Top leagues in comparison
©IMAGO
The first half of the season is coming to an end and once again Ligue 1 is proving to be a good breeding ground for talent: in no other top 5 league do players up to the age of 19 get more playing time. To date, 64 teenagers have played for 13,465 minutes in the French top flight; in the other leagues there are only half as many players. LaLiga (28) follows with 6,613 minutes, the Premier League (25) and Bundesliga (28) are on par with 4,594 and 4,521 minutes, while Serie A (31) brings up the rear with 4,202 minutes.
However, the club ranking is clearly led by a Spanish club. FC Barcelona is clearly at the top with 2,621 minutes. The Catalans have made a brilliant start to the season under Hansi Flick, with the famous La Masia youth academy playing a crucial role in their success. With Lamine Yamal (17), Pau Cubarsí (17), Marc Bernal (17), Héctor Fort (18) and Sergi Domínguez (19), Flick has already used five teenagers.
However, the top 10 is dominated by French clubs, with seven clubs from Ligue 1 included. Stade Reims (1,867 minutes) is in second place, PSG (1,807 minutes) is third. Montpellier fielded the most with eight teenagers. The French dominance is broken by only two Bundesliga clubs: RB Leipzig (1,243 minutes) is fifth, TSG Hoffenheim (1,046 minutes) is in eighth place.
The other top German clubs are far behind. FC Bayern is in 47th place with 122 minutes thanks to two U20 talents, Borussia Dortmund has used twice as many teenagers, but with 81 minutes of action BVB is only in 56th place. The first English club in the list is Manchester City (871st). Minutes) in eleventh place, AC Fiorentina (867 minutes) is directly behind as the first Italian representative. Real Betis Sevilla (810 minutes) is the second best Spanish club in 16th place.
A total of 17 clubs from the top leagues have not had any teenagers on the pitch this season. There is a trio from Germany: Werder Bremen and the two newcomers FC St. Pauli and Holstein Kiel.
