22 Football Clubs With Most Academy Players Playing in Europe’s Best Leagues

There’s nothing quite like seeing an academy player come through the ranks of your club and make it into the first team. It’s a source of pride for the player and their family in particular, but every fan likes to see young talents who love the club grow into senior roles.

Although that’s become more of a rarity across the top five leagues in European football in recent years, due to the increased spending power of clubs, there are a few academy graduates who go on to make it big. Some teams in the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A are blessed with an array of home-grown talent.

But even if they don’t manage to make it at their club, that doesn’t mean that they won’t succeed at another top team. Just look at Marc Guehi, who came through Chelsea’s academy. Despite not breaking through for the Blues, he’s now thriving at Manchester City.

Which teams, though, have the best record when it comes to producing top-tier young players? CIES football observatory have crunched the numbers, researching how many players in Europe’s top-five leagues have come through certain ‘training clubs’—defined as teams where players remained for at least three seasons between 15 and 21.

Clubs With Most Trained Players in Top Five Leagues: 22-16

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A series of clubs are all tied on 16 players each, including several European giants. Portuguese behemoths Benfica have a habit of producing talented prospects who have gone on to play at the highest level, most notably Joao Neves and Ruben Dias in recent seasons.

Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan also have 16 ‘trained players’ currently employed at teams in the top five leagues, but it’s the Nerazzurri who lead the way out of the quartet for most minutes played so far this season. Several of their graduates, like Federico Dimarco, still turn out for them, but others, like Michele Di Gregorio, have gone on to enjoy successful careers at other Italian clubs.

Juventus are just ahead of Inter when it comes to total players currently playing in the top five leagues, but they are behind when it comes to academy players who are still on their books. Just one player out of 17 to have earned minutes in the elite divisions, Kenan Yildiz, is employed by the Bianconeri. Compare that to the other team on 17 players, Espanyol, who have six of their youngsters still playing for them.

It’s a fellow Spanish side who complete the bottom bracket of clubs. Villarreal have 19 graduates currently plying their trade at top teams, most notably Rodri, who has gone from talented youngster to Ballon d’Or winner and one of the best midfielders in the Premier League presently.

Clubs With Most Trained Players in Top Five Leagues: 15-11

Clubs from France and Spain make up the next batch of five, with them all coming extremely close to breaking into the top 10. Le Havre might not have won a major trophy since their Coupe de France triumph in 1959, but the French club consistently produce high-level prospects. Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez and Lassana Diarra both began as youngsters at the esteemed youth setup, and they continue to produce players capable of representing some of the best teams in the world.

Toulouse and Valencia also have 20 academy-trained players currently playing in Europe’s top five leagues, as do Athletic Bilbao. One of two Basque clubs on the list, their strict policy means that they have the second-highest number of graduates still on their books (12).

But in spite of their policy, they still fall behind Lyon. Nicknamed Les Gones, which translates to ‘the kids’, the club have a long-standing habit of producing top-tier talent, including Karim Benzema and Alexandre Lacazette. Although they have been plagued with severe financial trouble lately, Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki and Malo Gusto continue to fly the flag for the Ligue 1 outfit at different teams.

Clubs With Most Trained Players in Top Five Leagues: 10-6

It’s taken a while, but English clubs finally make an appearance on this list – and three out of four are tied for trained player totals. Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United have all got 22 former academy players currently playing for themselves or other top flight teams. Out of the trio, City have the most still on their books, including Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly and Phil Foden. And there’s the small matter of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers achieving great things at rival Premier League clubs.

Arsenal also have a number of stars playing in Europe’s top five leagues, but it’s Man United’s academy graduates that have played the most minutes out of all three teams this season. Kobbie Mainoo might have struggled for game time under Ruben Amorim, but Alejandro Garnacho, Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford are just a handful of players who are earning regular starts beyond Old Trafford.

Real Sociedad, the other Basque team operating with a strict team policy, separate the three Premier League clubs with the only other English team to make the list, Chelsea. Cobham has produced an astonishing number of players who are now thriving in England and beyond, such as Mason Mount, Jamal Musiala and Conor Gallagher. They even had Declan Rice at one point, although his early departure means he doesn’t qualify here.

Out of the 25 players in Europe’s top five leagues to have trained in the Blues’ youth team, four are still at the club. Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George have all been part of the team since under-8s level. Levi Colwill might have taken their total for 2025/26 to 26, had he not suffered an ACL injury in pre-season.

Clubs With Most Trained Players in Top Five Leagues: 5-1

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Kicking off the top five is a team that doesn’t even play in a top five league. Ajax’s academy was ranked as the fourth-best in the world back in October 2025, with 27 players in Europe’s most esteemed divisions underlining why the Jong Ajax setup is the perfect place to hone your craft. Ryan Gravenberch, Jurrien Timber and Frenkie de Jong are just three players out of 27 currently thriving beyond the Johan Cruyff Stadium.

Stade Rennais are just ahead, with their Henri-Guerin development centre a pillar of their fantastic club. Many members of the French national team often started their careers in La Piverdiere, including Eduardo Camavinga and Ousmane Dembele. But it’s the latter’s current club, Paris Saint-Germain, who take third place. The Champions League holders have had 31 players go on to play for teams in the top five leagues this season, such as Xavi Simons and Christopher Nkunku.

It’s hardly a surprise to see Real Madrid and Barcelona at the top of the table here, considering that both teams have consistently developed top talents. But while players from Los Blancos have racked up more minutes than academy players from any other club, it’s the Blaugrana who boast the most players currently playing in Europe’s best divisions.

Forty players have come through the infamous La Masia academy, which has given rise to some of the greatest players to play the game. Impressively, 10 academy-trained players still remain at the Camp Nou, including Lamine Yamal, who could very well become a future Ballon d’Or winner if his impressive trajectory continues.