The CIES Football Observatory has revealed the sustainability report for 2021, and it includes a rather surprising list. The report takes into account the age of the squad, their remaining contract lengths and the domestic league minutes of the players.
Here is the ranking for the current year:
1. Manchester City (England)
2. Real Sociedad (Spain)
3. Liverpool (England)
4. RB Leipzig (Germany)
5. Manchester United (England)
6. Leeds United (England)
7. Newcastle United (England)
8. Real Madrid (Spain)
9. Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
10. Tottenham Hotspur (England)
Arguably the most surprising inclusion in the report is that of Newcastle United. Following their Saudi Arabia takeover, Newcastle United are the richest football club in the world. They also replaced Steve Bruce with Eddie Howe as the new manager.
A number of European elites such as Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool have made the list. However, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is at the top of the list with an average squad age of 27 years and 22 days. In contrast, the average age of the teams in Europe’s top five leagues is 27 years and 47 days.
Following their impressive recruitment model, RB Leipzig have also ranked high in the list, ahead of Manchester United and Real Madrid. They have a squad built to last for the upcoming years, and also have a very sustainable business plan to run the club.
PSG and Barcelona, on the other hand, have failed to make it into the top 30 teams in the list which goes on to show their current instability.
