Amongst the pinnacle of footballing academies that create and nurture future world beaters, La Masia has always been seen in a pedestal of its own. And recent financial reports suggest it remains true still.
Now, in recent years, the diluted quality of the academy may have dwelled a little, but there remains no doubt in its essence as one of the World’s elite academies even today.
According to CIES football, who have compiled a list of academies and ranked them in correspondence to the accumulation of their respective product’s values, FC Barcelona’s crown jewel of La Masia ranks 3rd amongst all top-level footballing academies.
Valued at a massive €581 million, a value accumulated across the respective values of 102 footballers around the world that have been developed through La Masia, the academy currently stands behind only two other European academies: namely Chelsea and SL Benfica.
The English club’s academy Cobham is valued at a mightier €630 million across the values of 78 players, while the value of SL Benfica’s academy is estimated to top the rankings with €670 million across 104 players.
Other academies that are also present among the rankings are Ajax, valued at €555 million, Manchester City at €510 million, Paris Saint Germain at €491 million, and at 7th position Brazilian side Sao Paulo, valued at €474 million.
