Anderlecht top supplier for big leagues

YOUTH Only three clubs that are not active in the five biggest leagues deliver more youth players to these leagues than Anderlecht. No less than thirteen players trained by Anderlecht are currently active in a G5-leagues. That's what the CIES Football Observatory calculated.


With 42 players each, Barcelona and Real Madrid deliver the most youth products to the five biggest European leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France). It is only natural that other clubs from these leagues are also training many players to join them.

Club that does not play in one of these competitions and delivers the most youth players for it is Sporting Lisbon with 21 players. This is followed by Ajax with twenty and River Plate with fourteen. Anderlecht is a nice fourth with thirteen players.

When we look at the 31 biggest leagues of Europe, Anderlecht delivers forty players. Standard does a bit better with 42. Leader in this ranking is Ajax with 81. This is followed by Shaktar Donetsk (75), Sporting Lisbon, Dinamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb (all three 70).

UEFA defines a training club as "clubs where footballers aged between 15 and 21 have played for at least three years". The season in which players celebrated their 15th and 21st birthdays is also included.