Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are among the clubs that have made huge profits from selling their academy players in recent years.
Alejandro Garnacho moved from Manchester United to Chelsea in the summer transfer window. (Image: Mark Atkins/Getty Images)
Manchester United have fallen behind Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa after new figures on academy turnover were released. United’s academy has become famous over the years for producing some of the best talent in the world.
However, former manager Ruben Amorim has criticized the lack of talent in the academy despite the rise of players such as Koby Mainu, JJ Gabriel, Aiden Haven and Chido Obi in recent years, leaving the club far behind some rivals when it comes to profiting from young players.
The sale of academy products is treated as pure profit under the Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR), making it an important process for Premier League clubs. Therefore, any fees from the sale of an academy player can be recorded in the club’s books in full, which will help ensure compliance with the rules.
Despite the positive reputation around United’s academy, the latest weekly post from the CIES Football Observatory ranks United 19th among clubs around the world who have made the most money from the sale of academy players over the past decade. As for Premier League clubs, United are fourth behind Chelsea, City and Villa.
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Looking only at English clubs, Chelsea make the most money from the sale of academy products. The Blues brought in £386m from 33 sales, with Mason Mount’s departure from United accounting for 16 per cent of that.
Next to Chelsea was Man City, who raised a total of £353m from 35 sales. The biggest selling point was Cole Palmer’s move to Chelsea, which accounted for 12% of the total.
The next Premier League club is Aston Villa, but they have only sold 13 games so far. Jack Grealish’s move to Manchester City accounted for 39 per cent of the £265m total.
Manchester United are the fourth English club on the list, earning £237m from 30 sales from their academy. Alejandro Garnacho’s summer move to Chelsea was the biggest of these, accounting for 17%.
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Just behind United are Arsenal, with a total of £236m. Like United, that total came from 20 sales, with Alex Iwobi’s move to Everton in 2019 bringing in the most profit from a single sale.
Tottenham are not far behind. Spurs have earned £234m over the last 10 years. This was due to 19 sales, with Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich accounting for 45% of the total.
Liverpool were further down the list, earning £194m from 22 sales. The biggest one was the summer transfer of Jarel Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.
Jarrell Quansah moved from Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window. (Image: Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images)
Looking at the full list, Benfica come out on top with a staggering £514m in revenue across 38 sales. Their biggest sale was the transfer of Joao Félix to Atletico Madrid in 2019.
Ajax came in second place with 43 sales for a total of £396 million. The biggest fee they received was from United for defender Matthijs de Ligt.
Chelsea are third on the list. Lyon, Sporting CP, Real Madrid, AS Monaco, Pacumeiras and Bayer Leverkusen also feature in the top ten.
If we change the filter to the last five years, Chelsea, City and Villa occupy the top three spots, earning £320m, £278m and £256m respectively. United are seventh on the list with £192m.
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Top 10 British clubs appearing in the list (last 10 years)
Chelsea – £386m
Man City – £353m
Aston Villa – £265m
Manchester United – £237m
Arsenal – £236m
Tottenham – £234m
Liverpool – £194m
West Ham – £148m
Leicester City – £148m
Leeds United – £144m
Top 10 British clubs appearing in the list (last 5 years)
Chelsea – £320m
Man City – £278m
Aston Villa – £256m
Manchester United – £193m
Tottenham – £162m
Arsenal – £150m
Liverpool – £121m
West Ham – £115m
Brighton – £90 million
Leicester City – £86m
