Paris Saint-Germain's youth academy has topped the rankings for youth development in the 2018-19 season.
While Olympique Lyonnais had won the title six times in a row, it was Paris Saint-Germain who got the nod for the 2018-2019 season, their youth academy being ranked number one among France's professional clubs. Stade Rennais and FC Sochaux-Montbéliard rounded out the top three, ahead of Olympique Lyonnais (4th) and AS Monaco (5th). Next in the Top 10 are FC Nantes (6th), SM Caen (7th), AS Saint-Etienne (8th), Toulouse FC (9th) and Le Havre (10th).
12 graduates in the PSG senior team
Ligue 1 Conforama champions PSG used 12 youth academy graduates during the season just passed: Moussa Diaby (25 games), Presnel Kimpembe (24 games), Christopher Nkunku (22 games), Alphonse Areola (21 games), Colin Dagba (17 games), Adrien Rabiot (14 games), Stanley Nsoki (12 games), Antoine Bernede (2 games), Loïc Mbe Soh (2 games), Timothy Weah (2 games), Metehan Guclu (1 game) and Kévin Rimane (1 game).
WATCH: Three PSG youth academy graduates decisive in early-season win
This ranking of centres approved by the FFF's National Technical Directorate (DTN) is based on the following five efficiency criteria:
- the number of professional contracts signed by players trained at the club
- the number of matches played for the senior team by players trained at the club
- the number of matches played in the national team by players trained at the club
- the number of school diplomas obtained by players trained at the club
- the number of coaching contracts
