Ranking the 5 best football academies in the world

The development of young talent is often at the forefront of football discussions, with dispute constantly running over which clubs spend heavily in their academies and those who choose to overlook the quality of homegrown talent. Footballers devote time to learning the skills that make them extraordinary and unique on the pitch from a very young age. There are millions of academies in the world but only a few are known for producing some of the best minds and legs in the game of football. The influence and doors of opportunities that football academies have opened to young players have fast proved that football academies are crucial in building talents to superstars.

With transfer fees increasing season after season, youth academies have grown greatly in value. Academies remain the lifeline of small clubs and act as a huge moneymaker for larger clubs. Thus, youth academies have become better funded, and scouts recruit players at younger and younger ages. In this article, we uncover the top-5 best football academies in the world, known for producing exceptional and excellent talents.

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5. Sporting Lisbon

Sporting produced arguably the best player ever

Sporting CP’s academy is still considered to be one of the best in the world even though not many Sporting youngsters have moved to big clubs in recent times. The Sporting C.P. Youth Academy has established themselves as the hub of talent development in Portugal. Some legendary players have come out of Sporting’s academy and have won many trophies with other clubs. The facilities are a crucial reason why many European clubs prefer to train at the academy in the off-season.

The scouting system of Sporting is one of the best in the world and the academy currently has young players of different nationalities. Stats have shown that at least seven Sporting players are in the Portugal national squad in all age groups. In Portugal's 2016 Euro Cup-winning campaign, the Verde e brancos produced a whopping 10 of the 14 players from the squad that faced France in the finals.

Luis Figo, Quaresma, Nani, Joao Moutinho, Eric Dier are only a few of the very amazing players this academy has produced. And not to forget the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo.

Notable Alumni: Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Quaresma, Nani, Joao Moutinho, Eric Dier.

4. Manchester United

Manchester United's famous Class of '92

The reds from Manchester were one of the first clubs to build their team around young players and have relied on them since the 1950s. Sir Matt Busby preferred a blend of raw talent along with experience and was famous for producing the famous "Busby Babes" who were regarded as some of the most talented players in Europe. Manchester United has a tradition of featuring it’s academy players in regular league games and this has helped it’s academy products to become world-class players.

Busby’s philosophy was admired by Sir Alex Ferguson and he had his own bunch of talented young players that were fondly known as “Fergie’s Fledglings”. United have continued to follow the worldviews of these two great managers and have one of the best youth academies in the world.

Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and so many more have come through the academy to become what they were during their playing days

Notable Alumni: Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil Neville.

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3. Bayern Munich

Two legends of the game

Bayern have produced some remarkable players that have taken the Bundesliga by storm. So far this has been working out for the team. Most of the academy players are Germans and have gone on to achieve incredible feats for their country. Some of the 2014 World Cup winners in the German squad had their career kickoff at Bayern Munich academy.

The German club currently has over 150 first-team hopefuls in their academy which is a remarkable number. Of the recent current squad, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Holger Badstuber, Thomas Muller, Diego Contento and David Alaba all emerged from the club's youth setup, where all played key roles in the side's recent rise to the top of the game. Players like Schweinsteiger and Lahm are legends of the game and are one of a kind.

The Bavarians also have an excellent scouting system and have deployed scouts in countries like India, U.S.A and parts of Africa to seek talent.

Notable Alumni: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Holger Badstuber, Thomas Muller, Diego Contento, David Alaba, Owen Hargreaves, Dietmar Hamann, Markus Babbel.

2. Ajax

Dennis Bergkamp, an Ajax graduate

One of the first names that come to mind when we talk about youth academies. The Dutch outfit have received tremendous praise for their youth academy and with good judgment. Ajax relies heavily on their youth and have been doing that for more than three decades. The Eredivisie side have continued to produce top-class talents. In scouting, the clubs reach is not confined by geographical limits and they extend to every part of the world.

Home to some of the best prospects in European football, Ajax football academy has trained many notable stars who have progressed to have successful football careers. Despite losing a majority of their talent Ajax continues to dominate the Eredivisie with their young guns. Players such as Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel de Jong were all sold, but remain symbols of what the academy can produce. Recent players who have graduated from its academy include Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Justin Kluivert and Christian Eriksen.

Notable Alumni: Dennis Bergkamp, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Rafael Van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen

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1. Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Don't think we need much explanation here. Undoubtedly the best football academy in the world, La Masia has produced several talents that have progressed to become the face of football in Spain and Europe. The credit for establishing La Masia goes to former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff who wanted to build an Ajax-like academy in Spain

The academy was a great success and produced notable players such as Pep Guardiola, Carles Busquets, Guillermo Amor, Ivan De La Pena and Luis Milla. La Masia continued to produce world-class players and in the recent seasons, most of Barcelona’s first team is comprised of homegrown talent. It was in November 2012, Barcelona achieved the remarkable feat of having 11 products of their academy on the field at the same time for a La Liga clash.

In 2011, three La Masia graduates were nominated in the final three for the Ballon d’Or, an unbelievable achievement for the academy. Its prominent graduates include Lionel Messi, who is arguably the greatest player ever to kick a football.

Notable Alumni: Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Victor Valdes, Pedro.