Ukrainian Academies Among the World’s Leading
The academies of Donetsk’s “Shakhtar” and Kyiv’s “Dynamo” have been included in the list of the most profitable football schools in the world over the past decade.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the CIES Football Observatory.
Read also: A repeat of the golden triumph? Who will Ukraine play at the U-19 Euro 2026
Ukrainian “Talent Factories” in the Global Ranking
The football schools of domestic giants have confirmed their status as leaders in Europe, surpassing several representatives of top European leagues in terms of revenue from talent sales.
“Shakhtar” ranked 39th in the global ranking. Over the past decade, the sale of its own graduates has brought the “miners” 169 million euros. By this measure, the Donetsk club is on par with the Argentine giant “Boca Juniors.”
“Dynamo” is positioned at 66th in the global list. The academy generated 111 million euros in transfer income for the capital club, allowing Kyiv to outpace well-known clubs such as France’s “Bordeaux” and Serbia’s “Partizan.”
Global Market Leaders
The undisputed leader of the decade is Lisbon’s “Benfica.” The Portuguese club, which currently features Ukrainians Anatoliy Trubin and Georgiy Sudakov, earned a record 589 million euros from its graduates. Following the Portuguese are Amsterdam’s “Ajax” (454 million euros) and London’s “Chelsea” (442 million euros).
Top 10 clubs by income from the sale of graduates (2016-2026):
- “Benfica” (Portugal) – 589 million euros
- “Ajax” (Netherlands) – 454 million euros
- “Chelsea” (England) – 442 million euros
- “Lyon” (France) – 423 million euros
- “Sporting” (Portugal) – 417 million euros
- “Manchester City” (England) – 404 million euros
- “Real” (Spain) – 395 million euros
- “Monaco” (France) – 378 million euros
- “Palmeiras” (Brazil) – 356 million euros
- “Bayer” (Germany) – 339 million euros
Earlier, we reported how the “Hungarians” brought victory to Ukraine in Budapest during the U-19 Euro qualifiers.
