From Barcelona to River Plate, Sporting to Santos and beyond, several clubs have junior set-ups to boast about, as Goal takes a look over their record
Before Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and the rest of the world's elite players begin winning trophies, they've all got to start somewhere, with all three modern greats coming through some of the game's finest youth academies.
Messi was a product of Barcelona's much vaunted La Masia, Ronaldo came through the Academia Sporting in his native Portugal, and Neymar was fast-tracked to glory through Santos in South America.
But just which clubs can lay claim to having produced the finest number of players in their academy system? Goal takes a look over the record of some of the most respected birthing grounds in the last 30 years of footballing history.
Getty Images1Honourable Mentions
There's so many other academies worth noting, with Genk having brought both Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois through to senior level.
Arsenal have produced several great names over the years, while Athletic Bilbao have a notable focus on Basque stars only, marking them out as a rather special example.
AdvertisementGetty Images2Olympique Lyonnais Academy (Lyon)
The Ligue 1 heavyweights have brought through some superstars, including World Cup-winning pair Samuel Umtiti and Nabil Fekir, along with some serious strike power in Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette and Manchester United's Anthony Martial.
Notable graduates: Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial, Samuel Umtiti, Karim Benzema, Corentin Tolisso, Anthony Lopes, Hatem Ben Arfa, Nabil Fekir.
Getty3Santos Academy (Santos)
Paris Saint-Germain wantaway Neymar is the obvious big name, but Santos have also produced plenty of full Brazil internationals in recent years too, with several making their mark on the Selecao.
Notable graduates: Neymar Jr, Robinho, Wesley, Andre, Ganso, Felipe Anderson, Gabriel, Rafael Cabral.
Getty Images4Southampton Academy (Southampton)
To say they have not reaped senior success through the years hides the fact that the Premier League outfit have produced several England internationals in recent decades, including Wales star Gareth Bale and former Newcastle hero Alan Shearer.
Notable graduates: Gareth Bale, Alan Shearer, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Matt Le Tissier, James Ward-Prowse.