Ligue 1 boasts a rich pool of talent, with clubs in France’s top tier nurturing young players through their academies. Here’s a closer look at the clubs that have excelled in nurturing talent from their academies throughout the 21st century.
This season, several players have made their presence felt in the first team, but during this period in Ligue 1, Stade Rennaisstand out for fielding the most homegrown talent.
From Romain Danzé to recent talents like Désiré Doué and Mahamadou Nagida, alongside renowned figures such as Yoann Gourcuff, Jimmy Briand, Yann M’Vila, Eduardo Camavinga, Julien Féret, and Ousmane Dembélé, Les Rouge et Noirs have amassed 86 homegrown players who have played in Ligue 1 wearing the SRFC colors.
NO ANGLE DÉSIRÉ DOUÉ, WHAT A GOAL 😳 pic.twitter.com/S3PpWmQzb3
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 20, 2023
Although Rennes stand above all French clubs with the amount of academy talent they've relied upon, other teams such as FC Nantes (78), Olympique Lyonnais (73), Paris Saint-Germain (73), Bordeaux (72), and Toulouse FC (71) have done the same, as these four clubs have utilized at least 70 players over the period.
Who gets the most out of using their homegrown talent?
Even though Rennes have fielded the highest number of players from their academy in the 21st century, Lyon holds the advantage when it comes to the total number of matches played by homegrown talent. Players from Lyon's academy have collectively participated in 3,641 matches, whereas those from Rennes have been involved in 3,632 matches.
During this time frame, homegrown players from three other clubs have collectively played in over 3,000 matches: Montpellier HSC with 3,174 matches, FC Nantes with 3,152 matches, and Toulouse FC with 3,117 matches.
While Rennes and Lyon may have similar numbers of matches played by their academy players, there's a noticeable difference in the goals scored by homegrown talent between the two clubs.
Les Gones owe a big thanks to players such as Alexandre Lacazette, Karim Benzema, and Nabil Fekir, among other talented academy graduates. These players have been instrumental in scoring a total of 437 goals for the club.
250 career goals for Lacazette 🫡🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/Y0Vp2qYzDD
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) April 3, 2024
Behind Lyon is Rennes, whose homegrown talents have registered 244 goals. After SRFC, four clubs have accumulated over 200 total goals from their academy players in the 21st century: Montpellier HSC (236 goals), Bordeaux (217 goals), FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (205 goals), and LOSC Lille (204 goals).
