The number of foreign players in Europe's top five football leagues rose to 42.5 percent last season, an increase of 3.5 percent from the previous year.
That number was even higher at the most successful clubs, according to the results released in a study Thursday by the Professional Football Players Observatory.
The rosters for the top five teams in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain averaged 52.6 percent of players from other countries.
More than half the goals in the five leagues were scored by foreign players.
At the top five clubs in the English Premier League - European champion Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton - 59.5 percent of the players came from other countries.
Brazil was the biggest exporter, with 158 players employed in the top five leagues, up by 18 on the previous season.
The research was done by the International Center for Sports Studies, at Neuchatel, Switzerland, and the University of Franche-Comte at Besancon, France. The partnership was created by FIFA, football's world governing body.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter is currently campaigning to introduce the so-called "six plus five" rule which would oblige clubs to only include a maximum of five foreigners in their starting lineups.
Sapa-AP
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