If you enjoy saves where the team’s star comes through the youth ranks, choosing a club starts with the academy. So we looked at the best FM27 youth academies. The numbers come from the FM Blog database, which put together a top 100 with clubs from 34 countries.
The good news: Benfica and Sporting are up near the top, level with Ajax and Chelsea. Also, FC Porto and Braga make the list too, further down. In other words, Portugal have four clubs in the top 100.
The four ratings that count
The FM Blog added up four ratings for each club, all on the game’s 1 to 20 scale. So the maximum possible is 80 points. Each rating has the same weight:
- Youth Recruitment: shows how far the club can reach to bring in young players, inside and outside its region.
- Youth Facilities: affects the quality of the young players in the yearly youth intake.
- Junior Coaching: helps academy players develop faster.
- Training Facilities: serve the whole squad, in other words they also count for players already in the first team.
In short, the first two decide who arrives at the academy. Meanwhile, the last two decide how much those players will grow.
The top: Barcelona and Manchester City in front
| Club | Nation | Recruit. | Youth fac. | Junior co. | Training | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | ESP | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 79 |
| Manchester City | ING | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 79 |
| Benfica | POR | 20 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 77 |
| Ajax | HOL | 19 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 77 |
| Sporting | POR | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 77 |
| Chelsea | ING | 18 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 77 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | FRA | 19 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 76 |
| FC Liefering | AUT | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 75 |
| AZ | HOL | 19 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 74 |
| Real Madrid | ESP | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 74 |
| RB Salzburg | AUT | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 74 |
| FC Porto | POR | 18 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 67 |
| Braga | POR | 16 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 67 |
The best FM27 youth academies and the Portuguese clubs. Data: FM Blog
At the top are Barcelona and Manchester City, both with 79 points. Barcelona only miss the maximum on training facilities, with 19. City, meanwhile, drop a point on junior coaching.
Then comes a group of four clubs on 77 points: Benfica, Sporting, Ajax and Chelsea. Right behind, PSG score 76 and FC Liefering, Salzburg’s feeder side, reach 75. Finally, AZ, Real Madrid and Salzburg themselves have 74, while Athletic and Liverpool sit on 73.
Benfica and Sporting: same total, different profiles
Benfica have 20 for youth recruitment, 20 for youth facilities and 20 for training facilities. However, junior coaching stays at 17. In other words, Seixal gets very high quality youngsters, but there is room to improve the work done with them.
Sporting are more balanced. They have 19 for recruitment, 19 for youth facilities, 19 for junior coaching and 20 for training facilities. So they are the Portuguese club with the best junior coaching on the list.
In practice, at Benfica it pays to ask the board for better junior coaching early on. At Sporting, the job is mostly to keep the level. Also, in both cases a good head of youth development helps, because he is the one who handles the yearly intake.
FC Porto and Braga, level
FC Porto and Braga both total 67 points, but in different ways. Porto have 18 for youth recruitment and 18 for junior coaching, but only 15 for youth facilities and 16 for training facilities. In other words, they find and coach young players well, but their facilities hold them back.
Braga are the opposite: 16 for recruitment, 17 for youth facilities, 16 for junior coaching and 18 for training facilities. So both are well behind Benfica and Sporting, but still good bases for a youth save. At Porto, your first request to the board should be better youth facilities.
The countries with the most academies
In the FM Blog top 100, England is the country with the most clubs, with 11. Next come Spain, with 9, Italy, with 7, and Germany and the United States, with 5 each. Finally, Portugal have 4, just like the Netherlands, France, Austria and Belgium.
Our take
Having Benfica and Sporting level with Ajax and Chelsea says a lot about Portuguese youth development. Still, the two academies have different profiles, and that changes the first request you make to the board. So if you want to bring through young players, either one is an excellent choice, and FC Porto or Braga are good alternatives, with work to do on the facilities. To pick the right names, check our best young Portuguese players in FM27 and our FM27 training plans.
