In the words of Michael Scott, “Well, well, well, how the turn tables!”
Remember how it was always “Real Madrid buys Galacticos, we build them” in the old La Masia vs La Fabrica debate? That was the go-to claim from the Barcelona side, and, to be fair, it left little room for rebuttal, until now.
In a recent study by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), La Fabrica has clearly pulled ahead of the long-believed dominance of La Masia. And not just by a sliver, they’re beating them convincingly in a metric that Real Madrid fans are going to love pulling out in every social media debate from here on. (Save this article. You’ll probably need it more than you think.)
The study by CIES analysed the history of 55 top football academies around the globe and ranked their success based on the minutes their graduates have played in the top five leagues in the world.
This isn’t just a snapshot. The data covers an extensive period, from the 2005/06 season to the 2024/25 season, which only adds to the credibility and weight of the findings.
Real Madrid’s La Fabrica is beating La Masia outright
The study defines academy graduates as players who spent at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 20 at a club’s academy. This isn’t an arbitrary definition, it’s the one commonly used by UEFA and other European institutions, as cited by CIES.
And now, the numbers speak for themselves.
According to the study, La Fabrica graduates have accumulated 1,078,118 minutes in the top five European leagues during the time period, more than any other club in the world, and notably more than La Masia’s 1,043,263 minutes.
In another significant metric, 166 La Fabrica products have played in these top leagues during the study period, compared to 156 from La Masia. That’s two clear victories for the Madrid academy.
So, that’s that. Use this information whenever the debate comes up. It’s a firm rebuttal to the myth that La Masia reigns supreme while La Fabrica merely operates in the shadows.
The reality is that Real Madrid’s academy might lack the glamour and media attention, but when actual numbers are tallied, they tell a very different story.
Now is the time that Real Madrid started trusting their graduates more with their own first team rather than sending them elsewhere. They can start by the latest Gonzalo Garcia.