

SSC NAPOLI

MONTPELLIER HSC

INTERNAZIONALE

ATLÉTICO MADRID

EVERTON FC

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

JUVENTUS FC

MANCHESTER CITY

ATHLETIC CLUB

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

UDINESE CALCIO

ARSENAL FC

CHELSEA FC

VALENCIA CF

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

SS LAZIO

AS ROMA

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

STADE RENNAIS

WERDER BREMEN

VFL WOLFSBURG

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

LIVERPOOL FC

LOSC LILLE

RCD ESPANYOL

TSG HOFFENHEIM

FC SCHALKE 04

MILAN AC

FSV MAINZ 05

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

SEVILLA FC

TOULOUSE FC

ACF FIORENTINA

GENOA CFC

OGC NICE

Steve Mandanda

Lionel Messi

Stéphane Ruffier

David de Gea

Thomas Müller

Sergio Ramos

Marek Hamšík

Vitorino Hilton

Samir Handanović

Diego Godín

Leighton Baines

Bernd Leno

Leonardo Bonucci

David Silva

Gorka Iraizoz

Hugo Lloris

Marcel Schmelzer

Danilo Larangeira

Laurent Koscielny

César Azpilicueta

Dani Parejo

Cédric Carrasso

Stefan Radu

Daniele De Rossi

Anthony Lopes

Romain Danzé

Theodor Gebre Selassie

Diego Benaglio

Oscar Wendt

Jordan Henderson

Rio Mavuba

Javi López

Sebastian Rudy

Benedikt Höwedes

Ignazio Abate

Stefan Bell

Thiago Silva

Jesús Navas

Etienne Didot

Manuel Pasqual

Mattia Perin

David Ospina

84.2%

83.4%

80.9%

77.1%

76.6%

74.2%

72.8%

72.6%

71.3%

71.0%

70.6%

69.8%

68.6%

68.0%

65.9%

65.5%

64.0%

63.9%

63.8%

63.8%

62.9%

62.7%

62.5%

61.8%

61.2%

60.9%

60.7%

58.5%

57.1%

56.3%

56.1%

55.6%

55.3%

54.9%

54.8%

51.0%

49.6%

44.7%

42.0%

41.9%

38.8%

38.1%


4

3. Age

Over the course of the 2010 decade, no team has fielded players as old as multiple Ital-ian champions Juventus: 28.8 years of age on average when the matches were played. Two other Italian clubs have the highest val-ues: Inter (28.4 years of age) and Lazio (28.3 years of age). French and German teams are over-represented among those having fielded the youngest players, with a minimum of 24.6 years of age for Toulouse.

Figure 4: average age at matches played (2010-2019)

TOULOUSE FC

TSG HOFFENHEIM

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

OGC NICE

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

FC SCHALKE 04

STADE RENNAIS

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

LOSC LILLE

VALENCIA CF

FSV MAINZ 05

LIVERPOOL FC

WERDER BREMEN

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

ARSENAL FC

VFL WOLFSBURG

RCD ESPANYOL

ATLÉTICO MADRID

ATHLETIC CLUB

UDINESE CALCIO

AS ST-ETIENNE

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

REAL MADRID

MANCHESTER UNITED

MONTPELLIER HSC

ACF FIORENTINA

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

SEVILLA FC

MILAN AC

MANCHESTER CITY

GENOA CFC

FC BARCELONA

CHELSEA FC

AS ROMA

SSC NAPOLI

EVERTON FC

SS LAZIO

INTERNAZIONALE

JUVENTUS FC

24.61

25.02

25.12

25.20

25.52

25.61

25.61

25.78

26.03

26.26

26.29

26.36

26.38

26.41

26.48

26.51

26.59

26.59

26.59

26.73

26.74

26.74

26.88

26.94

26.95

27.09

27.11

27.16

27.17

27.20

27.32

27.48

27.54

27.59

27.62

27.64

27.84

27.86

27.86

28.28

28.38

28.81


5

Eight of the nine clubs having on average re-cruited the oldest players are Italians, with a maximum of 26.6 years of age for Lazio. Keen to win titles, Paris St-Germain and Manches-ter City have also targeted experienced play-ers. However, with the arrival of Guardiola, Manchester City has changed its strategy by recruiting younger footballers, similar to the policies pursued by other major teams such as Real Madrid (23.5 years of age at the time of recruitment) or Liverpool (24.6 years of age).

Figure 5: average age at the time of recruitment (2010-2019)

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

REAL MADRID

TSG HOFFENHEIM

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

WERDER BREMEN

TOULOUSE FC

LOSC LILLE

OGC NICE

LIVERPOOL FC

MANCHESTER UNITED

FSV MAINZ 05

CHELSEA FC

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

ARSENAL FC

FC SCHALKE 04

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

UDINESE CALCIO

VALENCIA CF

VFL WOLFSBURG

ATHLETIC CLUB

STADE RENNAIS

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

FC BARCELONA

ATLÉTICO MADRID

MONTPELLIER HSC

EVERTON FC

RCD ESPANYOL

AS ST-ETIENNE

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

SEVILLA FC

MANCHESTER CITY

SSC NAPOLI

INTERNAZIONALE

ACF FIORENTINA

AS ROMA

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

GENOA CFC

MILAN AC

JUVENTUS FC

SS LAZIO

23.38

23.51

23.54

23.99

24.14

24.45

24.45

24.48

24.56

24.61

24.64

24.67

24.69

24.77

24.83

24.87

24.92

24.97

25.03

25.11

25.19

25.23

25.27

25.32

25.38

25.39

25.44

25.45

25.51

25.58

25.60

25.69

25.73

25.78

25.80

25.93

25.95

26.09

26.16

26.18

26.29

26.56

23.38

23.51

23.54

23.99

24.14

24.45

24.45

24.48

24.56

24.61

24.64

24.67

24.69

24.77

24.83

24.87

24.92

24.97

25.03

25.11

25.19

25.23

25.27

25.32

25.38

25.39

25.44

25.45

25.51

25.58

25.60

25.69

25.73

25.78

25.80

25.93

25.95

26.09

26.16

26.18

26.29

26.56


6

4. Height

Analysis in terms of height also highlights im-portant differences with regard to leagues and clubs. Barcelona used the shortest players in absolute terms (178.66 cm on average). The Catalan club is followed by five French and three other Spanish teams. At the opposite end of the scale, six of the seven clubs having fielded the tallest footballers are German, with a maximum value of 185.05 cm for Schalke 04. The height of the Juventus players was also relatively high: 183.76 cm (5th place).

Figure 6: average height of players used (2010-2019)

FC BARCELONA

LOSC LILLE

OGC NICE

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

RCD ESPANYOL

VALENCIA CF

MONTPELLIER HSC

SEVILLA FC

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

SSC NAPOLI

EVERTON FC

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

MANCHESTER CITY

AS ST-ETIENNE

ATLÉTICO MADRID

STADE RENNAIS

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

LIVERPOOL FC

ARSENAL FC

REAL MADRID

TOULOUSE FC

INTERNAZIONALE

UDINESE CALCIO

GENOA CFC

ATHLETIC CLUB

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

MILAN AC

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

SS LAZIO

AS ROMA

ACF FIORENTINA

FSV MAINZ 05

CHELSEA FC

MANCHESTER UNITED

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

WERDER BREMEN

JUVENTUS FC

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

TSG HOFFENHEIM

VFL WOLFSBURG

FC SCHALKE 04

178.66

179.96

180.19

180.68

180.74

180.86

181.00

181.15

181.22

181.40

181.61

181.74

181.77

181.82

181.84

181.88

181.93

181.97

182.09

182.12

182.17

182.19

182.33

182.46

182.49

182.59

182.81

182.97

183.08

183.25

183.32

183.33

183.33

183.33

183.35

183.39

183.73

183.76

183.98

184.31

184.66

185.05


7

5. Origins

The unique case of Athletic Club also stands out in the analysis of the percentage of min-utes played by footballers having grown up outside of the association of their employ-er club, standing at a meagre 3.7% (Aymeric Laporte). At the opposite end, the 12 teams where expatriates played the highest propor-tion of domestic league minutes are English and Italians, with a maximum of 83.9% for Ar-senal. This percentage is above 80% also at Inter and Chelsea.

Figure 7: % of minutes of expatriate players (2010-2019)

ATHLETIC CLUB

AS ST-ETIENNE

MONTPELLIER HSC

STADE RENNAIS

RCD ESPANYOL

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

TOULOUSE FC

OGC NICE

TSG HOFFENHEIM

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

LOSC LILLE

FC SCHALKE 04

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

JUVENTUS FC

FSV MAINZ 05

FC BARCELONA

MILAN AC

WERDER BREMEN

VALENCIA CF

GENOA CFC

EVERTON FC

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

SEVILLA FC

ATLÉTICO MADRID

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

REAL MADRID

VFL WOLFSBURG

MANCHESTER UNITED

LIVERPOOL FC

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

ACF FIORENTINA

AS ROMA

SS LAZIO

SSC NAPOLI

UDINESE CALCIO

MANCHESTER CITY

CHELSEA FC

INTERNAZIONALE

ARSENAL FC

3.7%

17.9%

27.8%

30.8%

31.1%

31.5%

31.6%

31.8%

34.1%

34.1%

38.5%

40.0%

43.2%

43.4%

49.0%

50.6%

50.8%

51.4%

51.5%

51.5%

53.4%

53.6%

56.4%

56.8%

57.7%

59.6%

60.4%

60.9%

62.0%

63.0%

63.3%

64.5%

65.8%

67.6%

70.8%

72.5%

73.0%

77.1%

77.4%

80.1%

83.4%

83.9%


8

Figure 8: number of different origins (2010-2019)

ATHLETIC CLUB

ATLÉTICO MADRID

AS ST-ETIENNE

FC BARCELONA

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

REAL MADRID

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

MONTPELLIER HSC

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

VALENCIA CF

OGC NICE

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

RCD ESPANYOL

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

SSC NAPOLI

STADE RENNAIS

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

TOULOUSE FC

JUVENTUS FC

MILAN AC

LIVERPOOL FC

CHELSEA FC

SS LAZIO

SEVILLA FC

MANCHESTER CITY

ARSENAL FC

WERDER BREMEN

MANCHESTER UNITED

INTERNAZIONALE

TSG HOFFENHEIM

VFL WOLFSBURG

EVERTON FC

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

UDINESE CALCIO

ACF FIORENTINA

LOSC LILLE

FSV MAINZ 05

FC SCHALKE 04

GENOA CFC

AS ROMA

2

18

18

19

19

19

20

20

21

22

23

23

23

25

26

26

26

26

26

26

27

27

27

27

28

28

29

29

29

30

30

30

31

31

31

31

32

32

33

34

36

37

With the exception of Athletic Club, all of the teams present in the big-5 between 2010 and 2019 fielded players from at least 18 different countries. Although giving considerable room for expatriates, the most competitive teams tend to concentrate their international re-cruitment on a relatively limited number of origins: 18 for Atlético Madrid, 19 for Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, 20 for Real Madrid and Bayern. AS Rome holds the record (37 different origins during the decade studied).


9

6. Training

Athletic Club is the only team where club-trained footballers (at least three seasons be-tween 15 and 21 years of age in situ) played a majority of domestic league minutes: 61.3%. Barcelona also has a high value 46.1%. At the opposite end, many Italian and English teams are at the bottom of the rankings. Despite the recruitment of many young talents, Manches-ter City is the club where players from the youth academy accounted for the lowest level of minutes: 2.1%.

Figure 9: % of minutes of club-trained players (2010-2019)

ATHLETIC CLUB

FC BARCELONA

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

TOULOUSE FC

MONTPELLIER HSC

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

STADE RENNAIS

ARSENAL FC

FC SCHALKE 04

MANCHESTER UNITED

ATLÉTICO MADRID

RCD ESPANYOL

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

AS ST-ETIENNE

REAL MADRID

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

MILAN AC

WERDER BREMEN

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

AS ROMA

LOSC LILLE

VALENCIA CF

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

SEVILLA FC

FSV MAINZ 05

OGC NICE

EVERTON FC

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

LIVERPOOL FC

VFL WOLFSBURG

TSG HOFFENHEIM

JUVENTUS FC

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

GENOA CFC

SSC NAPOLI

CHELSEA FC

ACF FIORENTINA

SS LAZIO

UDINESE CALCIO

INTERNAZIONALE

MANCHESTER CITY

61.3%

46.1%

35.9%

33.8%

31.9%

30.2%

28.4%

28.4%

27.4%

26.2%

25.4%

23.3%

22.1%

19.0%

18.9%

18.3%

17.5%

17.4%

17.1%

16.7%

15.9%

14.8%

13.9%

13.3%

12.7%

12.7%

12.5%

12.3%

12.2%

11.8%

10.6%

8.5%

8.5%

8.1%

7.6%

7.6%

7.3%

7.0%

4.2%

3.6%

2.8%

2.1%


10

7. Finances

The indicator of the cost of paying fee trans-fers spotlights the major disparities in clubs’ financial means. Manchester United tops the list (an average of €32 million per paid trans-fer), followed closely by Paris St-Germain (€30 million). Four other teams invested on average more than €20 million per paying fee trans-fer during the decade studied: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea. At the opposite end, three French clubs had the low-est values, with a minimum of about €2 mil-lion for Montpellier.

Figure 10: average expenditure per paying fee transfer, € Million (2010-2019)

MONTPELLIER HSC

TOULOUSE FC

AS ST-ETIENNE

UDINESE CALCIO

FSV MAINZ 05

WERDER BREMEN

GENOA CFC

RCD ESPANYOL

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

TSG HOFFENHEIM

OGC NICE

STADE RENNAIS

ACF FIORENTINA

LOSC LILLE

SS LAZIO

ATHLETIC CLUB

FC SCHALKE 04

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

SEVILLA FC

VFL WOLFSBURG

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

VALENCIA CF

SSC NAPOLI

AS ROMA

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

MILAN AC

INTERNAZIONALE

EVERTON FC

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

JUVENTUS FC

ATLÉTICO MADRID

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

ARSENAL FC

LIVERPOOL FC

CHELSEA FC

MANCHESTER CITY

REAL MADRID

FC BARCELONA

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

MANCHESTER UNITED

2.13

2.26

2.60

2.68

2.80

2.98

3.08

3.30

3.32

3.35

3.76

3.99

4.11

4.52

5.07

5.97

6.00

6.05

6.23

6.44

7.64

8.04

8.65

9.46

9.53

9.60

11.11

12.83

13.36

14.95

15.83

16.18

17.15

17.29

18.73

19.55

21.72

22.08

23.93

24.46

30.14

32.21

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11

Only 16 of the 42 teams analysed have a posi-tive net balance for transfer operations carried out between 2010 and 2019. The maximum was recorded for LOSC Lille (+€249 million). None of the seven clubs always present in the Premier League during the 2010s has a positive net balance. Four teams have considerably negative net balances: Manchester City, Paris St-Germain, Manchester United and Barcelo-na. The cumulative deficit of these four clubs is over €3.5 billion.

Figure 11: net balance for transfer operations, € Million (2010-2019)

LOSC LILLE

GENOA CFC

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS

UDINESE CALCIO

TSG HOFFENHEIM

ATHLETIC CLUB

MONTPELLIER HSC

RCD ESPANYOL

SEVILLA FC

AS ST-ETIENNE

GIRONDINS BORDEAUX

TOULOUSE FC

STADE RENNAIS

OGC NICE

FSV MAINZ 05

BORUSSIA DORTMUND

ACF FIORENTINA

WERDER BREMEN

BAYER LEVERKUSEN

BORUSSIA M'GLADBACH

VALENCIA CF

SS LAZIO

AS ROMA

FC SCHALKE 04

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

ATLÉTICO MADRID

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

VFL WOLFSBURG

SSC NAPOLI

LIVERPOOL FC

EVERTON FC

BAYERN MÜNCHEN

ARSENAL FC

INTERNAZIONALE

CHELSEA FC

JUVENTUS FC

REAL MADRID

MILAN AC

FC BARCELONA

MANCHESTER UNITED

PARIS ST-GERMAIN

MANCHESTER CITY

+249.3

+193.3

+174.3

+168.3

+139.1

+113.6

+110.8

+94.1

+85.8

+81.4

+77.4

+65.8

+61.7

+51.4

+35.9

+32.1

-1.8

-2.6

-22.8

-24.5

-30.5

-56.0

-68.9

-84.5

-95.5

-100.4

-143.9

-146.1

-161.9

-277.0

-296.5

-307.9

-365.7

-391.1

-395.4

-413.7

-425.0

-438.8

-720.5

-832.6

-901.3

-1090.8


12

8. Conclusion

The study shows the importance of the dif-ferences in strategies pursued by teams when composing their squads. The unique case of Athletic Club Bilbao is reflected in almost all the indicators analysed. The Basque team car-ries on with success a strategic model based on an extremely strong regional anchoring. This model has become increasingly rare with the commercialisation of football and its glo-balisation, in particular at the level of the five major European championships.

Barcelona’s case shows that territorial anchor-ing can be a plus even for a global club. The numerous trophies obtained during the last decade are indeed for the most part linked to the exceptional qualities of home-grown play-ers such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué or Sergio Busquets. More recent-ly, the change in the strategic orientation of Chelsea towards giving more room to players from the youth academy, without a loss in competitiveness, indicates that the deterrito-rialisation of football remains a choice rather than an obligation.

The analysis of strategies for squad composi-tion during the 2010s thus shows that although money is more than ever a key factor, other el-ements come into play. Squad stability stem-ming from good strategic planning, as well as the ability of clubs to get the best out of the talents trained in their youth academies and to stimulate a strong sense of belonging to all parties concerned (players, staff, supporters, etc.), remain crucial success criteria even in the today’s hyper-commercial and globalised environment.

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