Summary
- Youth academies can prove to be a crucial source of players for football clubs.
- The best youth academies provide teams with a stream of talented youngsters that they can use or sell.
- Despite their policy of only fielding players native to the Basque region, Athletic Bilbao have long been competitive.
Youth academies, if set up correctly, can be one of the most useful tools a football team has at its disposal. Regardless of circumstances surrounding the senior team, be they good or bad, a solid youth academy means that these teams can have a constant stream of talented, young prospects coming into the fold each season.
Loyalty is a rare commodity, particularly within the world of modern football. As such, many teams that do not sit within the pantheon of elite sides often see their best talents poached away by larger sides. In this, though, a club has the opportunity to make an incredible profit on a player that cost them nothing, such is the money within the sport today.
With all of this being said, it can not be argued that there are not dozens of great youth academies, belonging to a multitude of different teams, not just in the Premier League, but across the world. Of that number, though, which 10 are the best in football history?
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Ranking Factors
Lists, as a concept, are subjective. It is more than feasible for two lists on the same topic to have different entrants, depending on the opinion of the writer. With that considered, this list has been ranked based on the following criteria:
- Quality of player – An obvious, but important, factor. How good are the players that each entrant produces?
- Value – Particularly in the financial madness of the modern game, price is important. How much money have each entrants’ talents generated them?
- Impact – How critical has presence of youth players been to the success of each entrant?
- Longevity – One-club players are increasingly rare, but for how long do youth talents tend to play for each entrant?
| 10 Best Academies in Football History | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Country | Notable Academy Graduates |
| 1. | Barcelona | Spain | Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol, Pep Guardiola |
| 2. | Ajax | The Netherlands | Johann Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van der Sar, Marco van Basten, Frenkie de Jong |
| 3. | Athletic Bilbao | Spain | Inaki Williams, Nico Williams, Aymeric Laporte, Javi Martinez, Kepa Arrizabalaga |
| 4. | Benfica | Portugal | Manuel Rui Costa, Joao Felix, Eusebio, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva |
| 5. | Manchester United | England | David Beckham, Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Duncan Edwards, Marcus Rashford |
| 6. | Real Madrid | Spain | Emilio Butragueno, Iker Casillas, Guti, Chendo, Michel |
| 7. | Lyon | France | Alexandre Lacazette, Karim Benzema, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki, Castello Lukeba |
| 8. | Porto | Portugal | Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe, Diogo Costa, Ruben Neves, Vitinha |
| 9. | Flamengo | Brazil | Zico, Vinicius Jr, Adriano, Julio Cesar, Lucas Paqueta |
| 10. | Leeds United | England | Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer, Paul Madeley |
10 Leeds United
England
Perhaps not a name that immediately comes to mind for many, but Leeds United have had a long history of producing talents from their youth academy. In the golden days of Don Revie, the club’s best era, many of that team’s leading lights, Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer and Paul Madeley to name a handful, came through the ranks at Leeds. The cornerstones of that Revie team were all developed by the club.
In more recent years, despite the Whites as a club having had mixed fortunes, they have still produced a steady line of young players. Former Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate, tenacious midfielder David Batty, England shot-stopper Paul Robinson and James Milner, currently playing for Brighton and Hove Albion, were all nurtured in West Yorkshire.
Kalvin Phillips and Archie Gray are the two best-known, latest names to come from the Leeds line of production, with Phillips now playing for Ipswich Town on loan from Manchester City and Gray, still a teenager, being used by Ange Postecoglou as a rotation option to develop, having played across more than one position in the Tottenham Hotspur backline.
9 Flamengo
Brazil
One of just two Brazilian clubs, alongside Sao Paulo, to have never been relegated from the top flight of Brazilian football, Flamengo are one of the country’s best teams and one of the most followed in the country, if not the most followed overall.
Eight-time champions of the Brazilian Serie A, Flamengo have a decades-long history of producing talents. From the days of Brazil international Zizinho in the 1950s, to dead ball specialist and legend Zico across the 1970s and 1980s, the Mengao have always been able to find and develop talented prospects.
In more modern history, the Brazilian giants, who have won three Copa Libertadores, have developed the likes of Adriano and Julio Cesar, who both found success with Inter Milan, and Vinicius Junior and Lucas Paqueta, who now play for Real Madrid and West Ham United respectively.
8 Porto
Portugal
“Porto’s academy prepares players perfectly for playing at the highest level of football.”
Such were the words of Jose Mourinho, current Fenerbahce manager and former Porto boss, with whom he won the Europa League in 2003 and the Champions League in 2004. Then, before and now, Porto have a long and storied history of youth talents coming through their doors.
Over the years, Porto have nurtured the likes of Joao Pinto (the right-back who won the 1987 European Cup with the club), Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe, the latter two having both played for Real Madrid. Porto have never forgotten the importance of their youth academy and to this day, have graduates within their 11.
Of the current Porto team, goalkeeper Diogo Costa and midfielder Fabio Vieira, on loan from Arsenal, graduated from the Porto ranks. In recent seasons, the club has produced players of a similar or better quality, such as midfielders Ruben Neves, who now plays for Al Hilal after spending time with Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Vitinha, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
7 Lyon
France
Recent times have been tough for Olympique Lyonnais. Just last month, it was announced that the club had been provisionally relegated to Ligue 2, meaning that unless the club are able to drastically improve their dire financial situation by the end of the current campaign, they will be relegated regardless of their league position.
Things were not always this bad, however. Across the 21st century in particular, the Lyon academy has birthed some brilliant players. Real Madrid great and Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema came through the Lyon ranks, as did former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette and current PSG winger Bradley Barcola, regarded as one of the best young wingers in the world.
The young and dynamic Rayan Cherki, a shining light in the current Lyon team, is also a product from their ranks, as were RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba and former Manchester United front man Anthony Martial. Should the worst fall upon Lyon, then, in theory, they will have a strong academy to turn to.
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6 Real Madrid
Spain
La Fabrica is certainly not as well known as other youth academies in Spain (that we’ll get to), but Real Madrid’s academy is far stronger than you would perhaps immediately think. Particularly under Florentino Perez’s guidance, Madrid’s focus on Galacticos and big names can make it easy to forget how strong their youth setup is.
Not only do Real now have a strong academy, but it has been so for decades now. In the 1980s, “La Quinta del Buitre” were a number of youth players that featured consistently in a successful period for Los Blancos, with the likes of Emilio Butragueno, Chendo and Michel all featuring regularly for the club.
In recent years, La Fabrica has birthed the likes of Iker Casillas, Guti and Dani Carvajal, with others such as Achraf Hakimi and David Silva having come through the doors of Madrid’s youth set-up, if only to find their successes elsewhere in the world.
5 Manchester United
England
Were you to compare the current amount of youth graduates in Manchester United’s team now to teams of the past, then it may appear there has been a slight decline. That is not to take away from the likes of England internationals Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, as examples, but Man United’s youth academy in decades passed has been nothing short of brilliant.
In the days of Sir Matt Busby, there were the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Duncan Edwards that came through the Red Devils’ ranks. Most famous, though, is the Class of 92, a crop of players that all graduated in or around 1992 that would be the underpinning of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United side across the 90s and 2000s.
Nicky Butt and Phil Neville were two such players, but perhaps the Class of 92’s most famous quartet consisted of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, with all but Beckham spending their entire professional careers at Old Trafford. All were crucial in securing Man United’s famous European treble of the 1998/99 season.
4 Benfica
Portugal
One of the big three teams in Portugal alongside Porto and Sporting Lisbon, Benfica have long been a dominant force in the top division of Portuguese football. To complement such dominance, Benfica have established a strong youth academy that often produces talented crops of players.
In past years, the Benfica academy has been responsible for the production of players such as Sheu, Rui Bento and Rui Costa, but the calibre of their talents has been especially high within the current century. The 2000s saw Benfica acquire a number of players that they would further develop in their youth set-up, like Gedson Fernandes, Joao Cancelo and current Manchester City trio Ruben Dias, Ederson and Bernardo Silva.
Financially, Benfica have benefited greatly from selling a number of their own talents, particularly in the past decade or so. Victor Lindelof, Nuno Tavares and in particular, the trio of Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos and Joao Neves have generated hundreds of millions of pounds in revenue for the club.
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3 Athletic Bilbao
Spain
It is impressive for a club to have stood for 126 years. It is more impressive for that club to have done so while only using players born and/or raised in the region they sit in. So, when you also consider that Athletic Bilbao have never been relegated from the top division of Spanish football since its 1929 inception, it can only be considered an exceptional academy.
Bilbao have a strict policy surrounding which players can be fielded by their team, with no player that isn’t a Basque native having donned their strip before. Despite a policy that, especially in modern football, could serve as a hindrance, Bilbao have flourished, consistently pushing for European competition in La Liga.
Modern examples of some Bilbao greats include the Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico, current captain Oscar de Marcos, midfielder Oihan Sancet and goalkeeper Unai Simon. They have also sold some of their talents for staggering fees, like Aymeric Laporte to Manchester City, Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich or Kepa Arrizabalaga, now on loan at Bournemouth, to Chelsea for what was then and still remains a world record fee for a goalkeeper.
2 Ajax
Netherlands
Johan Cruyff, Rinus Michels, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van der Sar. The list of graduates from the fabled Ajax youth academy is almost innumerable. For decades, the Amsterdam club have held a reputation for the talent that they can produce.
In the days of Cruyff and Michels, Ajax were proponents of the “Total Football” playing ideology with a team built predominantly of youth graduates. As the game developed, Ajax retained that connection to their academy. Their 1990s golden generation, including the likes of Bergkamp and van der Sar, was similarly reliant on youth products that helped the club win the 1995 Champions League.
Even in the modern era, where it could be said that Ajax are not at the level they were in their past, the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Daley Blind and Ryan Gravenberch have all progressed through the ranks, making contributions in the senior team before departing for pastures new.
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1 Barcelona
Spain
Situated in the north of Spain, the building that, in English, is known as “The Farmhouse,” is better known around the world as “La Masia,” the famous youth academy of Barcelona and the best youth academy in world football. As a club, Barcelona are intrinsically linked with La Masia and the players that they produce, who often feature in Barca teams.
Put forward as an idea by former Barcelona president Josep Lluis Nunez, La Masia has gone onto serve as an exceptional source of talent for the Catalan giants, with players such as Pique, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes and Pep Guardiola all progressing through the La Masia ranks before debuting with the first team.
The best of the best, though, have to be Xavi, Iniesta and Lionel Messi, three players that were crucial cogs in helping Guardiola, as a manager, establish Barcelona as the best team in the world at their peak. The aforementioned trio finished in the top three positions of the 2010 Ballon d’Or race, the first time such an event had occured, which serves as nothing less than a fitting testament to a brilliant academy.
