Data ranks PSG winger Dembele as most 'creative' player in the world

In a recent report, the CIES Football Observatory listed the top 100 players in the world with respect to statistics of chance creation during the ongoing season.

The index was developed from Wyscout data. It was calculated by adding the number of key passes and expected assists per 90 minutes and then weighting the results by the sporting level of the matches played.

Only footballers who have played at least 630 domestic league minutes for the same team during the current season were considered in the research.

At the top of the list is Paris St-Germain’s winger Ousmane Dembele with Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich) second and Nico Williams (Athletic Club) in third.

Interestingly, Nico Williams' brother Inaki also made the top 10 - creative genes it seems.

Kylian Mbappe (PSG) and Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa) round out the top five in the list, which means three French internationals are in the leading five, incredibly.

Federico Dimarco (Inter) and Kieran Trippier (Newcastle) are the top-ranked defenders in the world.

The top three players under 23 years of age are the aforementioned Williams followed by Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen) and Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven).

Alex Baena (Villarreal) and Georginio Rutter (Leeds United) round out the top five U23 players.

A total of 33 leagues appear in the top 100, with the most players coming from the English Premier League (16), where Diaby stands ahead of Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) and Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United).

Italy’s Serie A is the next most-represented league. The top three there are Dimarco, Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo) and Felipe Anderson (Lazio).

The CIES Football Observatory is a research group within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), an independent study centre located in Neuchatel, Switzerland. The CIES Football Observatory specialises in the statistical analysis of football.