Which Champions League clubs have the most academy players? Saka the most valuable

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The Champions League knockout stages are back. It's getting serious now, with plenty to play for in the upcoming weeks, as clubs look to prolong their stay in the biggest club competition in world football. We’ve already seen some big upsets in the group stages, as PSG were thrashed 4-1 by Newcastle, Lens beat Arsenal 2-1, and Manchester United were humbled 3-2 by Galatasaray at Old Trafford and eventually crashed out.

The Champions League naturally boasts the biggest global stars, but which clubs are using homegrown talent to take on the elite? We take a look at the remaining Champions League clubs with the most academy graduates in their squads.

Which Champions League clubs have the most academy players?

The Real Sociedad talent factory continues to deliver - they are in first place with no less than 15 former academy players in their squad. €50m valued duo Mikel Oyarzabal and Martín Zubimendi are two of those, with the latter reportedly a target for Arsenal as they seek to bolster their midfield options following Granit Xhaka’s departure to Bayer Leverkusen. Eredivisie club PSV come in joint second with 11 graduates, maintaining the well known status of Dutch clubs producing some of the best young players. The other team with 11 is Barcelona, with the likes of Lamine Yamal and Gavi shining for the Catalonian club as teenagers. The famous ‘La Masia’ academy at Barcelona has produced some of the world’s best talents over the past few decades including Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and their current manager Xavi, and seems to be delivering once again.

Arsenal are the Premier League club with the most academy graduates with five, beating Manchester City's three. The Gunners five former youth players have a combined value of €197m, mostly coming from their star man Bukayo Saka (€120m).

In terms of the amount of Champions League games these academy graduates have played for their clubs, Real Madrid actually top the list, despite only having four former academy players in their squad. Daniel Carvajal, Nacho Fernández, Lucas Vázquez and Fran García have made 213 Champions League appearances between them. At the other end of the scale, Inter Milan and RB Leipzig have just two academy graduates in their squads, with the German outfit having no academy players play a single Champions League game for them. The most goals from academy players goes to Bayern Munich with 57 - 53 of which were scored by Thomas Müller.

Most valuable academy players

Out of all these former academy stars representing the club where they came through, the most valuable player is Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka - valued at €120m. He’s followed by Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala (€110m), Manchester City’s Phil Foden (€110m), and Barca’s Gavi (€90m). All of these players are aged 26 or under and have become key players at their boyhood clubs.

Full Player Comparison

When it comes to the Champions League club with the highest total market value from academy players, Barcelona are top of the tree, with their current crop of talented youngsters contributing to a €234.5m market value, whilst once again RB Leipzig are bottom with a value of just €200k from their two former academy players.