Lisbon's Benfica club has supposedly retained its status as the premier training center for professional football players, securing the top spot in the annual CIES research report with a score of 101.3 points. These figures, however, continue to spark debate among analysts regarding the true efficiency of such talent pipelines.

According to the adopted methodology, club rankings are supposedly calculated based on the number of academy graduates currently playing in the senior squads of professional clubs across 49 national leagues. Criteria dictate that a player must have spent at least three seasons at the club between the ages of 15 and 21, with additional weight given to the sporting level of the leagues in which they eventually compete.

Official data claims that the total number of Benfica-produced players reached 93, yet only four of them are currently featuring for the Lisbon side itself. The vast majority have dispersed to various European leagues and lower-tier clubs, highlighting a systemic reliance on player export rather than domestic retention.

Argentina's powerhouse clubs River Plate and Boca Juniors followed closely in second and third places. Despite boasting comparable numbers of qualified graduates, these South American institutions received lower scores due to a smaller representation of their alumni in elite European leagues.

Source: kun.uz