Benfica named world's most valuable football academy with Chelsea fifth

Academies and youth development are the lifeblood of many football teams across the globe, as clubs will always look to nurture the best local talent to either supplement their team or boost their bank balance.

A thriving academy is the envy of many teams and new statistics have revealed that Benfica have the most valuable youth production line in world football. 

The Portuguese side have reeled in a whopping €516m (£442m) worth of sales over the past decade, according to OCB Scores, who have calculated the revenue that clubs have made from homegrown player sales over the past decade using the CIES Football Observatory.

The likes of Joao Felix, Rubin Dias and Goncalo Ramos are some of the homegrown players who have contributed to this total. Dutch side Ajax rank second on the list, having raised €376m (£322m) in player sales, ahead of Lyon and Real Madrid.

Chelsea are the first Premier League side on the list, sitting fifth overall, having made €347m (£297m) from academy sales over the past ten years. To be included in this list, a player must have spent at least three seasons at the club between the ages of 15 and 21.

The list is also noticeable for the clubs who do not appear, with the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United absent. This is due to the fact that their top talents do not tend to be sold from their academy, meaning the value from their youth set-up is added to their first-team squads.

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