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As modern football slowly coalesces into a paradigm where buying and selling players ultimately defines the success of a club, there are some clubs that still hold on to that one beacon of hope that they will have a team made up purely of academy talents.
Raised through the club's system through the years, not every player makes the step up to the club's senior team, though. However, they do find success elsewhere.
So which club has produced the most number of players currently employed by clubs in Europe's top five leagues? We take a look at the top five clubs with data courtesy of CIES.
#5 Manchester United (Premier League)
"We can speak to parents honestly and say, look, we always give our lads a chance to play for the club; the pathway is there to play if they're good enough." - Head of Manchester United Academy Nicky Butt
Not many clubs can back up their words with action but Manchester United's academy is one of the best in Europe when it comes to producing players capable of making the step up to the senior team.
The club has a long history of always having an academy player in their squad - a streak that has now lasted 80 years. And even if the youngster doesn't go on to become a Red Devil, he still has opportunities elsewhere in England and Europe.
Currently, there are as many as 28 players who came up through the Manchester United Academy that ply their trade in Europe's top 5 leagues. Of the 28, five are still at the club in the current squad managed by Jose Mourinho, some of whom are now household names such as Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford.
Among Premier League teams alone, United Academy products racked up a total of 44,055 league minutes in the 2016/17 season. No other English club came close with Tottenham coming in second with 21,668 minutes - less than half.
#4 Athletic Club Bilbao (La Liga)
21st century football is now all about the glitz and glamour of the transfer market as players' market value and inflation skyrockets to heights unknown. But in the north of Spain, specifically Basque country, Athletic Club continue to shun the modern status quo and continue to thrive within their own means.
Bilbao's youth academy, also known as the Cantera, is known for producing talents by the dozen and the club's unique policy ensures that nobody else gets to play for the club.
Football is a global game with players from across the globe moving to Europe's top teams but one look at the Athletic squad tells you that they do not have a single foreigner (unless they are Basque themselves).
"Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación." (With homegrown talent and local support, you don’t need for imports).
Athletic's squad is entirely made up of Basque players. It's a fact that they are very proud of. While other clubs have struggled with a similar policy before abandoning it, Athletic are one of three clubs never to be relegated from Spain's La Liga - the other two being Real Madrid and Barcelona, of course.
The club is all about sticking to tradition and preserving the identity of the Basque people. So to compete in La Liga, the youth products understandably have to be of high quality.
In all, there are 29 Athletic Club Bilbao cantera players in Europe's top five leagues. 20 of them are still at the club.
#3 Olympique Lyonnais (Ligue 1)
Just as the France national team invested in youth to become highly successful at the turn of the century, Lyon also sowed the seeds that would help them become the most dominant club in the French Ligue 1. Between 2001 and 2008, Lyon won seven straight league titles.
One of the most famous gems Lyon unearthed was Karim Benzema who would go on to seal a transfer to Real Madrid. Today he is the third-highest active goalscorer in the Champions League behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Club owner Jean-Michel Aulas had a dream of building a team around youth talent and there were occasions when the Lyon lineup had as many as nine players from the academy.
The Centre Tola Vologe (built at a cost of approximately €25m) is home to young players where they are not only taught football but also given a proper education.
The academy has produced 31 players who play in Europe's top five leagues. Among them, as many as 11 are still with the club.
#2 FC Barcelona (La Liga)
Once dubbed the best football academy on the planet, Barcelona's La Masia is slowly losing its sheen. However, it has still produced enough players to remain at no.2 on the list.
There was a time when at their peak the academy produced enough talents to form what is arguably the greatest team in modern football history.
Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona side in the late 2000s and early 2010s were the only side from Europe's top leagues to win a sextuple in 2008-2009 and most of that squad was built with academy talents such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Victor Valdes and Pedro.
However, The Farmhouse has since failed to produce any noteworthy talents who have stepped up and delivered on a consistent basis for the senior side. The bar has now been set so high that up and coming players have failed to live up to expectations.
Barcelona's philosophy has also changed in recent years with the side preferring to maintain their superiority in Europe by signing big names rather than promote young talents. This has seen La Masia graduates move elsewhere to continue their careers.
In all, 34 La Masia graduates ply their trade in Europe's top five leagues. But what is a cause for concern is that only seven are still at Barcelona or in their employ. The change in philosophy in the senior team was drastically different to the youth setup and that affected the promotion of youth talent.
However, there is hope under Ernesto Valverde who has replaced direct football with the possession football of old that involves high pressing. The idea now is that what is taught to the Barca kids will now hold them in good stead when they graduate and make the step up to the senior team.
Also read: 5 major differences between Valverde and Enrique's tactics at Barcelona
#1 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Ever since Florentino Perez took control of the Real Madrid's transfer strategy, they have excelled at one thing - the buying and selling of players for the first team. Craving instant success rather than a prolonged project, it has helped the club win trophies and establish commercial deals as they strive to become the most popular club on the planet.
However, that is not to say that La Fábrica (The Factory) has been ignored entirely. The jury has been split in recent years on whether Real Madrid do indeed promote youth talent. But the latest findings confirm that they do.
In all, 41 Real Madrid youth products now play in Europe's top five leagues - seven more than Barcelona. What's more, eight players trained by Real Madrid are still with the club.
Players such as Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Kiko Casilla and Lucas Vazquez continue to play in the pristine white shirt while their notable exports include Alvaro Morata, Juan Mata, Saul Niguez and Marcos Alonso.
Zinedine Zidane also tested the waters of his fledgling managerial career by managing Real Madrid Castilla before taking up the reins of the big job. The rest, as they say, is history.
Top academies that have produced the most players in Europe
Here is the list of clubs that have produced the most players currently playing in Europe's top five leagues.
However, when we look outside the top five leagues in Europe, it is Eredivisie side Ajax that have produced the most players playing in top flight leagues spread across the continent.
A number of Serbian and Ukrainian clubs have also produced players that have been signed by clubs around Europe.
Real Madrid are only fourth on this list while Barcelona are outside the top 10 (in 11th place). The best Premier League side is Arsenal (16th) with 41 academy products in Europe's top divisions.
