October 19 – Manchester City star Rodri heads a ranking of the 100 ‘best distributors’ in world football, according to the latest data from the CIES Football Observatory.
The study takes into account the number of successful passes per match, the percentage of successful passes, the ratio of passes compared to teammates, as well as the average level of matches played to coordinate a score for each player.
To qualify the player needs to have played at least 450 minutes since the start of the current campaign.
Spanish international Rodri score of 192.6, heads Barcelona playmaker Frenkie De Jong with a score of 165.3. Both players stand well clear of third placed Toni Kroos (124.5).
Bundesliga frontrunners Bayer Leverkusen, managed by Xabi Alonso, are the only team to have two players in the list’s top five: Argentina international Exequiel Palacios and former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka have earned scores of 123 and 122 respectively. Just one point separates youngster Palacios from four-time UCL winner Toni Kroos, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest passers in recent history.
Rodri is comfortably ahead of all Premier League competition, followed loosely by Spurs star Yves Bissouma (89.2), whose rejuvenated performances under new boss Ange Postecoglou have earned him a place above the likes of Declan Rice (75.1), Enzo Fernandez (73.7), Alexis Mac Allister (67.4) and Casemiro (who doesn’t appear on the list).
Surprisingly, longtime Brighton midfielder Pascal Groß places third from England’s top division, beating all the top-club players aforementioned. No Manchester United players feature in the ranking after a difficult start to the season for Ten Hag’s men.
Rodri also placed second in the team ratio category (1.93), which compares the ratio of passes compared to his teammates, despite the size and stature of his club and its achievements in the past 12 months. His nearest competitors in this category are first-placed Jordan Holsgrove (1.99) of Estoril Praia and Joon-Ho Son (1.93) of Shandong Taishan.
The list’s top-ranked players outside Europe’s major leagues include Aschraf El Mahdioui (Al-Taawoun, 6th), Álvaro Fidalgo (CF América, 8th), and Yahya Jabrane (Wydad AC, 10th).
Notably, two players under 21 have cracked the top 100: João Neves of Benfica (34th) and Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid (71st). Surprisingly, there are also two footballers over the age of 40 in the top 100 rankings: Felipe Melo of Fluminense (38th) and Yasuhito Endo of Jubilo Iwata (77th).
To see the full report click here.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1731686554labto1731686554ofdlr1731686554owedi1731686554sni@g1731686554niwe.1731686554yrrah1731686554