It's official: Barcelona's academy produces more top-level players than any other... with 43 La Masia graduates currently playing in Europe's leading five leagues

A remarkable 43 players nurtured at Barcelona's famous La Masia academy currently play in Europe's leading five leagues - meaning the Catalan club have produced more top-level talents than anyone else.

Barcelona at present have 13 'homegrown' players in their squad - including the likes of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta - while a further 30 play at top flight clubs in England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany.

They include Thiago Alcantara at Bayern Munich, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and Gerard Deulofeu, on loan at Sevilla.

Barcelona's famous La Masia, set in the grounds of the Nou Camp, is one of the best academies in the world. The Catalan club currently have 43 academy graduates playing in Europe's top five leagues

Lionel Messi is probably the most famous and successful graduate of the La Masia academy

Andres Iniesta, seen here playing for Barcelona against Ajax last week, is another very successful graduate

Other Barcelona academy products, including Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, have achieved success elsewhere

HOMEGROWN TALENT RANKING 

1. Barcelona - 43

(13 still at the club; 30 in top five Euro leagues)

2. Manchester United - 36 (12; 24)

3. Real Madrid - 34 (8; 26)

4. Lyon - 33 (15; 18)

5. Paris Saint-Germain - 27 (5; 22) 

OTHER ENGLISH CLUBS 

9= Arsenal - 22 (7; 15)

34= Aston Villa - 14 (6; 8)

45= Tottenham Hotspur - 12 (6; 6)

45= Southampton - 12 (4; 8)

45= Chelsea - 12 (3; 9)

45= Manchester City - 12 (1; 11) 

An analysis by the CIES Football Observatory found that players who spent three years at Barcelona between the ages of 15 and 21 are likely to graduate to the first-team or find another club in one of Europe's top leagues.

It is testament to the football education given to up-and-coming footballers at the La Masia academy, Barca's world class training facilities.

Manchester United came second in the ranking, with 12 'club-trained' players currently in the squad and a further 24 dotted around the Premier League and the continent's foremost leagues.

While the likes of Jonny Evans, Darren Fletcher and Tyler Blackett have remained at the club, others such as Paul Pogba at Juventus, John O'Shea at Sunderland and Ryan Shawcross at Stoke, have forged careers elsewhere.

Manchester United come second in the ranking, with Wayne Rooney counted because he spent three years at the club between the ages of 18 and 21

Defender Tyler Blackett leads another emerging crop of home-grown talent at United

Other players, such as Paul Pogba of Juventus, have gone on to achieve success away from Old Trafford

Click here to view the full home-grown talent ranking on the Football Observatory

Real Madrid come third in the ranking, with 34 'homegrown' players either still at the Bernabeu or plying their trade elsewhere. The French duo of Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain come next with 33 and 27 respectively.

With regards to the other Premier League clubs, Arsenal rank joint-ninth with 22, Aston Villa have 14 and Tottenham, Southampton, Chelsea and Manchester City have 12 apiece.

While Barcelona's conveyor belt shows no sign of slowing, with the likes of Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez having already featured for the first team, CIES believe - on the whole - it is becoming harder and harder for young players to make a breakthrough into the first-team.

Iker Casillas, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, is very much a one-club man

Juan Mata, now at Manchester United, is another product of the Real Madrid academy

They say: 'This finding not only highlights the quality of training provided by these top teams, but also demonstrates the difficulty for youth academy players to breakthrough into the first team squad of the most competitive clubs. This is unlikely to change in the near future.'

Their research finds that the Premier League compares unfavourably to its European counterparts in terms of the proportion of 'club-trained' players in squads as opposed to players brought in, standing at 13.9 per cent.

By comparison, 24.6 per cent of players are homegrown in France's Ligue 1, 22.4 per cent in Spain's La Liga and 16.4 per cent in Germany's Bundesliga.

THE LEADING CLUBS IN FULL

'HOMEGROWN' CRITERIA

In the CIES Football Observatory analysis, a player is regarded as 'club trained' or 'home-grown' if they spent three years at a club between the ages of 15 and 21 (including the seasons in which the player celebrates his 15th and 21st birthday). This is in line with UEFA regulations.

It means that Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, counts for both Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United and Wayne Rooney counts for both Everton and Manchester United.  

 

BARCELONA - 43

'Homegrown' players still at the club (13): Rafinha Alcantara, Marc Bartra, Sergio Busquets, Munir El Haddadi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Masip, Lionel Messi, Martin Montoya, Gerard Pique, Sandro Ramirez, Sergi Roberto, Pedro Rodriguez

Barcelona graduates playing in Europe's top five leagues (30): Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Edu Campabadal (Cordoba), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Pepe Reina (Bayern Munich), Iago Falque (Genoa), Oier Olazabal (Granada), Ruben Rochina (Granada), Jordi Xumetra (Levante), Jose Manuel Casado (Malaga), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Raul Baena (Rayo Vallecano), Roberto Trashorras (Rayo Vallecano), Andreu Fontas (Celta Vigo), Sergi Gomez (Celta Vigo), Carles Planas (Celta Vigo), Isaac Cuenca (Deportivo La Coruna), Sergi Garcia (Espanyol), Manuel Lanzarote (Espanyol), Paco Montanes (Espanyol), Victor Sanchez (Espanyol), Gerard Deulofeu (Sevilla on loan from Barcelona), Fernando Navarro (Sevilla), Bojan Krkic (Stoke City), Marc Muniesa (Stoke City), Jordi Gomez (Sunderland), Ruben Ivan Martinez (Almeria), Oriol Romeu (Stuttgart on loan from Chelsea), Giovani dos Santos (Villarreal), Jonathan dos Santos (Villarreal), Javi Espinosa (Villarreal)

Former Barcelona player Thiago Motta now plays for Paris Saint-Germain

 

MANCHESTER UNITED - 36

'Homegrown' players still at the club (12): Ben Amos, Tyler Blackett, Rafael da Silva, Jonny Evans, Darren Fletcher, Adnan Januzaj, Sam Johnstone, Jesse Lingard, Patrick McNair, Wayne Rooney, Tom Thorpe, James Wilson

Man United graduates playing in Europe's top five leagues (24): Danny Welbeck (Arsenal), Tom Cleverley (Aston Villa on loan from United), Kieran Richardson (Aston Villa), Tom Heaton (Burnley), David Jones (Burnley), Michael Keane (Burnley on loan from United), Fraizer Campbell (Crystal Palace), Ezekiel Fryers (Crystal Palace), Darron Gibson (Everton), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover), Robbie Brady (Hull City), James Chester (Hull City), Paul McShane (Hull City), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Matt James (Leicester City), Danny Simpson (Leicester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Phil Bardsley (Stoke City), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Wes Brown (Sunderland), John O'Shea (Sunderland), Ravel Morrison (West Ham)

Striker Danny Welbeck swapped Manchester United for Arsenal in the summer

 

REAL MADRID - 34

Homegrown players still at the club (8): Alvaro Arbeloa, Daniel Carvajal, Iker Casillas, Nacho Fernandez, Diego Llorente, Alvaro Medran, Fernando Pacheco, Marcelo Vieira 

Real Madrid graduates playing in Europe's top five leagues (26): Marcos Alonso (Fiorentina), Borja Valero (Fiorentina), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Miguel Nieto (Cordoba), Adrian Gonzalez (Elche), Manu Herrera (Elche), Pedro Mosquera (Elche), Pablo Sarabia (Getafe), Juan Carlos (Granada), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Victor Perez (Levante), Miguel Torres (Malaga), Juan Mata (Manchester United), Alberto Bueno (Rayo Vallecano), Jose Rodriguez (Deportivo La Coruna), Laure Sanabria (Deportivo La Coruna), Francisco Casilla (Espanyol), Alex Fernandez (Espanyol), Lucas Vazquez (Espanyol), Esteban Granero (Real Sociedad), Jose Maria Callejon (Napoli), Roberto Soldado (Tottenham), Miguel Corona (Almeria), Edgar Mendez (Almeria), Dani Parejo (Valencia), Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal)

Source: CIES Football Observatory