The sale of academy graduates has become a hot topic in recent months, with Premier League teams offloading fringe players in a bid to raise funds for first-team investment. The increasing importance of staying with profitability and sustainability rules has forced even the richest to work smarter.
The benefit of selling academy players is that they essentially cost nothing and so any fee brought in is seen as pure profit when it comes to club accounts. And as tedious as that may sound, it is why the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have been able to spend big in recent months.
Liverpool have raised plenty of money through such sales in recent years, moving on the likes of Harry Wilson, Rhian Brewster and Neco Williams. But how do they rank among Europe's most productive and profitable academies? Take a look below.
9. Manchester City - £217m
City have sold off a lot of their academy talents in recent years, most notable Cole Palmer who joined Chelsea for £42.5m last summer. | AFP via Getty Images
10. Atalanta - £214m
Manchester United signed Amad Diallo for £37m back in 2021, while the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Alessandro Bastoni and Franc Kessie all brought in decent money. | Getty Images
11. RB Salzburg - £213m
Erling Haaland doesn't qualify, having spent less than three years in Austria, but the likes of Karim Adeyemi and Benjamin Sesko have all been sold off for decent profit. | Getty Images
12. PSV Eindhoven - £212m
Liverpool's £35m signing of Cody Gakpo just over a year ago was the latest big-money exit from the Dutch side. Donyell Malen and Memphis Depay also brought in good money. | Getty Images