Stade Rennais: France's Talent Factory
Last season, it was Eduardo Camavinga who helped Real Madrid edge Borussia Dortmund in the final. This year, it was a pair of former Rennes youth players, Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé, who helped Paris Saint-Germain lift the club's first-ever Champions League trophy.
Doué was in Rennes' system from 2011 until 2024 when he left for PSG. Last weekend, the Frenchman recorded a brace as PSG defeated Inter Milan in the Champions League final, putting himself in the center of the spotlight.
Then, the other Rennes youth product, Dembélé, recorded two assists in PSG's dominant win. Dembélé spent seven years with Les Rouge et Noirs going from the academy to the first team before heading abroad.
Both players had a significant impact on the capital club winning the treble this season, as Luis Enrique recorded this feat for the second time in his coaching career.
Dembélé and Doué will look to join Camavinga as another former Rennes player to win a second Champions League after the midfielder won the trophy in 2021 and 2023, making the switch to Real Madrid with ease.
This trio of players is a long list of Rennes players who learned their craft with the French club before deciding to spread their wings elsewhere. Yoann Gourcuff, who spent six years between Rennes youth academy and first team. He would leave in 2006 to join AC Milan, where he won the Champions League during the 2006-07 season with the Serie A side.
Another former Rennes youth product who went on to reach great heights after his time with the club was Sylvain Wiltord. The attacker spent six years between the academy and first team, with his best years coming with Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais.
Wiltord would win two Premier League titles and two FA Cup trophies while also being part of a Lyon side that won three straight Ligue 1 McDonald's trophies.
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