Argentines are proud their players are everywhere, in big football countries like Spain and England, and small outposts from Albania to Vietnam.

Young players can dream of playing in Wembley Stadium in London or Camp Nou in Barcelona, and the exodus guarantees top talent is continually tested against the best in the world. Even lesser talent finds work.

But local clubs like Boca Juniors and River Plate are paying the price.

Argentine teams survive by finding and selling the rights to players — over 2,000 left in 2010 — at ever younger ages. Few have sophisticated marketing operations, many stadiums are decrepit and ticket sales and merchandising lag as money makers. The talent drain is hurting the nation's league and even, some say, Argentina's chances of winning a third World Cup.

Gerardo Molina, CEO of Euroamericas Sports Marketing, said a recent study by his company showed Argentina has become the No. 1 exporter of football players. In 2010, 2,204 Argentine players were sold or transferred to clubs abroad, topping Brazil as an exporter with 1,674. Molina said selling the rights to Argentine players generated about $500 million.

Molina's said 45 percent of the Argentine players who were sold off ended up in all divisions of six European football powers — England, Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands — with the rest scattered to the four corners from Greece to Indonesia, Finland to Mexico.

"More than from marketing or television, clubs pay off their debts and sustain themselves by selling players," Molina said.

Argentina surpassed Brazil in exporting players over the last several years, and not necessarily because Argentina has more talent, he said.

"The Argentine clubs are weaker financially than the Brazilians. They (clubs) don't know how to generate income, so they sell football players," he said.

To help cash-strapped clubs, in 2009 the Argentine Football Association tore up contracts with its TV rights holders and transferred the package to state-run television. The deal, which offers every league match on free TV, was initially valued at $600 million, but recent reports suggest it was closer to $1 billion. The deal at least doubled the clubs' TV revenue and amounts to a state subsidy for clubs.

The arrangement gave clubs a much-needed income boost and is sure to be a vote winner for President Cristina Fernandez, who is expected to seek re-election in 2011.

"Recently we can see the level of football getting worse in Argentina because even the so-called big clubs can't keep players with offers coming from overseas," said agent Roberto Goris, who runs Goris Football Management in Buenos Aires. "It's clear the quality of play is dropping because the young players are leaving."

Goris said he had placed players in Indonesia, Haiti and the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.

"There is always a market for good Argentine players," Goris added. "There are requests from many countries, and not just for first-division players but for second- and third-division, too."

Argentina's top clubs scout talent, putting prospects in developmental programs. Powerful European clubs like Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Bayern Munich run academies in the country, or have agreements with academies and talent scouts.

"Because Europeans are looking here more and more ... we have to sign them at an earlier age," said Sebastian Pait, coordinator of youth scouting for Argentina first-division club Velez Sarsfield.

The club runs a youth academy and, at almost any time during the year, houses 46 players — typically ages 13 to 18 — in a dormitory located at the club's main stadium complex. In addition to schooling, players get psychological counseling and nutritional advice.

To protect talent from poachers, clubs may sign players to a first contract for about $1,000 monthly — big money for many players who, like Maradona, grew up in grinding poverty and hope to use football as a way out.

Pait said he sees more than 7,000 players a year and some even make it big, like winger Mauro Zarate. He was sold by Velez several years ago to Qatar club Al-Sadd for a whopping $22 million. He later moved to England's Birmingham and on to Italy's Lazio.

"Players can make it without being a Messi," Pait said. "Players who understand they have to work at it, have to study a language, and train seriously each day will wind up playing somewhere without being so outstanding. The market is very large."

So big that Argentine Football Association can't even keep track of all the Argentine players abroad. It has acknowledged, for instance, that it knew nothing about Messi until he surfaced with Barcelona's junior team.