LALIGA club crowned Europe's most confident in nuturing academy talents

LALIGA side Athletic Club has set a benchmark in talent development after emerging as the most prolific and confident club in nurturing and developing players in Europe. 

This recognition comes from the latest issue of the popular CIES Football Observatory on the Global rankings of club-trained players.

Amidst stiff competition, Athletic Club emerged as the frontrunner in promoting homegrown talent. 

The club’s academy has become the breeding ground for talents which is now recognised by CIES Football.

In their issue, CIES ranked teams from 60 leagues around the world according to the percentage of domestic league minutes played by club-trained footballers during the current season, with the Basque side coming out tops by a wide margin in Europe’s top five leagues.

Per the ranking, 68.9% of minutes this season have been allocated to academy players, with 14 players at an average age of 25.6 to finish top in Europe and third in the world. 

Ligue 1’s Olympique Lyon (45.6%), Real Sociedad (45.4%), Real Madrid (36.3%) and SC Freiburg (34.5%) complete the top five. 

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Arsenal are the leaders in the Premier League, followed by Manchester United and Chelsea while Atalanta are the main team in the Serie A.