European Top 5: FC Barcelona, the club where U21s played the most minutes between 2021 & 2026 (CIES)

FC Barcelona (LALIGA EA Sports) is the European Top 5 club with the highest percentage of minutes played by players aged under 21 between 01/01/2021 and 01/01/2026, according to the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post published on 08/04/2026.

With 20.7% of minutes played by players aged under 21 at the time of the match, FC Barcelona ranks ahead of RC Strasbourg Alsace (18.6%, Ligue 1 McDonald's) and Sunderland AFC (18.5%, Premier League).

The percentage of minutes played by U21s exceeds 10% at 16 clubs in the European Top 5: nine from France, three from Spain, two from Germany and two from England. Parma Calcio 1913, the first Serie A Enilive club in the ranking, is 18^th (9.5%).

Three French clubs occupy the top places in terms of the number of different U21 players fielded over the same period: RC Strasbourg Alsace and OGC Nice (36), ahead of Le Havre AC (35).

Nine European clubs (four from Spain, three from Italy and two from England) have given less than 2% of their minutes to players aged under 21 between 2021 and 2026.

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