Homegrown player sales: The clubs to make the most profit since 2015

Monaco sold Kylian Mbappe in 2018 for the second biggest transfer fee in history
Monaco sold Kylian Mbappe in 2018 for the second biggest transfer fee in history / VALERY HACHE/GettyImages
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CIES Football Observatory has calculated how much clubs around the world have made by selling home-grown players developed in their youth ranks in recent years.

Youth academies can often be the lifeblood of a club, producing players they then sell for a handsome transfer fee to reinvest back in their squad. But even the biggest teams can still make considerable money simply from investing time in developing young talents.

For a player to be considered 'home-grown', they must have spent at least three years at a club between their 15th and 21st birthdays.

The fees include all add-ons and the list covers every transfer registered since the start of the 2015 summer transfer window.

Before getting onto the top 25 selling clubs, here's a look at selected others who didn't make the list: Tottenham (€108m), Roma (€82m), Borussia Dortmund (€81m), Leicester (€74m), Bayern Munich (€73m), Juventus (€72m), Inter (€66m), AC Milan (€65m), Manchester United (€60m)


25. Paris Saint-Germain - €117m

Biggest sale: Moussa Diaby to Bayer Leverkusen (€15m)


24. Fiorentina - €122m

Biggest sale: Federico Chiesa to Juventus (€50m)


23. Aston Villa - €132m

Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish accounts for almost all of Aston Villa's home-grown player profit / Visionhaus/GettyImages

Biggest sale: Jack Grealish to Manchester City (€117m)


22. Dinamo Zagreb - €135m

Biggest sale: Dani Olmo to RB Leipzig (€41m)


21. Porto - €136m

Biggest sale: Fabio Silva to Wolves (€39m)


20. Schalke - €136m

Biggest sale: Leroy Sane to Manchester City (€52m)


19. Arsenal - €139m

Alex Iwobi
Arsenal profited massively from selling Alex Iwobi / James Williamson - AMA/GettyImages

Biggest sale: Alex Iwobi to Everton (€43m)


18. Red Bull Salzburg - €140m

Biggest sale: Patson Daka to Leicester (€29m)


17. Manchester City - €145m

Biggest sale: Kelechi Iheanacho to Leicester (€28m)


16. PSV Eindhoven - €146m

Biggest sale: Memphis Depay to Manchester United (€37m)


15. Anderlecht - €147m

Biggest sale: Jeremy Doku to Rennes (€29m)


14. Athletic Club - €148m

Kepa Arrizabalaga
Kepa Arrizabalaga started at Athletic Bilbao / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages

Biggest sale: Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelsea (€80m)


13. Flamengo - €152m

Biggest sale: Vinicius Junior to Real Madrid (€45m)


12. Barcelona - €161m

Biggest sale: Pedro to Chelsea (€29m)


11. Atletico Madrid - €167m

Biggest sale: Lucas Hernandez to Bayern Munich (€80m)


10. Liverpool - €171m

Raheem Sterling
Liverpool sold Raheem Sterling for big money in 2015 / Stu Forster/GettyImages

Biggest sale: Raheem Sterling to Manchester City (€70m)


9. Sporting CP - €209m

Biggest sale: Joao Mario to Inter (€46m)


8. Chelsea - €210m

Biggest sale: Tammy Abraham to Roma (€44m)


7. Atalanta - €211m

Biggest sale: Amad Diallo to Manchester United (€40m)


6. Bayer Leverkusen - €213m

Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz left Bayer Leverkusen for big money in 2020 / Alexander Hassenstein/GettyImages

Biggest sale: Kai Havertz to Chelsea (€100m)


5. Lyon - €270m

Biggest sale: Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal (€59m)


4. Ajax - €283m

Biggest sale: Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus (€85m)


3. Monaco - €285m

Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe's transfer to PSG saw Monaco pocket €180m / Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

Biggest sale: Kylian Mbappe to PSG (€180m)


2. Real Madrid - €330m

Biggest sale: Alvaro Morata to Chelsea (€79m)


1. Benfica - €379m

Biggest sale: Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid (€121m)


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