Portugal keeps surprising everyone – not that the country’s position is a surprise in itself, but because there’s definitely a difference in terms of the demographics of these countries.

France leads a list that includes Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, England, Argentina, Germany and Italy, respectively, with Portugal standing 4th at the table.

Why am I surprised?
Because Portugal has the same size (in terms of population) of some cities in Brazil, Spain or France…

And still, Portugal is able to surpass demographic giants (in comparison to Portugal, of course) as England, Argentina, or Italy.

Therefore, what are the reason for this success?

Let’s look at the data first!

1. Until the age of 20, the leading country is Brazil, with 50% of their total revenues in players sales coming from these age group – clearly indicating that Brazil is a country with immense talent and potential within their roots, or locals if you want, as it’s less likely to have foreigners being transferred at this age, considering FIFA rules of prohibiting Intercontinental Transfers below 18 years old (ie. An European player going to Brazil, US or Saudi Arabia until he/she reaches 18 years old, and vice-versa)

Then, we have Argentina and Portugal, both at around 37% of their total revenue generated, presenting another strong argument to confirm the narrative of the power of local talent. However, to make it clear for all, although these players represent a higher potential (either from Sports Performance or Financial), they also represent higher risks for success, either by problems generated by adapting to a new country, language, weather conditions, food, training methods, league, or others, directly or indirectly (ie. In case of these issues are from their family members, or others surrounding the players).

2. Interesting enough, between the age of 21 and 23, the leading countries are different – Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands! 

What are the reasons for this change?

Well, in my opinion, the main reason is that, although these are countries with strong Coaching Education and Processes, they benefit from the attractiveness of their countries, and Leagues, for foreign talents. Therefore, considering that the same principle of the FIFA rules for 18+ years old for Intercontinental Transfers, a player between 21 and 23 years old can potentially be exposed to these Training and Competitive contexts for a few years, developing important skills before being sold.

This explains why my believe on the FIFA Ban for Intercontinental Transfers below 18 years old plays such a decisive role on the data presented.

3. Between the age of 24 and 26, all countries lower their numbers, in a table lead by Italy, France, Spain and Germany (4 of Top-5 European Leagues). How can one read these numbers? It starts with the question: what differs these players from the youngest, or oldest? These players represent the best of 2 worlds for Competitive Teams – they already have significant experience (therefore, present less risk), but they are still young enough to represent a future profitable sales. 

The problem is that everyone is aware of this, and the prices increase (significantly) at these ages, as no Club wants to lose the value added from these players! On one side, the risk is reduced, on the other side they are very expensive – there’s never the perfect scenario!

4. The most interesting fact is that the only 2 countries above 10% of their total revenues are England (26,9%) and Spain (17,8%), followed  by France and Argentina (both at 9,8%). What does these data brings to light? The first factor is clear, these Leagues are all very competitive within their regions (Europe or South America), therefore, they’re ability to attract older players remains intact and even at older ages, these players are appreciated. Moreover, besides being attractive to the players, the Clubs also seem to look for experienced players.

These kind of studies always provide a layer of thought – why things work in this way, I always ask.

It’s very interesting to understand Business Strategies, Behavioral Patterns and why people opt for some decisions instead of others.

And then, they say Football isn’t for the brightest minds…

For my counterparts from Portugal, my question is: which other business sector are we as great as in Football?

None!

And that says a lot about the value of the people working in Football.

This study was done by Football Benchmark, and the image was altered to maintain their holding rights intact.