Overview
- Researchers José M. Cordero (Universidad de Extremadura) and Daniel Santín (Universidad Complutense) published the analysis via a UEx press note on October 24, 2025.
- The dataset covers players from 1955 to 2024 and benchmarks them against a common frontier of one million simulated players to allow objective, position-by-position comparisons.
- Results show Real Madrid slightly ahead in goalkeepers and midfielders, defenders performing similarly across clubs, and Barcelona’s forwards ranking higher overall.
- Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) and Carlos Busquets (Barcelona) lead goalkeeper efficiency, Ronald Koeman and Fernando Hierro stand out among defenders, and Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo top the forwards.
- The model’s impact test indicates that removing Cristiano produces a significantly larger decline in Real Madrid forwards’ collective productivity than removing Messi does for Barcelona.