Top 5: 3.09 players loaned per club on average over 2014-2019, against 2.62 on 2009-2014 (CIES)

"During the decade studied, the number of players on loan within clubs taking part in the five major European leagues has grown considerably. An increase of 18% was recorded between the first and last five seasons analysed: from 2.62 to 3.09 per club on average. In 2018/2019, footballers on loan played a record number of minutes within the big-5: 11.5%," stated the CIES Football Observatory in its monthly report published on 07/10/2019.

"This Monthly Report analyses the evolution of the number and characteristics of footballers having played on loan for teams of the five major European championships (English Premier League, Spanish Liga, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1) over a ten season period between 2009-10 and 2018-19," opened the report.

"The use of player loans varies widely according to league. The Serie A teams are by far those having the most players on loan: on average of 4.87 per club and season during the decade studied. Teams from the Spanish Liga are also strongly inclined to resort to loans (3.85), while their counterparts from the…