Barcelona’s La Masia leads the charts for best academies in Europe’s top five leagues | OneFootball

La Masia has played a key role behind Barcelona’s recent success under Hansi Flick this season, with the Catalans emerging as one of the best-performing teams in Europe.

Barcelona’s recent win over Real Madrid was an excellent indicator of La Masia‘s prowess, as no less than six homegrown players were a part of the Barcelona setup.

La Masia: Best academy among Europe’s best leagues

However, the success of La Masia is not only limited to Barcelona either, as players graduating from the academy have managed to become key players in other clubs as well.

A recent study by the CIES Football Observatory (h/t MARCA) highlighted Barcelona’s position as the leading European club in nurturing top-level players, specifically those active in Europe’s elite leagues.

Flick is being backed by the best academy in Europe. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Barcelona tops this list with 46 players, including 12 in Flick’s current squad. This places La Masia ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, which has 35 players in these leagues, and Real Madrid, with 34.

How do they fare on a global scale?

La Masia holds its own on the global stage as well, ranking third overall. They are just behind Benfica, with 94 players, and Boca Juniors, with 93.

The CIES study tracks players active in the top 49 global leagues as of October 1, 2024.

The rankings include players who have been part of their club’s first-team squad or have made appearances in national leagues in the last two seasons.

Barcelona’s academy also shines in a specialized ranking across 30 European leagues, where Ajax leads with 85 players, followed closely by Benfica (84) and Barcelona (67).