Leading the way in developing young talent, Real Madrid and Barcelona have been officially confirmed as the most proficient footballing academies across the top leagues in Europe.
Both LaLiga giants possess seven homegrown players on their books, defined by FIFA as having spent three years at the club between the ages of 15 and 21, while Los Blancos have 34 La Fabrica graduates plying their trade elsewhere compared to the Blaugrana’s 30.
Kiko Casilla, Ruben Yanez, Alvaro Morata, Dani Carvajal, Mariano, Nacho Fernandez, and Lucas Vazquez have each risen through the Real ranks to make an impact at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu whereas the likes of Diego Lopez, Borja Valero, and Iker Casillas have all left for another club in the top five leagues.
Jordi Alba, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Masip, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, Sergio Busquets, and Lionel Messi are the seven La Masia standouts remaining in Catalunya, with Gerard Pique not considered for the list due to his time at Manchester United.
Following the Spanish duo in the official CIES Observatory rankings are Manchester United who have the likes of Marcos Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Lyon on 34 and 29 players respectively, before Basque clubs Athletic Club and Real Sociedad, both with 25.
Rounding off the top ten are Roma, Arsenal, Monaco, and Rennes as Italy and France’s top youth providers come in on 24 and 22 homegrown talents, respectively.
When taking into account the 31 top-flights across the continent, Dutch giants Ajax and even Partizan Belgrade are shown to outstretch Real and Barcelona.
The Amsterdam club are known for their academy across the globe and the 72 players produced is unmatched, with Dinamo Zagreb and Sporting CP also more proficient than the LaLiga’s two-most successful clubs, who have 53 players across the top 31 leagues each.
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