A recent study by the CIES Football Observatory has ranked the best academies in world football.

The intriguing piece of analysis has sought to identify which academies have produced the largest frequency of players that currently play in one of Europe's top five leagues.

With the qualifying terms essentially being that a player had to have been contracted to a club for at least three years between their 15th and 21st birthday.

Which clubs have the best academies?

The study found that, whilst Real Madrid have always been synonymous with buying football's biggest stars, they also have the best academy in the game.

Los Blancos currently have 43 players that came through the ranks at the club now playing in one of Europe's big five leagues.

Their arch-rivals Barcelona occupy second spot having a trained an impressive 38 stars.

Whereas French club Lyon, an institution famous for churning out high potential mega-stars, ties for the final podium position alongside Paris Saint-Germain after developing 34 players that fit the billing.

How about the English clubs?

When it comes to Premier League representation, it's actually Manchester United that lead the way.

Many might have touted Chelsea as the leading light of England, mainly because of their reputation for buying young players on mass and loaning them out for development, but the Red Devils have produced four more stars than the Blues at this point thanks to their total of 28 ballers operating across the continent.

Arsenal (9th) and Manchester City (18th) are the only other UK-based clubs that make the top 20.

View the full standings below.

Marcus Rashford in Man United 2-0 Tottenham

The 20 best academies in world football

20. AS Roma - 18 players
=18. Ajax - 19 players
=18. Man City - 19 players
=15. Toulouse - 20 players
=15. Espanyol - 20 players
=15. Atletico Madrid - 20 players
14. AS Monaco - 22 players
=9. Stade Rennais - 23 players
=9. Arsenal - 23 players
=9. Real Sociedad - 23 players
=9. Athletic Bilbao - 23 players
=9. Chelsea - 23 players
=7. Atalanta - 24 players
=7. Sporting - 24 players
6. Valencia - 25 players
5. Man Utd - 28 players
=3. PSG - 34 players
=3. Lyon - 34 players
2. Barcelona - 38 players
1. Real Madrid - 43 players

It's no surprise that Madrid, Barca and PSG fare so well in the ranking given the sheer size of the clubs and how much they likely invest in their youth set-ups.

However, it's clear that many clubs obviously focus their entire strategy on developing young stars.

Lyon, Valencia and Sporting are prime examples of that. So much so in Sporting's case, that 0 of their 24 graduates playing in Europe do so for their first team.

Read all the latest football news and rumours right here

Tottenham FLOP & OUTCLASSED! Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle United Highlights (The Football Terrace)

Can you name these 20 obscure World Cup winners?