| Updated: Academy graduates do far more than fill out a squad. For clubs without the spending power of the financial elite, players developed in-house and still representing the same team provide continuity, identity and value that the market cannot easily replace. Even for the biggest sides, a strong core of footballers formed in the club’s own academy can anchor the dressing room and turn youth development into one of the most important assets a team has.
That is what led Sportingpedia to examine which clubs across Europe’s top 7 leagues have used the highest number of players in the 2025/26 season who were developed in their own academy and still play for the same club, and which teams turn that work into the greatest market value.
The count table points first to Athletic Bilbao, who have used 20 such players so far in 2025/26, ahead of AZ on 14 and both Real Sociedad and Volendam on 13. The value table tells a different story, but an even bigger one. Barcelona’s academy-produced players still representing the club are worth €610.5 million, more than Bayern Munich and Athletic Bilbao combined.
The wider league picture adds another layer to those club figures. Eredivisie sides account for 125 players used so far in 2025/26 who were developed by the same clubs they now represent, the highest total in the report, with La Liga just behind on 121. That helps explain why Dutch and Spanish clubs dominate the upper end of the count ranking, while Serie A stands out in the opposite direction, failing to place a single club among the teams that have used at least eight players formed in their own academy this season.
Teams in Europe’s Top 7 Leagues
with the Most Players from Their Own Academy
Data Source: Transfermarkt
No club in the report has used more players in 2025/26 who were developed in its own academy and still play for the same side than Athletic Bilbao. The Basque club lead on 20, six clear of AZ on 14 and seven ahead of both Real Sociedad and Volendam on 13. Ajax follow with 12, while Barcelona, Celta Vigo, Le Havre and Groningen have each used 10. Real Madrid, Freiburg, Mainz, Auxerre, Benfica, Feyenoord and Twente all stand on nine. Liverpool, Osasuna, Werder Bremen and Heracles complete the group with eight each.
The list is driven first and foremost by Dutch and Spanish clubs. Eredivisie supplies seven of the 20 teams that have already used at least eight players formed by their own academy and still representing the same club: AZ, Volendam, Ajax, Groningen, Feyenoord, Twente and Heracles. La Liga follow with six through Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Barcelona, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid and Osasuna. The Bundesliga adds Freiburg, Mainz and Werder Bremen, Ligue 1 contributes Le Havre and Auxerre, Liga Portugal places Benfica, and the Premier League is represented only by Liverpool. Serie A is absent from this group altogether.
The Basque pattern stands out even inside that Spanish cluster. Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Osasuna together have already used 41 players in 2025/26 who were developed by those same clubs. No other regional group in the report comes close to that concentration.
Number of footballers
playing for their academy club by league
Data Source: Transfermarkt
The league totals reinforce the same pattern. Eredivisie clubs have used 125 players so far in 2025/26 who were developed in their own academy and still represent the same side. La Liga are only four behind on 121, which leaves those two leagues clearly ahead of the rest.
The next step down is sizeable. Bundesliga clubs stand on 86 and Ligue 1 on 82, while the Premier League and Serie A are further back on 61 and 58. Liga Portugal ranks last on 45. So although Athletic Bilbao sit alone at the top of the club ranking, the broader homegrown picture is carried most strongly by the Dutch and Spanish leagues.
Italy provides the sharpest contrast. Serie A still produces clubs with highly valued academy products, but no Italian side has used as many as eight players developed in-house and still representing the same team so far this season.
Combined Market Value
of Academy Players in Teams’ Squads (Millions)
Data Source: Transfermarkt
Barcelona turn fewer academy players into far greater value
The value ranking points to a different leader and a much wider gap. Barcelona have used only 10 players in 2025/26 who were developed in their own academy and still represent the club, exactly half of Athletic Bilbao’s total, yet that group carries a combined market value of €610.5 million. No other side comes close. Bayern Munich rank second on €293.15 million and Athletic Bilbao third on €249 million, which means Barcelona’s academy-produced players still representing the club are worth more than Bayern’s and Athletic’s combined €542.15 million.
That advantage begins with Lamine Yamal, but it does not end there. At €200 million, he is the most valuable player in the report among those still playing for the club that developed them, and he stands €80 million clear of the next two names. Barcelona’s lead, however, is not built on one academy graduate alone. Their wider in-house group carries enough value to leave them far ahead of every other club in the table.
Bayern Munich’s total is driven mainly by Jamal Musiala at €120 million, while Athletic Bilbao’s highest-valued academy player still representing the club is Nico Williams at €50 million. That difference explains why Athletic lead the ranking by volume but remain behind both Barcelona and Bayern in overall value.
The Premier League are stronger by value than by volume
England barely features near the top when the focus is on how many academy-developed players clubs use for the side that formed them. Liverpool are the only Premier League club to reach eight. Once market value enters the picture, though, the league looks far stronger. Arsenal rank fourth on €235 million, Chelsea fifth on €210.55 million and Manchester City sixth on €195 million. Liverpool also appear in the top 12 on €98.5 million.
That contrast is driven by the very top end of the market. Bukayo Saka shares second place overall at €120 million, Phil Foden stands fourth on €80 million, and Reece James is valued at €60 million. So while Premier League clubs do not match Spain or the Netherlands for depth of academy-developed players still representing the same club, the ones they do produce often sit among the most valuable in Europe.
Serie A offers a similar, though smaller, contrast. No Italian club reaches eight players in the count ranking who were developed in-house and still represent the same side, yet Juventus still have Kenan Yildiz at €75 million and Inter have Federico Dimarco at €50 million among the most valuable players in the report.
Lamine Yamal stands alone at the top
No player in the ranking comes close to Lamine Yamal. His €200 million valuation puts him alone at the top and €80 million clear of both Jamal Musiala and Bukayo Saka on €120 million. Phil Foden follows on €80 million, while Kenan Yildiz is next on €75 million.
A cluster of players valued at €60 million comes next. That group includes Real Madrid’s Alvaro Carreras, Chelsea’s Reece James, PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery and Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios. Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet follows on €55 million. Nico Williams, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Maghnes Akliouche, Kobbie Mainoo and Federico Dimarco all stand at €50 million.
The rest of the top 20 still spread across a wide range of clubs and leagues. Sporting’s Geovany Quenda is valued at €42 million, Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa at €40 million, Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi and Liverpool’s Curtis Jones at €35 million, and PSV’s Ismael Saibari at €32 million.