Obviously this is reflected in silverware, which is underpinned by the quality of players which then in many cases lays a foundation for the success that follows. This has historically stemmed from having the best academies/youth teams where the standard of grassroots coaching and scouting often exceeds every other club.

Though, following the ‘billionaire’ owner era, it has become the case where rich football clubs buy up the talent from the ones that have. What has followed in this case as well, is that this new breed of football clubs has led to ambitious owners looking to copy clubs with successful academies.

The Original Fabled Academies

You only have to look at the past Ajax sides – particularly of the eighties and nineties to realise the level of talent that the Dutch club was able to attract. As opposed to back then when the club could essentially retain this talent and build Champions League worth-winning teams, now they are constantly cherry-picked. Of course, though, the club’s ever-expanding production line keeps running efficiently.

Arguably, the greatest Ajax side to win the Champions League, marshalled by revered Dutch  manager, Louis Van Gaal saw homegrown talent, Patrick Kluivert scored the only goal against a star-studded AC Milan side.

Almost in rivalry, Barcelona’s ‘La Masia’ quickly earned itself a reputation for home-grown youth talent, especially with being able to attract young talent from South America to its junior teams.

We saw the success of this pay-off during the late 2000s when Pep Guardiola (also a product of La Masia and latterly senior player), win everything there is to win in the game as manager with the core group of players having come from La Masia playing a brand of football never-before seen in this era. Names such as Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez (fellow La Masia graduates) were key to this success.

Certainly for any aspiring young footballer, these are great examples to look towards in order to become a better footballer especially when you consider how these players were groomed to do the simple things better than any other professional in the world at the time.

Football’s Next Generation Of Football Academies

Following modern-day, significant investment by enterprises or individual billionaires into  football clubs, the ‘academy model’ has reached new heights. One example of this is Red Bull which has developed its own clubs – notably RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg.

This model focused on these clubs (particularly the latter) hiring the best coaches and youth scouts, while also having a professional affiliate – FC Liefering where players are sent from an early age to get their first taste of the sport.

We have seen the Red Bull corporation be responsible for elevating numerous of their players into the top five European leagues – many of whom have gone on to achieve great things. Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai are just two of these names. Ultimately, via this model, since 2015 Red Bull has generated over £350 million in academy-led sales.

Another example is Manchester City, via the club’s owners – the City Football Group, which has developed affiliate clubs all over the world where the club sends its best academy players to gain experience.

In recent years, we have seen the club generate significant fees – though also, be responsible for moulding the careers of many players – most recently, Cole Palmer whose £40 million fee now seems like a bargain.

No doubt, we will see the emergence of many more academies over the next few years and perhaps even revivals of other successful academies such as Arsenal during the Arsene Wenger days.