Updated after the completion of Season 3.

When Top 100 Regen launched, its hierarchy came from the real world.

The 100 clubs were allocated to five divisions using Opta rankings. Real Madrid began at the summit; clubs such as Maccabi Haifa and New England Revolution started deep in Division 5.

At the start of S3 we took our first proper look at how much that world had already changed.

Now Season 3 is complete — including the play-offs — we can go one step further.

The answer is: a lot.

By the numbers

At launch, the combined value of all 100 squads was approximately £12.71 billion.

By the end of S3 it was around £16.70 billion.

That’s an increase of almost £4 billion — roughly 31%.

The average squad rating has risen from 85.26 to 88.04.

Of the 100 clubs:

• ⭐ 73 have a higher average squad rating than at launch
• ➡️ 17 are unchanged
• ⬇️ Only 10 are rated lower

And once S3’s promotions and relegations are applied to the S4 line-up:

• 🔼 25 clubs will be above their original S1 division
• 🔽 29 will be below it
• ➡️ 46 remain in the same tier

More than half the Game World will therefore begin S4 somewhere other than the division in which Opta originally placed them.

One important caveat: the rules changed too

Not all of the increase in squad strength and value should be treated as pure manager-driven growth.

The Game World’s rules have evolved.

In S1 we operated a 30-player split squad cap:

• maximum 19 first-team players
• minimum 11 youth players

For S3 this was replaced by a simple 40-player overall squad cap.

That gives clubs considerably more freedom to retain senior players, prospects and transferable assets simultaneously. It naturally contributes to higher total squad values and, potentially, higher squad-average ratings.

The transfer rules changed too.

In S1 and S2, the maximum cash component of a transfer was £99 million.

For S3 we reduced that to £50 million.

That is why the S1 and S2 record-transfer lists contain walls of £99m deals while S3 contains numerous £50m transfers — often supplemented by players in exchange.

So the numbers below reflect both manager decisions and an evolving ruleset.

The pyramid is getting flatter

The most striking change isn’t at the top.

It’s underneath it.

Average squad ratings among the teams which finished S3 in each division were approximately:

The average D1 squad is only fractionally stronger than it was when the Game World began.

The average D5 squad is more than five rating points stronger.

At launch there was roughly an 8.6-point gap between the average D1 and D5 squads.

By the end of S3, that gap was only around 3.25 points.

The ranges overlap enormously:

D1: 88–92
D2: 86–91
D3: 85–89
D4: 86–89
D5: 85–88

A strong Division 5 squad can now have the same average rating as a weaker Division 1 squad.

That simply wasn’t true when Regen began.

The great squad rebuilds

Some of the most dramatic transformations have happened at clubs which began near the bottom.

Derby are the most extreme example.

They began as a 76-rated D5 club worth only £36.6m.

By the end of S3 their squad was rated 88 and worth approximately £142.5m.

And after two seasons of building without escaping Division 5, they finally finished third in S3 and won automatic promotion.

Royal Antwerp tell a similar story: from a 76-rated £37.9m squad to an 87-rated side worth roughly £154.7m, followed by promotion through the D5 play-offs.

Maccabi Haifa have gone from 78 and £31.6m to 87 and roughly £144.7m.

Mamelodi Sundowns started at 81 and £44.2m. By the end of S3 they were rated 88, worth around £147.5m, and heading for Division 3.

The bottom of the pyramid isn’t what it used to be.

Value isn’t everything

There is an important qualification.

Building an expensive, highly rated squad doesn’t automatically make you successful.

Sparta Praha are perhaps the perfect example.

Their squad has risen from 76 to 86, one of the biggest improvements anywhere in the Game World, yet they finished only 13th in Division 5.

For much of the season Royal Antwerp had the same problem: enormous squad growth without corresponding league progress, before finally winning promotion through the play-offs.

Union Berlin made huge early investments and built an 87-rated squad — yet finished bottom of D5.

That’s encouraging.

If trading success simply converted mechanically into league position, there wouldn’t be much of a game.

The clubs who have rewritten their place in the world

The most spectacular transformation isn’t financial.

It’s geographical.

Real Sociedad: D4 → D1

Real Sociedad began in Division 4.

Then:

S1: D4 champions
S2: D3 runners-up
S3: 3rd in D2

They will start S4 in Division 1.

Three seasons, three consecutive promotions.

Girona: D5 → D2

Girona began all the way down in Division 5.

S1: promoted via play-offs
S2: promoted from D4
S3: D3 play-off winners

They will begin S4 in Division 2.

Again: three seasons, three promotions.

Al Nassr: back-to-back champions

Al Nassr finished only 10th in D5 in S1.

Then they won Division 5 in S2.

And Division 4 in S3.

They will play in Division 3 next season.

Mamelodi Sundowns: 11th in D5 to D3

Mamelodi’s progression has been less immediate but just as striking:

S1: 11th in D5
S2: 3rd in D5
S3: 2nd in D4

They too begin S4 in Division 3.

New England Revolution: D5 → D3

New England were one of the lowest-ranked clubs when the Game World launched.

They finished second in D5 in S1, won Division 4 in S2 and consolidated with ninth place in D3 this season.

They have established themselves two full divisions above their starting point.

Upward mobility

Twenty-five clubs will begin S4 above the division in which they started:

Sociedad and Girona are obviously the headline acts, but the breadth of movement matters just as much.

And some have gone the other way

Twenty-nine clubs will start S4 below their original level.

There are some enormous falls.

Club Brugge: D2 → D5
Olympiacos: D3 → D5
OGC Nice: D3 → D5
Feyenoord: D3 → D5

Elsewhere, Liverpool’s D1 → D2 fall lasted only one season before they returned as S3 champions, while Aston Villa have also fought their way back to D1 through the play-offs.

Atalanta and Brighton have become early Regen yo-yo clubs.

The pyramid isn’t simply producing upward mobility. It is producing churn.

A Game World with its own history

This may be the biggest change of all.

At the beginning, saying that Real Sociedad were a Division 4 club or Liverpool were a Division 1 club didn’t really tell us anything about their history in the Game World.

There wasn’t any history.

Those were simply the divisions an external ranking had assigned them.

That is no longer true.

Real Sociedad are a Division 1 club because they earned three promotions.

Girona are a Division 2 club because they climbed there from Division 5.

Liverpool are a Division 1 club because they were relegated and fought their way back.

Al Nassr are in Division 3 because they won consecutive titles.

Club Brugge are in Division 5 because they fell there.

The Opta seedings still echo through the Game World. Real Madrid, Bayern München and Manchester City remain among its strongest clubs.

But three seasons of transfers, promotions, relegations, play-offs, manager changes and rule changes have begun replacing that inherited hierarchy with one created inside the game itself.

Season 1 established the hierarchy.

Season 2 disrupted it.

Season 3 began to create a new one.

And that is probably the best sign yet that Regen is working.

Full club data

The full comparison table includes all 100 clubs, their original Opta ranking, S1 and S3 squad strength and value, divisional movement and manager changes.

Note: the embedded comparison sheet was created during S3 and some individual squad values have subsequently changed. The figures in this updated article use the end-of-S3 snapshot.

Season 3 of Top 100 Regen is over — and three seasons in, this Game World has well and truly developed a history of its own.

Bayern München ended Real Madrid’s two-year hold on Division 1. Manchester City somehow managed to win three cups without winning the league. Liverpool bounced straight back from relegation. Real Sociedad completed an extraordinary three-season climb from Division 4 to Division 1. Al Nassr won a second consecutive divisional championship.

And Bayern weren’t finished there: their youngsters also won the Top 100 Youth Cup.

Here’s how S3 finished.

Bayern break the Madrid monopoly

The Division 1 title went all the way to the final night.

Bayern München and Real Madrid entered the last round level on 79 points, with Manchester City just two points behind. When it was over:

Andrew Kelly’s Bayern München are the S3 champions, ending James Mckenzie’s run of consecutive titles with Real Madrid.

For Kelly it is a particularly impressive achievement: he won Division 2 with Villarreal in S1 and has now won Division 1 with Bayern.

At the bottom, Atalanta, Athletic Club, Brighton & Hove Albion and Lille OSC were relegated.

Atalanta and Brighton have already become genuine yo-yo clubs: both went D1 → D2 → D1 → D2 across the first three seasons.

Liverpool bounce straight back

Liverpool’s first ever relegation in S2 proved brief.

They dominated Division 2, finishing champions on 88 points, with Manchester United second on 77.

But perhaps the story of the whole Game World sits immediately behind them.

Real Sociedad’s third place completed a remarkable sequence:

S1: Division 4 champions
S2: Division 3 runners-up
S3: Division 2 third place

Three seasons. Three promotions.

A club originally placed in Division 4 by the Opta rankings will begin S4 in Division 1.

Aston Villa joined the promoted trio after beating Porto 1–0 in the play-off semi-final and Fiorentina 3–2 in the final.

Union Saint-Gilloise, Lazio, AC Milan and Slavia Praha were relegated.

Girona keep climbing

Division 3 produced another of Regen’s great journeys.

Bologna bounced straight back from relegation by winning the division on 84 points, just one ahead of Ajax. Galatasaray took the third automatic promotion place.

Ajax themselves have now climbed from their original D4 allocation into D2.

But Girona went one better.

They began the Game World in Division 5, won promotion in S1, climbed again in S2 and reached the S3 play-offs from fourth place.

A penalty shoot-out victory over Lyon put them into the final, where goals from Roberto Firmino and İlkay Gündoğan gave them a 2–1 win over Benfica.

So Girona’s journey now reads:

D5 → D4 → D3 → D2

Like Real Sociedad, they have been promoted in every season the Game World has existed.

Leeds United, Osasuna, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mainz were relegated from D3.

Back-to-back titles for Al Nassr

Division 4 belonged to two clubs which started life in Division 5.

Al Nassr won the league with 89 points, following their S2 Division 5 title with another championship.

Jimmy Gouldie’s side have therefore gone:

S1: 10th in D5
S2: D5 champions
S3: D4 champions

Behind them, Mamelodi Sundowns finished second with 84 points and 94 goals, while Strasbourg claimed the third automatic promotion place.

Sundowns’ own journey has been dramatic: 11th in D5 → 3rd in D5 → 2nd in D4. They will start S4 in Division 3.

The final promotion place went to Flamengo. They beat Maccabi Haifa in the semi-final before defeating Salzburg 2–1 in the final.

Fenerbahçe, Stade Rennais, Club Brugge and Olympiacos were relegated.

Derby finally escape Division 5

Las Palmas ran away with Division 5, finishing champions on 87 points.

Wolfsburg took second and Derby County third.

Derby’s promotion is significant for another reason. They began S1 with a 76-rated squad and have since built one rated 88 — the biggest rating increase anywhere in the Game World.

For two seasons that squad-building hadn’t resulted in promotion. This time it did.

Royal Antwerp took the fourth promotion place after two nerve-shredding shoot-outs: first beating Getafe 2–0 on penalties, then drawing 1–1 with Como before winning the final shoot-out 4–1.

Antwerp also started with a 76-rated squad. They too will finally leave D5 behind.

Manchester City’s cup treble

Bayern won the league.

But if S3 had a cup king, there is no contest.

Paul Rimmer’s Manchester City won:

• 🏆 Top 100 Regen Cup
• 🏆 SMFA Champions Cup
• 🏆 SMFA Super Cup

The Champions Cup final provided an appropriate finale to the season.

City faced the newly crowned D1 champions Bayern München in Luzhniki. Savinho put City ahead after 51 minutes before Baena equalised for Bayern on 62.

It finished 1–1.

In the shoot-out, Moraes saved Harry Kane’s opening penalty and Musiala later missed. City converted all four of theirs, Savinho scoring the decisive kick.

Manchester City 1–1 Bayern München
City win 4–1 on penalties.

Remarkably, it is City’s third consecutive SMFA Champions Cup. Paul Rimmer has won the competition in S1, S2 and S3.

City still haven’t won Division 1.

Football, eh?

Bournemouth take the SMFA Shield

The other international final produced five goals at Wembley.

Tottenham took the lead through Brennan Johnson, but Bournemouth responded through Antoine Semenyo and Justin Kluivert before Timothy Weah made it 3–1.

Vušković pulled one back late on, but Bournemouth held on.

AFC Bournemouth 3–2 Tottenham Hotspur

Simon Thomas therefore adds the SMFA Shield to Bournemouth’s Regen Shield triumph from S2.

Arsenal won this season’s Top 100 Regen Shield, while Internazionale took the Charity Shield.

Bayern’s youngsters do it too

Bayern’s senior side weren’t the club’s only S3 champions.

Pane Trifunov’s Youth Cup competition culminated with Bayern beating Arsenal 3–1 in the semi-final, while Liverpool defeated Internazionale 4–1 in the other semi.

The final was another five-goal game:

Bayern München 3–2 Liverpool

So Bayern finish S3 as both Division 1 champions and Youth Cup winners.

The full S3 honours

A new hierarchy

When Top 100 Regen began, the five divisions were essentially an Opta ranking converted into a Game World.

Three seasons later, that description doesn’t really work any more.

Real Sociedad have travelled from D4 to D1. Girona have gone from D5 to D2. New England Revolution have risen from D5 to D3. Al Nassr have won consecutive divisions. Mamelodi Sundowns are heading from D5 into D3. Ajax have climbed from D4 to D2.

Meanwhile Liverpool have been relegated and returned. Atalanta and Brighton have gone down, up and down again. Club Brugge have fallen from D2 to D5.

The original hierarchy hasn’t disappeared.

But it has been thoroughly messed with.

Which was rather the point.