Barça boys make it big time

In a study carried out by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) Football section published in 'L'Equipe', Barcelona appear as the club with the highest number of professional players currently working in the world's big leagues that have come from its youth academy.

In total, Barça have 43 of their ex-students plying their trade around the globe. They are followed by Manchester United with 36 and Real Madrid with 34 players.

Of the 43 players that have been trained in La Masia, 13 play in Barça's first team, while the other 30 are spread out in the other five big European leagues. Regarding Real Madrid, 34 of the 34 players that have made it into the big time, eight do so under the orders of Carlo Ancelotti, while 26 play abroad.

Other Spanish clubs that stand out in the study are Real Sociedad and Athletic de Bilbao. Both work hard on their youth academies and see training as a fundamental aspect in keeping their clubs alive and kicking.

24 players have learnt their trade at Sociedad, 15 of them presently making up the club's first team. Much the same occurs with Athletic. Lezama has tutored 24 professional players, 15 of which are presently in the club's first team. Both clubs are praised, together with Olympique Lyonnais, as those that most look after their young players.