5 best managed projects in modern football 

#3 Red Bull Football Project

The Red Bull Football Project comprises of various clubs from different countries like Germany, Austria, the United States and even Ghana. Funded by the Austrian beverage giant, Red Bull's sides came into existence only recently but have since been on a steady path to dominating their respective leagues. Another project with an excellent scouting system, these Red Bull sides have a history of finding prospects and grooming them. The operation itself enables such prospects to move to a higher level within the system such as from Salzburg to Leipzig. Director Ralf Rangnick has had an important role to play in this and Red Bull hire young and innovative managers for their projects. Julian Nagelsmann currently manages Leipzig and could break the two-team monopoly of the Bundesliga. The Red Bull sporting project has brought quick success and looks set to achieve more in this decade.

#2 The City Group

City group are a group owned and funded by the Abu Dhabi United Group. Their first project was Manchester City, who received a massive injection of cash and since being bought in 2008, have been one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League. City's success has come from a financial model rather than scouting. Despite the exorbitant amounts of money available at their disposal, the executives at City still need to spend this appropriately to guarantee success. Their recent investments also include New York City FC, Mumbai City FC and Melbourne City. The City group has also developed a group of young coaches who are being readied to take over at the various clubs in the group in the future. Mikel Arteta and Giovanni van Bronckhorst are two such coaches. Overall, the City group is an effective and well-coordinated group focused on short term success but also laying a platform for the long-term future of the football clubs.

#1 Ajax Amsterdam

Ajax Amsterdam are historically one of the biggest clubs in the world. While their European dominance may have ended, they remain the best run club in the world. The reason for this is that Ajax have not compromised on the core principles of Cruyff and beautiful football despite the massive pressure to do so. Everything at Ajax is built in such a way so as to ensure that Cruyff's ideals are enshrined in the side. Ajax have a fantastic youth set-up which is a conveyor belt of talent. In the past two decades alone, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Toby Alderweireld and Luis Suarez are just some of the few players who have gone on to become world-class players. Ajax is run by people who know the club. Former players Marc Overmars and Edwin van der Sar are executives while the coaches are also expected to instill strong values and traditions in their sides. Ajax are an example of success without compromising on core beliefs.