INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL
CIES crowns Lamine Yamal and Pedri among the most influential in the world
Published New:30/05/2025 - 23:13h
Updated New:22/07/2025 - 19:30h
CIES highlights Lamine Yamal and Pedri as the most influential in their position after guiding Barça to the National Treble with great individual performance
Lamine Yamal continues to captivate locals and strangers alike with a carefree and magical football. After this 2024/25 season, he has established himself as one of the best players in the world and, why not say it, as one of the most serious candidates for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
With a season in which he added 18 goals and 25 assists in 55 games, his impact has gone far beyond the individual: he was key in the conquest of the National Treble of the Blaugrana team, which lifted LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Lamine Yamal, leader in creating chances, according to the CIES Football Observatory
To his brilliant campaign is now added the support of statistics. The CIES Football Observatory has recently published a study that positions him as one of the most influential players in the world, taking into account performance in 60 leagues globally.
To compile this ranking, the CIES evaluates six specific areas of the game:
- Aerial game: Alexander Sørloth leads this section.
- Defense on the ground: Moisés Caicedo leads this category.
- Game distribution: Nico Schlotterbeck occupies the first place.
- Reception of the ball: Vinícius Jr. is the best valued.
- Creation of opportunities: Lamine Yamal leads this facet.
- Finishing ability: Ousmane Dembélé stands out in this point.
Lamine Yamal, second most influential player in the world in 2025
As for the overall score, the absolute leader is Mohamed Salah, the only player with a rating of 100 points in the list. Right behind him is Lamine Yamal, with 99.6 points, being the second most influential winger in the world, according to the study, and the best rated of FC Barcelona.
But the '19' culé is not the only one that appears in the list of most influential wingers. In the fourth position is Raphinha, with a remarkable 93.2. Right after, in the fifth place, appears Luis Díaz, the Colombian from Liverpool, who has been linked on more than one occasion with the Catalan team. His score is 91.4.
| SCORE | PLAYER | AGE | TEAM | AER | GRD | DIS | TAK | CCR | FIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | Mohamed Salah | 33 | Liverpool | 29 | 44 | 48 | 78 | 93 | 84 |
| 99.6 | Lamine Yamal | 17 | FC Barcelona | 16 | 63 | 53 | 90 | 99 | 80 |
| 98.1 | Michael Olise | 23 | Bayern Munich | 37 | 59 | 64 | 89 | 95 | 82 |
| 93.2 | Raphinha | 28 | FC Barcelona | 39 | 52 | 50 | 73 | 93 | 84 |
| 91.4 | Luis Díaz | 28 | Liverpool | 48 | 63 | 53 | 80 | 70 | 82 |
| 91.3 | Morgan Rogers | 22 | Aston Villa | 41 | 62 | 49 | 77 | 78 | 69 |
| 90.8 | Bryan Mbeumo | 25 | Brentford | 46 | 65 | 52 | 76 | 80 | 76 |
| 90.5 | Bradley Barcola | 22 | Paris Saint-Germain | 42 | 59 | 45 | 82 | 84 | 83 |
| 88.8 | Ousmane Dembélé | 28 | Paris Saint-Germain | 38 | 37 | 62 | 88 | 87 | 96 |
| 88.2 | Vinicius Jr. | 24 | Real Madrid | 0 | 60 | 49 | 93 | 89 | 78 |
Pedri, the most influential midfielder in the world, according to CIES
In the midfielders section there is also a prominent Blaugrana presence: Pedri González appears as the most influential midfielder in the world, with an impressive score of 98.7, leading his category.
| SCORE | PLAYER | AGE | TEAM | AER | GRD | DIS | TAK | CCR | FIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98.7 | Pedri González | 22 | FC Barcelona | 30 | 80 | 87 | 76 | 80 | 58 |
| 96.2 | Joshua Kimmich | 30 | Bayern Munich | 33 | 67 | 96 | 49 | 74 | 58 |
| 94.1 | Granit Xhaka | 32 | Bayer Leverkusen | 53 | 77 | 92 | 54 | 69 | 51 |
| 92 | Federico Valverde | 26 | Real Madrid | 52 | 69 | 79 | 58 | 61 | 68 |
| 90.6 | Enzo Fernández | 24 | Chelsea FC | 42 | 73 | 75 | 62 | 76 | 67 |
| 90.3 | Marten de Roon | 34 | Atalanta BC | 62 | 73 | 82 | 45 | 60 | 53 |
| 90.1 | Youri Tielemans | 28 | Aston Villa | 48 | 73 | 77 | 63 | 69 | 59 |
| 88.5 | Manuel Locatelli | 27 | Juventus | 59 | 84 | 94 | 53 | 52 | 50 |
| 88.3 | Éderson | 25 | Atalanta BC | 57 | 69 | 78 | 61 | 66 | 60 |
| 88.1 | Matteo Guendouzi | 26 | SS Lazio | 40 | 64 | 86 | 62 | 60 | 50 |
And not only in attack and midfield does Barcelona stand out. In the defensive line, Jules Koundé is in the sixth position among the most influential full-backs, with 86.1 points. For his part, Iñigo Martínez also occupies the sixth place among the center-backs, with the same score.
This panorama makes it clear that FC Barcelona has had decisive players in practically all lines of the field this season. One of the keys to the successful 2024/25 season, and a very encouraging sign for the future. With a young and talented core like the one it currently has, the team invites us to dream of great achievements in the years to come.
