All the big clubs have football academies that groom players from a very tender age. The scouts spot the talents and bring them to their clubs so that they can be trained in their world-class training facilities. Later on, the players from the football academies can step up into the first team or else can be sold to other teams.

Here we take a look at the top 10 most profitable football academies in Europe:

Top 10 most profitable football academies in Europe

Ajax – 247,755,000 euros
Atletico Madrid – 214,250,000 euros
Benfica – 194,325,000 euros
Monaco – 188,800,000 euros
Schalke 04 – 170,750,000 euros
Lyon – 157,282,000 euros
Barcelona – 148,980,000 euros
Manchester City – 142,005,000 euros
Borussia Dortmund – 128,875,000 euros
Aston Villa – 127,865,000 euros

_{(The study was conducted by Online Money Advisor, looking at teams from leagues with a net transfer spend of 100 million euros or more since the summer transfer window of 2010. They’ve looked at players whose transfer feeds are publicly listed and the values represent gross profit made on players.)}

via Marca

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