![[Nathan Salt] CIES observatory have compiled data on the world’s most profitable football academies across the past 10 years. Key focus for Ineos is for #mufc to be at the top of these sorts of lists. Currently 19th. Chelsea (3rd) and City (6th) in top 10.](https://www.eucup.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/dxr6t85hdlsg1-917x1536.jpeg "[Nathan Salt] CIES observatory have compiled data on the world’s most profitable football academies across the past 10 years. Key focus for Ineos is for #mufc to be at the top of these sorts of lists. Currently 19th. Chelsea (3rd) and City (6th) in top 10.")
[Nathan Salt] CIES observatory have compiled data on the world’s most profitable football academies across the past 10 years. Key focus for Ineos is for #mufc to be at the top of these sorts of lists. Currently 19th. Chelsea (3rd) and City (6th) in top 10.
by PradipJayakumar
19 Comments
As much as good selling of academy talent is important, i’d rather have 3-4 of our own kids start for us. I’d rather go down what we have always done in our history or La Masia than what City and Chelsea do!
Hence the old adage if Ajax or Benfica are after your youth prospect you should reconsider selling.
United historically isn’t a selling club especially when it comes to strong youth prospects
I hope we do keep this philosophy rather than turn into a city/ Chelsea and just flog off all of our good academy prospects
We sell our players for cheap. Case in point, Elanga, Carreras, Garner, Henderson, Hannibal, Zidane, etc etc. All these players made their debut with us and yet we couldn’t monetise them properly. On the other hand, City sells their youth at a premium.
Worrying if thats actually their aim tbh. The goal should be to get academy players into our team/squad not treating them purely as investments.
Being a “profitable academy” shouldn’t be the benchmark. United have traditionally valued their academy players beyond just financial assets, rather than moving them around to balance the books like some others.
I don’t want our academy to be profitable. I want it to be productive for our first team.
This doesn’t tell a full story – Barca produce so many amazing talents but because a fair few make the first team, they’re not even top 20.
Not saying we can’t improve – we absolutely should – but ideally we have more first team players coming through the ranks
Is it more because we actually play our youth?
To complete this analysis I would like to also see the success of these academy players post-sale (e.g., proportion of players in top flight leagues, proportion playing in EU competitions, proportion playing in National Teams, etc.).
Revenue is one thing, but I struggle to believe that City and Villa are producing bigger talents. I’m not sure this is a good measure of quality of talents produced (though, I don’t think this tweet was implying this, anyway).
Generating revenue from the academy shouldn’t be a priority for us, look at barcelona they never sell their academy players, it’s why they are still good even without any finances whatsoever
Rather than aiming for the top, the correct balance should be the aim.
Talents like Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Brandon Williams and Tyler Blackett should be sold to generate some money for the first team squad rather than just letting their contracts expire.
Players like Mainoo, McTominay, Garnacho should be given a chance to be in the first team.
Villa’s numbers pumped by 1 proper transfer (Grealish) and all the dodgy PSR deals them, Everton, Newcastle, and Forest got up to the other year.
Out of curiosity, who are the best academy graduates from Chelsea? I don’t remember .. is it one of their shady deals they do?
The reason we are low on this list is that we actually play the talent. Chelsea and city sell the promise not the product,
I do want to promote more youth recruitment and development in the vain of Chelsea and city but I don’t want to emulate those models directly. If a good player comes out of the academy I would rather keep them. I think we should sell more players for better fees but not as a model to spend on transfers.
I think people are missing the point. We’ve sold 30 players already.
They’ve been sold for peanuts so we’re lower on the list.
We’re leaving money on the table.
Some of the talent being pumped out of Benfica is simply insane. I dont think these lists even count a player like Alvaro Carreras, who wasnt their product but was purchased and developed into a high impact player for another big club.
Tbh I want us to promote more youth, it’s what makes us so unique as a club. Couldn’t be fussed if we can make big profit on our academy tbh because I want us to invest and use the academy more.