4 Real Madrid academy players playing in the Premier League this season

Over the past few years, the football academy of Barcelona gained universal recognition for the talents that they produced. The likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Busquets are all products of the fabled La Masia.

These players helped Barcelona win countless trophies over the last decade and some of them are still doing the same. During Pep Guardiola's golden years at Barcelona, every media outlet gave the impression that the Masia was the academy that every club should aspire to have.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, were failing to catch up with their eternal rivals despite having a star-studded roster consisting mainly of big-name players bought for a lavish amount of money.

At that point of time, Real Madrid were sort of like the anti-thesis of how to use the youth academy. It was not that they didn't have great prospects at La Fabrica - the name of their academy - but the lack of proper chances never really allowed them to groom into first team players.

Right now, with Real Madrid actually dominating Europe with a team consisting of the perfect amalgamation of youth and experienced superstars, their academy players are also flourishing outside the club.

And here are the 4 Real Madrid academy graduates currently playing in the Premier League.

---

#4 Marcos Alonso

When he was at the Bernabeu, he wasn't really considered as one of the brightest prospects at the club. Marcos Alonso, however, did get to play for the first-team when Manuel Pellegrini brought him on as a substitute for Gonzalo Higuain against Racing Santander in a league match.

After that, in the subsequent transfer window, Alonso was let go to Bolton, where he didn't have the best of times. He was then snapped up by Fiorentina in 2013, but his connection with the Premier League didn't end there as he was sent off on loan at Sunderland.

He endured a relatively decent outing at the Stadium of Light, after which he was retained by his parent club for the following season. He continued impressing with his performances and became an important member of the first-team.

While Alonso was not really Antonio Conte's first-choice, he chose to bring in the Spaniard after failing to purchase his main targets. Alonso, however, had the faith of the Italian and repaid it with consistent performances in his first season that helped Chelsea win the Premier League.

And now, despite not being very technically gifted, he plies his trade as one of the most important first-team players at Chelsea.

#3 Jese Rodriguez

Jese is attempting to resurge his career at Stoke

When Barcelona were dominating the world of football, Real Madrid's youth academy were quietly producing talents of their own. The youth ranks had the likes of Alvaro Morata, Pablo Sarabia, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho Fernandez and Jese Rodriguez coming up at about the same time.

Among the list of players that have been mentioned above, the two players that were touted to be the most talented among the group - Pablo Sarabia and Jese Rodriguez - are the only two players that are not playing for a top club at the moment.

While Sarabia could never really translate his brilliance at the top-most competitive level, Jese actually had a brilliant start to his Real Madrid career, scoring 8 goals in 32 games in his first full season at the club.

However, an injury in March that season completely tore his anterior cruciate ligament and he was subsequently out for nine months. He returned to action in December that year, but was far from the forward who scored for fun in the league.

After failing to find his best form, he was sold to Paris-Saint Germain, but endured a tough first-half of the 2016-17 season. In January, he was loaned out to Las Palmas, where he showed glimpses of his former self, but the arrival of Neymar meant that he had no place in the first-team.

Jese now finds himself on a second loan stint - and this time at Stoke City in the Premier League.

#2 Juan Mata

Mata has won Mourinho's trust

Juan Mata will always be regarded as the one that got away. Not that it really hurt the Blancos, though, as their dominance in Europe over the last three years has erased all the pain and anguish that they had to endure in those barren years.

Meanwhile, Mata did very well for himself, too, especially before he started working with Jose Mourinho. Mata was a young and budding talent with Valencia who went on to become one of Chelsea's biggest icons - helping them win their sole Champions League in 2012 - and is now among one of the most trusted members of the Manchester United squad.

He might not be a starter for the Red Devils, but has won Mourinho's trust after the two shared an erratic relationship at Chelsea.

#1 Alvaro Morata

Morata is Chelsea's new number 9

Ask any Madridista or Juventini about their views on Alvaro Morata and almost all of them will claim that they miss the hard-working Spaniard. There was a lot of talks about Morata not being able to adapt to the Premier League, but he has quashed all those doubts by scoring 7 goals in his first 9 games for the Blues.

After spending the majority of his career with Los Blancos, Morata was promoted to the first team for the 2013-14 season and scored 9 goals in the 34 appearances that he made across all competitions.

Juventus then came calling and Real Madrid let him go, but only with a buy-back clause. Despite not being a starter for the Old Lady, he was a highly-rated member of the squad that was loved by the fans.

After two years in Italy, he was brought back to Spain by his home club as he went on to score 20 goals in his return season despite not being a regular starter. And so he left for Chelsea in a bid to finally become a first-choice striker at a top club - and he is currently relishing that dream.