Real Madrid and Barcelona are rightfully two of the largest institutions in the world of football and are clubs with a massive allure and ability to attract the best players in the world.
Their ability to sign superstars, however, does not go on to say that they do not produce their own stars.
After all, their academies La Masia and La Fabrica are two of the most prestigious and successful institutions on the planet.
The question of which of the two is more successful is a perennial one, with different parameters presenting different answers and giving both academies the right to call themselves the best in the world.
The CIES Institute provides a metric that shows La Fabrica’s superiority over La Masia.
The International Centre for Sports Studies considers a player to be part of a team’s academy if he spent at least three years between the ages of 15 and 20 in its ranks.
The study included 55 such academies and ranked them based on the number of graduates who played in Europe from the 2005-06 season.
As relayed by the report, Real Madrid lead the aforementioned metric with 166 players who have trained in their academy having played in the major leagues from the 2005-06 campaign.
The list includes both active players like Dani Parejo, Dani Carvajal and Jose Callejon and also retired legends in the likes of Iker Casillas, Alvaro Arbeloa and Raul Gonzalez.
Barcelona’s La Masia stands second on the list, behind La Fabrica, at 156 such players in Europe from the 2005-06 season. The metric, needless to say, projects the superiority of Real Madrid’s academy.
Also in the top 10 academies by this metric are Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester United, Stade Rennais, Atalanta, Athletic Club, PSG, Real Sociedad and Valencia.