The youngest teams in Europe's top 5 leagues
The CIES Football Observatory have released their findings on the latest study conducted. The teams with youngest average age in the continent’s top five leagues have been named and it doesn’t make for good reading forPremier League and La Liga teams.
None of the top teams from both leagues made it into the top 10. Barcelona do not even feature in this list which is limited to the first 50 teams to make the cut. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are the only Premier League sides in the top 20.
Real Madrid have been ranked at a lowly 47 while Manchester United feature at position 41 in the same table. The difference in hindsight between the top 50 clubs is not that high. Spurs who have the youngest side amongst Europe's elite have an average age of 25.60.
Liverpool’s squad are just behind them with an average age of 26.09. Real Madrid are closer to the 27 mark with an average age of 26.95 and United are also in that very same category with 26.81. The team with the youngest squad in the list is Ligue 1 club Toulouse.
Borussia Dortmund also feature in top 10. In fact, the top 10 are solely made up of French and German teams. The stats show the productivity of both leagues in promoting young talent which also reflects on the success of their national teams.
AC Milan are the only representative from Italy who feature in the top 20 which is an important indicator of the state of youth in the country. Antonio Conte had also mentioned the importance of the same when he was in charge of the national team.
Here is the list of the 25 youngest teams in the top 5 leagues:
| Rank | Team | Average age |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tolouse | 23.44 |
| 2 | Nice | 24.31 |
| 3 | Leverkusen | 24.33 |
| 4 | RB Leipsig | 24.60 |
| 5 | Freiberg | 24.67 |
| 6 | Lyon | 24.86 |
| 7 | Monaco | 25.13 |
| 8 | Nantes | 25.15 |
| 9 | Dortmund | 25.16 |
| 10 | Hoffenheim | 25.25 |
| 11 | Mainz | 25.28 |
| 12 | AC Milan | 25.37 |
| 13 | Granada | 25.40 |
| 14 | Alaves | 25.54 |
| 15 | Tottenham | 25.60 |
| 16 | Schalke | 25.76 |
| 17 | M’Gladbach | 25.85 |
| 18 | Liverpool | 26.09 |
| 19 | Wolfsburg | 26.11 |
| 20 | St. Etienne | 26.27 |
| 21 | Sunderland | 26.28 |
| 22 | Malaga | 26.38 |
| 23 | Valencia | 26.38 |
| 24 | Bordeaux | 26.39 |
| 25 | Villarreal | 26.42 |
Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City did not make it in the first 50 of this list. The Gunners seem to have a very experienced squad this time around. Pep Guardiola has tried to bring down the average age of his team with several new signings.