Key trends at the heart of European club football  

—- Record attendances, more than €10 billion in transfer spending and continued growth in women’s football feature among the key findings of UEFA’s latest European Club Talent and Competition Landscape reportCovering the 2025/26 season and the 2026 summer transfer window, the report analyses more than 700 clubs and provides a data-led overview of the players, coaches, clubs and competitions that make up European football.

European men’s clubs surpassed €10 billion in transfer spending for the first time during the 2026 summer transfer window, an 8% increase on 2025 and 43% above the 2019 pre-pandemic peak. A record €1.2 billion was invested in teenagers, while players aged 23 or under accounted for 56% of total spending.

At least 242 million spectators attended men’s club and national-team matches across Europe during the 2025/26 season, setting a new attendance record. Domestic men’s top divisions attracted 116 million spectators, while 27 of Europe’s top divisions recorded increased attendances.

Competitive openness remained a defining feature of the season, with 36 of Europe’s 55 men’s domestic leagues crowning a different champion from the previous campaign. Six clubs won their domestic league for the first time, including two clubs promoted the previous season.

Locally trained players accounted for an estimated 47% of all domestic league minutes across the 20 men’s leagues analysed, while they played 39% of available minutes during the league phases of UEFA men’s club competitions. A record 20,966 players appeared in Europe’s domestic top divisions during 2025/26.

European men’s top-division clubs made 738 head coach changes during the 2025/26 season, 3% more than the previous campaign. Overall, 63% of clubs changed their head coach at least once, with approximately two thirds of those changes taking place during the season.

Women’s club football also continued to develop, with an estimated 5.1 million spectators attending matches during the 2025/26 season. Across Europe’s five leading women’s leagues, 63% of head coaches held a UEFA Pro licence, rising to 89% in Spain.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “The findings in this report reaffirm the enduring value of the European Sports Model. Competitive balance remains a fundamental ingredient of football’s appeal, and recent seasons have provided encouraging evidence of this. Across Europe, supporters have witnessed new domestic champions emerge, ambitious clubs challenge established hierarchies, and players developed throughout the football pyramid make their mark at the highest levels of the game. These are powerful reminders that open competition, sporting merit, and strong links between grassroots, domestic, and European football remain essential to sustaining the health and attractiveness of the sport.”

Explore the UEFA European Club Talent and Competition Landscape: ectcl.uefa.com/2026 All language versions will be available shortly here:
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