12 Greatest Academies in Football History (Ranked)

Youth academies, if set up correctly, can be one of the most useful tools a football team has at its disposal. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the senior team, be they good or bad, a solid youth academy means that these teams can have a constant stream of talented, young prospects coming into the fold each season.

Loyalty is a rare commodity, particularly within the world of modern football. As such, many teams that do not sit within the pantheon of elite sides often see their best talents poached away by larger sides. In this, though, a club has the opportunity to make an incredible profit on a player that cost them nothing, such is the money within the sport today.

With all of this being said, it can not be argued that there are not dozens of great youth academies, belonging to a multitude of different teams, not just in the Premier League, but across the world. Of that number, though, which 12 are the best in football history?

Ranking Factors

Lists, as a concept, are subjective. It is more than feasible for two lists on the same topic to have different entrants, depending on the opinion of the writer. With that considered, this list has been ranked based on the following criteria:

• Quality of player – An obvious, but important, factor. How good are the players that each entrant produces?
• Value – Particularly in the financial madness of the modern game, price is important. How much money have each entrants’ talents generated them?
• Impact – How critical has presence of youth players been to the success of each entrant?
• Longevity – One-club players are increasingly rare, but for how long do youth talents tend to play for each entrant?

12

Leeds United

England

Perhaps not a name that immediately comes to mind for many, but Leeds United have had a long history of producing talents from their youth academy. In the golden days of Don Revie, the club’s best era, many of that team’s leading lights, Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer and Paul Madeley, to name a handful, came through the ranks at Leeds. The cornerstones of that Revie team were all developed by the club.

In more recent years, despite the Whites as a club having had mixed fortunes, they have still produced a steady line of young players. Former Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate, tenacious midfielder David Batty, England shot-stopper Paul Robinson and James Milner, currently playing for Brighton and Hove Albion, were all nurtured in West Yorkshire.

Kalvin Phillips and Archie Gray are the two best-known, latest names to come from the Leeds line of production, with Phillips now playing for Ipswich Town on loan from Manchester City and Gray, still a teenager, being used by Thomas Frank as a rotation option to develop, having played across more than one position in the Tottenham Hotspur team.

11

Flamengo

Brazil

One of just two Brazilian clubs, alongside Sao Paulo, to have never been relegated from the top flight of Brazilian football, Flamengo are one of the country’s best teams and one of the most followed in the country, if not the most followed overall.

Eight-time champions of the Brazilian Serie A, Flamengo have a decades-long history of producing talents. From the days of Brazil international Zizinho in the 1950s, to dead ball specialist and legend Zico across the 1970s and 1980s, the Mengao have always been able to find and develop talented prospects.

In more modern history, the Brazilian giants, who have won three Copa Libertadores, have developed the likes of Adriano and Julio Cesar, who both found success with Inter Milan, and Vinicius Junior and Lucas Paqueta, who now play for Real Madrid and West Ham United respectively.

10

Porto

Portugal

Such were the words of Jose Mourinho, current Fenerbahce manager and former Porto boss, with whom he won the Europa League in 2003 and the Champions League in 2004. Then, before and now, Porto have a long and storied history of youth talents coming through their doors.

Over the years, Porto have nurtured the likes of Joao Pinto (the right-back who won the 1987 European Cup with the club), Ricardo Carvalho and Pepe, the latter two having both played for Real Madrid. Porto have never forgotten the importance of their youth academy and to this day, have graduates within their 11.

Of the current Porto team, goalkeeper Diogo Costa is the most notable star to have graduated from the Porto ranks. In recent seasons, the club has produced players of a similar or better quality, such as midfielders Ruben Neves, who now plays for Al Hilal after spending time with Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Vitinha, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, and Arsenal’s Fabio Viera.

9

Chelsea

England

While not all of Chelsea’s academy talents go on to make it in the first team, many go on to have solid careers in football. This is what makes the Blues academy one of the most profitable in the world. In August 2025​​​​​​, Armando Broja moved to Burnley in a £20m deal, meaning the club had made a mammoth £250m in sales on players from their academy in just three years.

Indeed, there are plenty of familiar names playing across Europe, such as Mason Mount, Ian Maatsen, Conor Gallagher, Tammy Abraham, Lewis Hall, Nathan Ake, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who all came through the academy in recent years. Declan Rice was also part of the set-up, but was let go when he was just 14 due to a lack of physicality.

John Terry is perhaps the most notable name to come through the club’s academy. He is also the standout example of a player who then went on to have a huge impression at Chelsea, instead of elsewhere. Current captain Reece James will hope to follow in his footsteps. Other great former academy men include Bobby Tambling, Jimmy Greaves, Terry Venables, and Roy Harris.

8

Arsenal

England

On 23 August 2025, ahead of their home game against Leeds United, Arsenal announced to the Emirates crowd that they had signed Eberechi Eze. It was an emotional homecoming for the Englishman who had been released by the club when he was 13.

It was also a significant day for the club’s Hale End academy, though, as Eze watched on from the stands as graduates Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Max Dowman all played in the 5-1 victory. Notably, Dowman came on for his debut, making him the second youngest Premier League player of all time – only behind teammate Nwaneri.

Those five graduates, along with Eze, could follow in the footsteps of some other legends to come through at Arsenal. If any have careers as good as the likes of Tony Adams, Liam Brady, Paul Merson, David Rocastle or Ashley Cole, they will be remembered as English icons in years to come.

7

Lyon

France

Recent times have been tough for Olympique Lyonnais. In 2025, it was announced that the club had been provisionally relegated to Ligue 2. Fortunately, they were able to improve their dire financial situation, allowing them to continue in Ligue 1, but it shows how difficult things have been of late for the French giants.

Things were not always this bad, however. Across the 21st century in particular, the Lyon academy has birthed some brilliant players. Real Madrid great and Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema came through the Lyon ranks, as did former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette and current PSG winger Bradley Barcola, regarded as one of the best young wingers in the world.

The young and dynamic Rayan Cherki, a shining light in the current Lyon team, is also a product from their ranks, as were RB Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba and former Manchester United front man Anthony Martial. Should the worst fall upon Lyon, then, in theory, they will have a strong academy to turn to.

Related

Why Lyon Have Been Handed a Provisional Relegation From Ligue 1

The French club have been provisionally relegated after recent figures regarding their debt have continued to surge.

6

Real Madrid

Spain

La Fabrica is certainly not as well-known as other youth academies in Spain (we’ll get to that), but Real Madrid’s academy is far stronger than you would perhaps immediately think. Particularly under Florentino Perez’s guidance, Madrid’s focus on Galacticos and big names can make it easy to forget how strong their youth setup is.

Not only do Real now have a strong academy, but it has been so for decades now. In the 1980s, “La Quinta del Buitre” were a number of youth players that featured consistently in a successful period for Los Blancos, with the likes of Emilio Butragueno, Chendo and Michel all featuring regularly for the club.

In recent years, La Fabrica has birthed the likes of Iker Casillas, Guti and Dani Carvajal, with others such as Achraf Hakimi and David Silva having come through the doors of Madrid’s youth set-up, if only to find their successes elsewhere in the world.

5

Benfica

Portugal

One of the big three teams in Portugal, alongside Porto and Sporting Lisbon, Benfica have long been a dominant force in the top division of Portuguese football. To complement such dominance, Benfica have established a strong youth academy that often produces talented crops of players. Having Eusebio on their books as a youngster is more then enough to boost them up these rankings.

In past years, the Benfica academy has also been responsible for the production of players such as Sheu, Rui Bento and Rui Costa, but the calibre of their talents has been especially high within the current century. The 2000s saw Benfica acquire a number of players that they would further develop in their youth set-up, like Gedson Fernandes, Joao Cancelo and current Manchester City trio Ruben Dias, Ederson and Bernardo Silva.

Financially, Benfica have benefited greatly from selling a number of their own talents, particularly in the past decade or so. Victor Lindelof, Nuno Tavares and in particular, the trio of Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos and Joao Neves have generated hundreds of millions of pounds in revenue for the club.

Related

Three Ways Chelsea Could Line up With Joao Felix

Felix could play in a number of positions across the front line.

4

Athletic Bilbao

Spain

It is impressive for a club to have stood for 126 years. It is more impressive for that club to have done so while only using players born and/or raised in the region they sit in. So, when you also consider that Athletic Bilbao have never been relegated from the top division of Spanish football since its 1929 inception, it can only be considered an exceptional academy.

Bilbao have a strict policy surrounding which players can be fielded by their team, with no player that isn’t a Basque native having donned their strip before. Despite a policy that, especially in modern football, could serve as a hindrance, Bilbao have flourished, consistently pushing for European competition in La Liga.

Modern examples of some Bilbao greats include the Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico, current captain Oscar de Marcos, midfielder Oihan Sancet and goalkeeper Unai Simon. They have also sold some of their talents for staggering fees, like Aymeric Laporte to Manchester City, Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich or Kepa Arrizabalaga, now at Arsenal, to Chelsea for what was then and still remains a world record fee for a goalkeeper.

3

Manchester United

England

Were you to compare the current amount of youth graduates in Manchester United’s team now to teams of the past, then it may appear there has been a slight decline. That is not to take away from the likes of England internationals Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, as examples, but Man United’s youth academy in prior decades was nothing short of brilliant.

In the days of Sir Matt Busby, there were the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Duncan Edwards who came through the Red Devils’ ranks. Most famous, though, is the Class of 92, a crop of players that all graduated in or around 1992 that would be the underpinning of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man United side across the 90s and 2000s.

Nicky Butt and Phil Neville were two such players, but perhaps the Class of ’92’s most famous quartet consisted of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, with all but Beckham spending their entire professional careers at Old Trafford. All were crucial in securing Man United’s famous European treble of the 1998/99 season.