Man City academy graduates ranked most valuable in England

February 01, 2026 • 0 • min read

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Man City academy graduates ranked most valuable in England

Manchester City have been named the club with the most valuable group of academy graduates in England, according to fresh research from the CIES Football Observatory.

The findings come from Issue 531 of the Observatory's Weekly Post, which ranks the 100 clubs worldwide whose academy-trained players - still under contract either at the club or out on loan - hold the highest combined transfer value.

Barcelona lead the world

At the top of the global standings are Barcelona, whose famed La Masia continues to produce elite-level talent.

Thanks to players such as Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Fermín López and Alejandro Balde, Barça's academy graduates under contract carry a staggering aggregated transfer value of €738 million.

They are followed by:

Manchester City - €286m
Bayern Munich - €284m

English academies well represented

City's position confirms them as the leading developer of talent in England by current asset value.

Their academy pipeline - bolstered in recent years by heavy investment in youth infrastructure - continues to produce players with significant market worth, whether breaking into the first team or gaining experience on loan.

Two more English clubs - Chelsea and Arsenal - also make the elite group above €200 million in academy graduate value.

They are joined in that bracket by Spanish sides Real Madrid, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and French champions Paris Saint-Germain, with Atlético Madrid completing the global top 10.

Strength beyond Europe's 'big five'

Outside Europe's traditional big-five leagues, Portuguese giants lead the way:

FC Porto (11th overall) - with Rodrigo Mora highlighted as a key asset
Sporting CP (12th) - boosted by Gonçalo Inácio

They sit ahead of Dutch clubs AZ Alkmaar and Ajax Amsterdam, plus another Portuguese powerhouse Benfica.

Leading clubs from the rest of the world

The strongest representation outside Europe comes from South and North America.

The top three non-European clubs in the ranking are:

Corinthians - main asset Breno Bidon
Vasco da Gama - Rayan
Boca Juniors - Lautaro Di Lollo

How the values were calculated

CIES define academy graduates as players who spent at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 at a club.

In cases where a player trained at two clubs during that period, only the first was counted as the training academy.

The data reflects the aggregated transfer value of all such players still under contract as of 27 January 2026, making it a snapshot of youth development as a tangible financial asset.

What it means for Man City

For Manchester City, topping the English chart underlines how youth development is now a central pillar of their model - not just first-team success.

With academy products representing hundreds of millions in potential transfer value, the club's youth system is effectively functioning as both a sporting pipeline and a major financial resource.

In modern football economics, that blend of development and asset management is becoming just as important as trophies on the pitch.

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