Benfica lead Europe in youth development, rivals trail in elite ranking | OneFootball

Benfica is the only Portuguese club in the European top 20 that makes the greatest use of players developed by the club itself still in the squad in 2025/26. According to Sportingpedia data, based on Transfermarkt, the Eagles have nine players in these conditions, matching clubs such as Real Madrid and Feyenoord.

In the European context, Benfica stands out as an exception in a landscape dominated by Dutch clubs. The Eredivisie places seven teams in the top 20, with a total of 125 homegrown players, while Spain comes right behind with 121. Portugal ranks only 7th, with 45 players, making it the last among the major leagues.

However, when market value is analyzed, the picture changes. Sporting sits in 8th place with €143.5 million worth of homegrown players, while Porto appears in 15th with €90.8 million. Among the individual standouts, Geovany Quenda leads for the Lions with €42 million, while Diogo Costa is worth €40 million for the Dragons. At the top globally is Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s star, valued at €200 million, with La Masia totaling an impressive €610.5 million.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.