The study by the CIES Football Observatory has found that Barcelona have the highest number of players produced that are performing in the top tier of European Football.
The famed Barcelona academy, La Masia, has topped a new survey by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) for having produced the most players currently plying their trade in a top tier major European league.
The study found there are currently 43 graduates from La Masia in the ‘big five’ of Spain’s La Liga, the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.
Manchester United came second in the study with 36 players developed, followed by Real Madrid (34), Olympique Lyon (33) and Paris St Germain (27).
The much heralded academy, noted for having produced the top three in the 2010 Ballon D’or with Lionel Messi, Andres Inista and Xavi taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectivley.
Of Barcelona’s 43 graduates, 13 still play for the Catalan club and 30 ply their trade elsewhere, many achieving success at their new clubs.
In the Premier League, Cesc Fabregas excellent early season form has led Chelsea to dominate at the top of the table. Fabregas, who left the Barcelona academy to join Arsenal at 16 years old, rejoined in the club in 2011 for three seasons before departing back to london this summer. Stoke City also have a pair on their books with Bojan Krkic and Marc Muniesa being employed at the Britannia Stadium.
In the Bundesliga, Thiago Alacantra won the title in his first season after joining Pep Guardiola at the Allianz in the summer of 2013. Thiago held his place in a strong Bayern midfield before a knee injury in March of this year ruled him out of the rest of the season and the 2014 World Cup.
The Catalan club’s youth development facilities and coaching is widely admired, however their failure to comply with recruitment regulations has led to FIFA imposing a 12-month transfer ban upon them which is currently in force.
La Liga sides Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad top the list of the clubs who currently employ homegrown players — with 15 apiece due to their emphasis on nurturing and promoting Basque talent. Athletic have also produced top players now elsewhere including Manchester United’s Ander Herrera, Bayern’s Javi Martinez and Juventus’ Fernando Llorente.
The research also found that Ligue 1 club squads contained the highest proportion of home-grown players [24.6 percent], followed by La Liga [20.4 percent], Bundesliga [16.4 percent], Premier League [13.9 percent] and Serie A [9.6 percent].
The famed Barcelona academy, La Masia, has topped a new survey by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) for having produced the most players currently plying their trade in a top tier major European league.
The study found there are currently 43 graduates from La Masia in the ‘big five’ of Spain’s La Liga, the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.
Manchester United came second in the study with 36 players developed, followed by Real Madrid (34), Olympique Lyon (33) and Paris St Germain (27).
The much heralded academy, noted for having produced the top three in the 2010 Ballon D’or with Lionel Messi, Andres Inista and Xavi taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectivley.
Of Barcelona’s 43 graduates, 13 still play for the Catalan club and 30 ply their trade elsewhere, many achieving success at their new clubs.
In the Premier League, Cesc Fabregas excellent early season form has led Chelsea to dominate at the top of the table. Fabregas, who left the Barcelona academy to join Arsenal at 16 years old, rejoined in the club in 2011 for three seasons before departing back to london this summer. Stoke City also have a pair on their books with Bojan Krkic and Marc Muniesa being employed at the Britannia Stadium.
In the Bundesliga, Thiago Alacantra won the title in his first season after joining Pep Guardiola at the Allianz in the summer of 2013. Thiago held his place in a strong Bayern midfield before a knee injury in March of this year ruled him out of the rest of the season and the 2014 World Cup.
The Catalan club’s youth development facilities and coaching is widely admired, however their failure to comply with recruitment regulations has led to FIFA imposing a 12-month transfer ban upon them which is currently in force.
La Liga sides Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad top the list of the clubs who currently employ homegrown players — with 15 apiece due to their emphasis on nurturing and promoting Basque talent. Athletic have also produced top players now elsewhere including Manchester United’s Ander Herrera, Bayern’s Javi Martinez and Juventus’ Fernando Llorente.
The research also found that Ligue 1 club squads contained the highest proportion of home-grown players [24.6 percent], followed by La Liga [20.4 percent], Bundesliga [16.4 percent], Premier League [13.9 percent] and Serie A [9.6 percent].