da casino： The club's investment in youth has paid off handsomely in terms of player sales and producing first-team players like Phil Foden and Rico Lewis
da betobet： In 2014, Manchester City finally opened the doors on their brand new, state-of-the-art training ground, the City Football Academy. Costing an estimated £200 million ($249m) it boasts 16 full size pitches, an indoor pitch, a stadium for its youth and women's teams, multiple gyms and a hydrotherapy facility.
"It is the best facility in the world," said then manager Manuel Pellegrini. "We have all that you need to work in every sense. I am sure it is a very big step for this club to continue growing every day as they want."
As well as giving the first team the tools they needed for their future assaults on the Premier League and Champions League, the new facility had the aim of developing the City players of the future. At the time it opened, no player from City's youth set up had gone on to make a first team debut since Sheikh Mansour had bought the club in 2008.
"We are already seeing results from investment in our academy in recent years," said chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak. "The development of homegrown youth talent into first-team players – a stated aim at the time of the club’s acquisition – remains an achievable ambition in the years ahead."
Nine years on and that objective has certainly been met, with Phil Foden one of City's most important players and Rico Lewis making his way in the team, recently signing a new contract until 2028. The academy has also had another benefit: earning the club fabulous amounts of money through player sales.
Since 2017, City have earned more than £260m ($324m) in selling youngsters, comfortably paying off the cost of building the academy, which is located a stone's throw from the Etihad Stadium, and giving the club a tidy profit which it is only going to build on. In the last year alone, City have pocketed £156m ($194m) in young players, allowing Pep Guardiola to replenish his squad with top talents from abroad and staying well within financial fair play limits.
As well as ensuring the club stays financially sustainable, City's academy is building the future England team. Ten of the players called up by Lee Carsley for the under-21 team's upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers came through the club's academy, while four players led the Young Lions to win the under-21 European Championship in Georgia in the summer.
GOAL takes a look at the biggest success stories of City's highly productive academy…
Getty ImagesSam Edozie (£10m)
The winger looked certain for his big break in Guardiola's side after impressing during pre-season ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, scoring in all of the club's friendly matches. The then-18-year-old got an opportunity to show what he could do in a proper match by starting against Leicester City in the Community Shield but after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Wembley he got no more minutes for the first team.
Edozie joined Southampton for a fee rising to £10m ($12.5m) last year and has had far more opportunities at Saints, playing just under half of Premier League matches last season. He finally scored his first goal for the club in the 2-1 win over Queens' Park Rangers last month.
AdvertisementGettyShea Charles (£14.5m)
The midfielder was another player who had barely played for Pep Guardiola's side but was still highly coveted over the summer. Charles finally made his City debut off the bench against Brentford on the final day of last season and it was enough to attract the attention of Southampton.
The Northern Ireland international was sold for an initial fee of £10.5m ($13m) plus a further £4m ($5m) in add-ons, becoming the latest in a long line of players to make the move from the Etihad Stadium to St Mary's.
Getty ImagesGavin Bazunu (£15m)
Bazunu joined City's academy as a 16-year-old from League of Ireland giants Shamrock Rovers. He continued his footballing education in Manchester but never got to play for the first team, instead getting professional experience with League One sides Rochdale and Portsmouth.
Ireland's No. 1 joined Southampton last year for an initial fee of £12m ($15m) and had a rocky first season in the Premier League, making a number of individual mistakes as Saints were relegated. He remains their first-choice 'keeper in the Championship.
Getty ImagesCarlos Borges (£17.3m)
Borges was the leading light of City's under-21 side last year, finishing top scorer in the Premier League 2 with 21 goals and also being named player of the season as his side won a third consecutive title (just like the senior team).
The Portugal youth international, 19, never had the chance to play for Guardiola and has looked to the future away with City. After West Ham showed interest in signing him over the summer he eventually opted to join Ajax, which, with their tradition of developing young players, looks like being an ideal destination for him to continue his stunning rise.