CIES: France, 2^nd country in terms of expatriate players in 2023 after Brazil & ahead of Argentina

With 1,033 expatriate players in the 135 professional leagues included in the sample (as at 01/05/2023), France is in second place in the ranking of countries exporting football players in 2023, behind Brazil (1,289 players) and ahead of Argentina (905), according to the CIES Football Observatory's "Weekly Post" published on 17/05/2023. This 2023 podium is identical to that of 2022.

In total, 14,405 expatriate players (+3.4% compared to 2022) make up 23% of the squads in the 135 leagues studied. The proportion of expatriates is highest in UEFA countries, with 27.7% of the squads made up of foreign players (i.e. 7.8 players per club, as in 2022), and lowest in CONMEBOL countries (10.7% of squads, 3.08 players per club), according to CIES.

France is also the country with the highest absolute increase in the number of expatriate players since 2017 (+265 players), ahead of Colombia (+147) and Argentina (+136). "Of the 183 associations represented in 2023, only 59 have seen a decrease since 2017, with a maximum for Serbia (-59 expatriates), followed by Romania (-39) and Cameroon (-30),…