Top 10 football academies in Europe

#6 Sporting CP

Cedric, Rui Patricio and Cristiano Ronaldo

Without a doubt one of the best academies in the world, Sporting Clube de Portugal has produced some stunning players over the years. Renowned for its world-class facilities and brilliant scouting methods, they have plucked out many gems from a massive crowd. They have polished those gems and sold them for a fortune, but only before they utilized them a bit.

The academy's facilities are second to none and even the players produced are second to none. In fact, the facilities are so good that many teams utilize them for their offseason preparations.

The academy has produced two Ballon d'Or winners in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo. The club has also produced the likes of Eric Dier, Cedric, Ricardo Pereira, Ricardo Quaresma, Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio and William Carvalho.

The club has been of great use to the Portugal national team and a lot of the current Portuguese players graduated from their academy. As many as 12 players in the 23 man squad for the World Cup squad graduated from Sporting's academy, giving us a clear idea of how important Sporting is to Portuguese football.

Some of the top graduates: Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Joao Moutinho, Nani, Ricardo Quaresma and Eric Dier