VCF Academy sixth in CIES Football Observatory report

The VCF Academy is considered to be among the best in Europe for training players for the elite level in Europe. The CIES Football Observatory's 394th report has ranked the academy sixth in Europe for the number of players produced there who currently play in the 'Big 5' leagues: England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France.

A total of 25 players competing in LaLiga, the Premier League, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A have been trained at the Ciudad Deportiva. The VCF Academy is included in the Top 10 for the fourth consecutive year.

Many of them do so at Valencia CF itself -José Luis Gayà, Toni Lato, Hugo Guillamón, Jesús Vázquez, Cristian Rivero, Yunus Musah, Cristhian Mosquera and Fran Pérez - but there are also VCF Academy products at clubs around Europe.

The main criterion followed by the CIES Football Observatory is that established by UEFA, including players who have spent at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 in a club's youth system and have participated in a national league.

The list of the CIES Football Observatory is extended to 30 players in the calculation of all the leagues in Europe.

Not reflected in the report are an additional five players in other European leagues not considered to be amongst the Top 5, as well as players such as Rubén Iranzo, Jesús Santiago and Mario Domínguez, who have already made their debuts in LaLiga but are not included this year.