Ranking the 5 best football academies in the world

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.