The month in numbers
The facts and stats that have caught our eye in the world of football this month...
555m
The reported value of Lionel Messi’s current four-year contract at Barcelona.
37%
NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers increased their stake in Premier League side Leeds United from 15 per cent.
86.7%
According to the Football Observatory, Atletico Madrid have the best home record of any team in Europe’s top five leagues since fans were excluded from stadiums.
18
Southampton recently lost 9-0 for the second time in consecutive seasons, but only skipper James Ward-Prowse was on the pitch for all 18 goals conceded.
54
Kazuyoshi Miura, the world’s oldest player, will play beyond his 54th birthday after extending his contract with Yokohama FC.
160
The number of places between part-timers Marine and Tottenham Hotspur, when the sides met in the third round of the FA Cup.
18
Trinity Rodman – daughter of NBA legend Dennis – became the youngest player drafted in the history of the NWSL at the age of 18.
13
Bayern Munich’s winning streak in the German Cup – before being knocked out of this year’s competition by second-tier Holstein Kiel on penalties.
16
Thierry Small is now the youngest player in Everton’s history after making his senior debut in the FA Cup aged 16 years and 176 days.
30
Schalke’s losing streak that ended in January – one match short of the all-time Bundesliga record, set by Tasmania Berlin back in 1965-66.
3
Matthew Hoppe was Schalke’s hero with a hat-trick – his first goals for the club – making him the first American to score a Bundesliga hat-trick.
25
Erling Haaland scored 25 goals in his first 25 Bundesliga games, the best start of any striker from Europe’s top five leagues this century.
8
Alexis Sanchez’s missed penalty against Sampdoria in January was his eighth miss in his last 12 attempts from the spot.
1,000
The Maldini family have now played over 1,000 Serie A games for Milan, with Daniel’s recent appearances adding to Cesare and Paolo’s.
8
Western United’s 5-4 victory over Perth Glory saw eight second-half goals – an A-League record.
18
The average age of Aston Villa’s starting line-up in their FA Cup defeat to Liverpool after they were forced to play Under-23 and Under-18 players due to COVID.
150
Steven Gerrard celebrated his 150th match in charge of Rangers with a crushing 5-0 victory over Ross County.
197
Bayern’s Manuel Neuer set a new Bundesliga record for clean sheets.