Foden fifth, Zaïre-Emery eighth – The most valuable former academy players in the UCL

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Top 10 ranked 

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The Champions League group phase returns this week for a rather dramatic final matchday, with a number of Europe’s biggest clubs still waiting to see if they’ll be taking part in the next round of the competition. Both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain will be in desperate need of all three points if they’re to put their nerves to rest and avoid the very real threat of elimination from the competition at the first hurdle. Fortunately for the two continental giants, they can call on a number of outstanding players to help them overcome the teams they’re set to face. And, in some cases, the stars may be fighting a little bit harder for their club’s success, having come through the ranks as academy players. 

Indeed, Man City will likely turn to Phil Foden to pull the strings on Wednesday, when the reigning English champions look to better a Club Brugge side that have so far picked up three more points than Pep Guardiola’s team. Not only is Foden one of the most valuable players in the competition, but with a market value of €140 million, he’s also the joint-third most valuable player to have played for his current club’s youth teams. PSG can equally call on no less than six players that have made the step up from their academy to the first team, with the most high-profile of which being midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery. With a market value of €60m, the 18-year-old talent is the joint-seventh most valuable former academy player in the competition. And, as our video above clearly demonstrates, both stars aren’t alone in representing the clubs that trained their young prospects into indispensable first team players. 

Just below Zaïre-Emery in the list are Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid star Pablo Barrios, who can both boast a market value of €50m at this moment in time. And alongside the Parisian star at the €60m mark is Inter Milan left-back Federico Dimarco. In sixth place is Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold with a market value of €75m, followed by the aforementioned Foden, who sits level on €140m with Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka claims second spot with a slightly higher market value of €150m, but as things currently stand no former academy player can boast a market value higher than that of Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, whose value recently increased to €180m.