Top 10 Schalke Academy graduates of all-time

6. Leroy Sane

One of the best players in his position in the world at the moment

At just 24, Leroy Sane is already an established household name in the world. The German winger joined the Schalke Academy at the age of 9 but left the club three years later for Bayer Leverkusen only to rejoin the Miners another three years later.

Sane made his first-team debut in 2014, at the age of 18, against VFB Stuttgart after spending six years in the Schalke Academy. The youngster quickly became one of the first-names in the Miners teamsheet as he established himself as one of the biggest young talents in the world.

The youngster caught the eye of Pep Guardiola and soon was on a plane to England as he joined Manchester City to become one of the Spaniards' first signings. In his two years at the Ruhr region, Leroy Sane made 57 appearances and scored thirteen times for the Gelsenkirchen side.

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5. Julian Draxler

Julian Draxler was part of the 2014 World Cup-winning side

The German international was born just thirty minutes away from Schalke Veltin's Arena in Gladbeck and duly signed for the Royal Blues at the age of 8. Draxler rose through the ranks of the youth academy and made his first-team debut in 2011 at the age of 17 years and 117 days - becoming the fourth-youngest player in the history of the Bundesliga.

In his first three full seasons as a professional, Draxler helped bring the Royal Blues back into the Champions League after finishing in the Top 4 of the Bundesliga. An injury-marred 2014-15 season for Draxler saw Schalke struggling as they finished outside the European places for the first time in three seasons. The following season saw young Draxler moving to Wolfsburg after making 170 appearances and scoring 30 goals for the Royal Blues.

Now plying his trade in Ligue 1 with PSG, Draxler looks far from his best as he looks to regain his place in the star-studded PSG first-team.