Top 5 European academies that have produced the most players - is Real Madrid or Barcelona no.1?

#1 Real Madrid (La Liga)

The site of the Real Madrid academy aptly named Real Madrid City

Ever since Florentino Perez took control of the Real Madrid's transfer strategy, they have excelled at one thing - the buying and selling of players for the first team. Craving instant success rather than a prolonged project, it has helped the club win trophies and establish commercial deals as they strive to become the most popular club on the planet.

However, that is not to say that La Fábrica (The Factory) has been ignored entirely. The jury has been split in recent years on whether Real Madrid do indeed promote youth talent. But the latest findings confirm that they do.

In all, 41 Real Madrid youth products now play in Europe's top five leagues - seven more than Barcelona. What's more, eight players trained by Real Madrid are still with the club.

Players such as Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Kiko Casilla and Lucas Vazquez continue to play in the pristine white shirt while their notable exports include Alvaro Morata, Juan Mata, Saul Niguez and Marcos Alonso.

Zinedine Zidane also tested the waters of his fledgling managerial career by managing Real Madrid Castilla before taking up the reins of the big job. The rest, as they say, is history.