Every loves an academy player. While new signings are always exciting for fans, there is something special about a homegrown talent.
There's that sense of pride that the player has come through the youth system at your club, imbibed its intricacies and its philosophy.
If they are a fan of the club, even better. But if not, academy players still grow up with an affinity for the team. They are often the nearest thing to a supporter on the pitch.
Here, a look at some of the club's with successful and prolific youth academies and the notable players they have produced over the years...
32. Botafogo
Botafogo are one of Brazil's historic clubs and the Rio de Janeiro outfit have developed some of the nation's best-ever players.
Nilton Santos, Garrincha and Jairzinho all started the careers with Botafogo. The defender spent his entire career there, while the two forwards gave their best years to the Estrela Solitária.
31. Villarreal
Villarreal's website describes the club's academy as the "best in Spain", which is quite the boast considering the players produced by Barcelona, Real Madrid and others.
But outside the big two, it is certainly one of the best. Pau Torres, Alex Baena, Yeremy Pino, Nicolas Jackson, Samu Chukwueze, Manu Trigueros, Alfonso Pedraza and Filip Jorgensen all worked their way up to the first team. And midfielder Bruno Soriano, who retired in 2020, spent his entire career with the Yellow Submarine.
30. Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are famous for their youth development and many of the game's exciting young players – including Ousmane Dembele, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham – chose BVB to progress early in their careers.
Dortmund's academy is not quite as impressive, but has produced some club icons over the years, including Marco Reus, Michael Zorc, Lars Ricken and Mario Gotze.
29. Atletico Madrid
When Atletico Madrid's academy was closed down to cut costs in the early 1990s, the club lost its promising young striker Raul Gonzalez to Real Madrid, and he became a legend with Los Blancos.
In recent years, Lucas Hernandez, brother Theo and David De Gea have all left Atleti after coming through the youth system, but Gabi, Koke and Saul Niguez went on to become club icons in long stays with the Rojiblancos.
28. Stade Rennais
Stade Rennais opened a new academy, the Henri Guerin Training Centre, in 2000. And 10 years later, the French Football Federation (FFF) recognised Rennes as having the best youth academy in the country.
Ousmane Dembele, Yacine Brahimi, Eduardo Camavinga, Yoann Gourcuff, Yann M'Vila, Moussa Sow, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Sylvain Wiltord, Jimmy Briand and Mathys Tel have all come through the youth system at Rennes.
27. Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors are one of the world's biggest clubs and the Buenos Aires outfit has fielded some of Argentina's best-ever players.
Most of those were brought in from other clubs, but Boca's academy has also produced some top talents over the years – including Antonio Rattin, Oscar Ruggeri, Carlos Tevez and Fernando Gago.
26. Dinamo Zagreb
Dinamo Zagreb are Croatia's biggest and most successful club and the Blues have developed some of the nation's greatest-ever players.
Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka, Zvonomir Boban, Robert Prosinecki, Dejan Lovren, Niko Kranjcar, Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Alen Halilovic all came through the club's youth system. Impressive.
25. Fluminense
One of Brazil's historic clubs, Fluminense share a fierce rivalry with Rio de Janeiro rivals Flamengo. They won the Copa Libertadoes for the first time in 2023.
Brazil legends Carlos Alberto and Edinho both started their careers at Fluminense, while Marcelo, Richarlison, Thiago Silva and Fabinho all came through the club's youth system.
24. Argentinos Juniors
Argentinos Juniors might not be one of the traditional powers in Argentine football, but the Buenos Aires club won the Copa Libertadores in 1985 and has famously developed some of the nation's best-ever players.
Diego Maradona started his career as a youth player with Argentinos and played for the club between 1976 and 1980. Later, Juan Roman Riquelme and Fernando Redondo came through the youth system at Argentinos and although the former signed for Boca Juniors as an 18-year-old, he went back for a short spell with El Bicho at the end of his career.
23. Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur's all-time top scorer Harry Kane came through the youth system at the north London club. "One of our own," Spurs supporters sang to him.
Kane moved to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, but remains one of the club's best-ever academy graduates. Midfield legend Glenn Hoddle is another. Ledley King and Sol Campbell both emerged as youngsters at Tottenham, too, although the latter's move to Arsenal in 2001 means he is not popular these days in N17.
22. Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo are one of just two Brazilian clubs, along with Flamengo, never to have been relegated from the nation's top flight.
World Cup winners Cafu, Kaka and Denilson all started their careers with the Tricolor Paulista, along with more modern-day Brazilian internationals like Ederson, Casemiro, Antony, Eder Militao and Lucas Moura.
21. Athletic Club
Few teams in professional football rely on their youth system as much as Athletic Club. The academy at the Bilbao-based side simply has to work, because the club fields only born or brought up in the Basque regions.
Fortunately, it does. Legends like Julen Guerrero and Aritz Aduriz emerged as young talents at Athletic, along with Fernando Llorente and Kepa Arrizabalaga – who became the world's most expensive goalkeeper when he signed for Chelsea in 2019. And more recently, the Williams brothers came through the youth team to star for the Basque outfit.
20. Inter
Inter's academy is described by the Milanese club as "the most decorated in Italian football history and the best academy in Italy for placing players in the top five European leagues."
Certainly, Inter have always paid special attention to youth development and some legends have passed through the club's academy – including Giuseppe Meazza, Sandro Mazzola, Walter Zenga and Giuseppe Bergomi.
19. Porto
Porto have a strong reputation for developing talent and the Portuguese giants have made multiple millions from player sales over the past couple of decades.
Many of those players, such as Deco, Pepe, Radamel Falcao, Hulk, Éder Militão and James Rodriguez, were signed as promising youngsters from elsewhere. But the club's academy is also effective, with legends like João Pinto (the defender), Vitor Baia, Ricardo Carvalho and Sérgio Conceição all having come through the academy. More recent graduates include Rúben Neves, Diogo Costa, Vitinha and Fábio Vieira.
18. Arsenal
From Liam Brady to Tony Adams, Arsenal's academy has developed some of the north London club's biggest legends over the years.
Midfielders David Rocastle and Paul Merson also came through the club's youth system, along with Andy Cole – who went on to enjoy success elsewhere. There's also Ashley Cole, who upset the Gunners by complaining about a lucrative contract offer and joining Chelsea, plus modern-day favourites Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.
17. AC Milan
AC Milan's academy has helped to develop some of the greatest defenders in the history of football.
Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta all came through the youth system at the Milanese club, along with midfielder Demetrio Albertini. More recently, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was a graduate of the AC Milan academy.
16. Monaco
Kylian Mbappe was born in Paris and later became more associated with PSG, but the World Cup-winning forward started his career at Monaco.
Other greats to come through the youth system at the red and whites include French legends Thierry Henry, Lillian Thuram, Emmanuel Petit, and David Trezeguet, all World Cup winners with Les Bleus in 1998.
15. Santos
Brazil's best-ever player and the man who overtook him to become the national team's all-time top scorer both came through the youth system at the same club.
Pelé and Neymar lead the list of talents produced by Santos over the years, which also includes Brazilian internationals Pepe, Clodoaldo, Cesar Sampaio, Diego Ribas and more recently, Gabriel Barbosa.
14. Liverpool
Some of Liverpool's biggest legends have come through the youth system at the Anfield club – including the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler.
Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Raheem Sterling also emerged after spells with the Liverpool academy. More recently, Trent Alexander-Arnold is the pick of the Reds' homegrown players.
13. Flamengo
Flamengo are Brazil's best-supported and most popular club and the Rio de Janeiro side's youth academy is one of the world's finest.
From legends like Mario Zagallo and Zico to Adriano and more modern-day talents such as Lucas Paqueta and Vinicius Junior, Flamengo's academy has consistently produced top talents over the years.
12. River Plate
Along with city rivals Boca Juniors, River Plate are one of Argentina's grandest and best-supported clubs.
And some of Argentina's best-ever players have come through the academy at the Buenos Aires club, including Alfredo Di Stefano, Angel Labruna, Ariel Ortega, Javier Mascherano, Hernan Crespo, Pablo Aimar and Gonzalo Higuain. More recent graduates include Manuel Lanzini and Claudio Echeverri.
11. Manchester City
Manchester City's new-found wealth in recent times has seen the Sky Blues invest heavily on transfers – but also on their youth academy.
Legendary City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan came through the youth system at the Manchester club in the 1960s. More recently, Micah Richards, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kieran Trippier, Jadon Sancho and Cole Palmer were developed at the club's academy. But one player stands out above all: England attacker Phil Foden.
10. Paris Saint-Germain
Having been formed in 1970, Paris Saint-Germain are a relatively young club and in recent times, the Parisians have spent big on transfers.
But Paris is a hotbed for football talent and PSG's academy has been home to some elite players over the years, from Nicolas Anelka in the 1990s to Kingsley Coman and Presnel Kimpembe in more recent times.
9. Lyon
Olympique Lyonnais dominated French football in the 2000s, winning Ligue 1 for seven seasons in a row between 2001 and 2008.
Lyon have been less successful since, but their academy remains one of the best in Europe. Big sales in recent years include Alexander Lacazette to Arsenal, Bradley Barcola to Paris Saint-Germain, Castello Lukeba to RB Leipzig, Malo Gusto to Chelsea, Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich and Samuel Umtiti to Barcelona.
8. Sporting CP
Sporting CP's youth academy is named after its most famous graduate: Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Academia Cristiano Ronaldo is prolific and also profitable. Big sales in recent years include Joao Mario to Inter and Nuno Mendes to Paris Saint-Germain. And historically, it has developed some of Portugal's greatest-ever players, with Eusebio, Luis Figo, Paulo Futre and Cristiano Ronaldo all starting out with the Lisbon club.
7. Chelsea
Despite the club's huge spending on new players in recent years, Chelsea's academy is actually one of the best and most profitable in all of Europe.
Most of those players have had to move on, however, with the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham sold for big fees in recent times. Declan Rice was also in Chelsea's academy before joining West Ham, while the great Jimmy Greaves started out with the Blues in the 1950s.
6. Benfica
Benfica have made hundreds of millions from transfers in recent years and much of those sales have been players from the club's academy.
Based in the Seixal area of Lisbon, the academy has produced over 1,000 players. Many, like Joao Felix, Ruben Dias and Gonçalo Ramos, have been sold for huge fees to top European teams. Meanwhile, many of the lesser-known names can be found at clubs across Portugal.
5. Real Madrid
Real Madrid's academy may lack the mystique of Barcelona's La Masia, but Los Blancos' youth system is still extremely effective.
Emilio Butragueño, Michel, Iker Casillas, Guti and Dani Carvajal all graduated from La Fábrica and enjoyed successful careers at the Santiago Bernabeu. But numerous others, including David Silva, Juan Mata, Achraf Hakimi, Marcos Llorente, Roberto Soldado and Alvaro Morata, have had to seek first-team football elsewhere.
4. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are Germany's most successful club by far and the Bavarians usually get to sign the pick of the talent from the Bundesliga – often buying their rivals' best players.
But Bayern have developed some top talent themselves over the years, with legends like Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos and David Alaba all having come through their youth system.
3. Manchester United
Manchester United's huge success under Sir Alex Ferguson in the 1990s and early 2000s was underpinned by an impressive youth academy.
David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs formed a group of players who would later become known as the "Class of '92" and they featured prominently as United won the treble in 1998/99. Long before that, George Best and Bobby Charlton were youth players who became legends at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo are more recent graduates of the club's youth academy.
2. Ajax
The original and still one of the best, Ajax's academy was the blueprint for youth systems at clubs far and wide and has been imitated by many, including Barcelona.
Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids are just some of the talents to have emerged from the Amsterdam club's academy. Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt are among the more recent graduates.
1. Barcelona
Barcelona's best years in the 2010s were made more special by the fact that most of their team was formed by players who had come through the club's youth academy.
Pep Guardiola was one of La Masia's early graduates and as coach, the former midfielder built a formidable team based on talent from the academy, featuring the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol and Lionel Messi. More recent graduates include Ansu Fati, Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.
