There are a few clubs around Europe who have been known for their excellent work in the transfer market to both develop players and balance the books. They have been extremely successful in navigating and unearthing a number of talented players for a smaller fee and selling them for huge profits. Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Southampton, Ajax, and Olympique Lyon are just a few clubs that have benefitted from excellent scouting networks that have identified players at lower valuations and turning them into world-class athletes selling them for profit.

Lyon, in particular, have been able to churn and develop star players consistently selling them to European clubs for very high valuations. The data has unveiled the source and destination of their business incomings and outgoings. Through this data analysis, this visualisation gives us a break down of their business and which leagues and clubs, in particular, they have profited from.

Firstly, the most prominent analysis that can be derived from this data visualisation is Lyon’s versatility in buying players from diverse leagues rather than focusing on a select few. They have bought players from 14 different leagues ranging from South America to Scotland. Buying players such as Bruno Guimarães from Campeonato Brasileiro Série A shows their ability to secure some talented players before other sides could swoop in. Their own academy has yielded some brilliant results too producing the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Nabil Fekir, and Corentin Tolisso who have all been sold for high transfer fees. Not only have they been able to develop and identify relatively unknown talent, Lyon have been able to secure unwanted players at top clubs and revitalise their careers. Memphis Depay is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this after his failed stint at Manchester United. The statistics are clear cut when it comes to their successes.

One of their single biggest outlays on a player came from buying Moussa Dembele from Celtic which shows their scouting network isn’t limited to just Europe’s major leagues. Lyon hold a strong affinity towards French players, where they are seen as a building block to showcase the players’ talents which has seen some of them leave for the world’s best. This is indicative in their transfer dealings from three different divisions in France.

From a player sales perspective, there is a good spread of sales to Europe’s top clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal. Some of their biggest sales have come from the English Premier League while LaLiga clubs have frequently bought from Lyon including Valencia and Real Betis. So, Lyon don’t just cater to the top clubs but have been able to extract value and money from mid-table clubs. The sales of Tanguy Ndombele to Tottenham Hotspur, Ferland Mendy and Mariano Diaz to Real Madrid and Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich are just a few examples of their revolutionary development of players sold for top dollar.