For a long time the Premier League has been seen as the best league in the World however after abject performances of British teams in the Champions League and mediocre displays from Premier League players in the Euros for example questions have been raised over the Premier League's standing.To analyse this issue we must define 'best':
Best can either refer to entertainment from a fan's perspective or the overall quality in the league.
Entertainment wise:
Past 5 League champions
Liga BBVA (Spain) : Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid
Bundesliga (Germany): Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund
Serie A (Italy): Juventus
Ligue 1 (France): PSG, Montpellier
EPL (England): Leicester, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United
The Premier League is not dominated by a one, two or three clubs unlike the other major leagues. Juventus have won the past 5 titles, Bayern Munich and PSG the past 4, there is less of a pattern in La Liga where Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have drawn closer in recent years. The diversity in the Premier League makes it much more engaging from a neutral perspective, this is no better epitomised by Leicester's infamous 5000/1 title victory. This just goes to show how unpredictable a league has become with so many teams competing at the top.
Goals wise
The EPL has average 2.79 goals a game in recent seasons, this is greater than both the Serie A and La Liga and narrowly pipped by the Bundesliga (2.94). However last season the top scorer in each league recorded:
- La Liga: 40 goals (Suarez)
- Ligue 1: 38 goals (Ibrahimovic)
- Serie A: 36 goals (Higuain)
- Bundesliga: 30 goals (Lewandowski)
- EPL: 25 goals (Kane)
Whilst initially it appears as if the EPL is worse off think again. In Leagues such as La Liga the likes of Suarez find that most of their goals come in large, high scoring victories (Suarez netted 4 in an 8-0 victory over Deportivo). This tells us that often in some Leagues there is a large gap in quality so competitiveness is reduced which makes matches less entertaining for fans as they are often routs with matches over in 20 minutes. On the other hand the Premier League offers closer matches due to a higher quality of defending which will become more engaging for fans since matches are tightly contested and rarely unbalanced. Manchester City slumped to a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last season despite the latter's torrid form and the likes of De Bruyne and Aguero featuring. This reinforces the idea that matches are closer in the Premier League when compared to Liga BBVA or Ligue 1.
Biggest win margin 2015/16:
Ligue 1: PSG 9 Troyes 0
La Liga: Real Madrid 10 Rayo Vallecano 2
Bundesliga: Wolfsburg 6 Werder Bremen 0
Serie A: Napoli 6 Bologna 0
EPL: Liverpool 6 Aston Villa 0
As you can see the largest gaps in quality are significantly less in the EPL and Serie A compared to Ligue 1 or La Liga. Some will say this makes it less entertaining as their are fewer routs whilst others argue closer games are much more engaging, most of all from a neutral's perspective.
The shortlist for UEFA best player (Ballon D'or) has recently been released. It consists of 10 players who have been voted for by 55 journalists from each UEFA country. The top 10 were as followed (ranked in leagues):
Serie A: Gianluigi Buffon (1)
Bundesliga: Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer (2)
La Liga: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, Pepe, Antoine Griezmann, Toni Kroos (7)
EPL players (as of last season):
11) Riyad Mahrez
12) Jamie Vardy
13) Dimitri Payet
17) Ngolo Kante
19) Eden Hazard
This suggests that players in the EPL are nowhere near as good as those in La Liga for example, this is supported by the Champions League:
2015/16: Semi Finalists: Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City
2014/15: Semi finalists: Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich
2013/14: Semi Finalists: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid
2012/13: Semi Finalists: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona
Whilst English clubs have rarely featured in the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years they still surpass the number of Serie A (1) and Ligue 1 (0) sides in the Semi Finals. La Liga once again is on top with Barcelona and Real Madrid constantly featuring in the later stages of the competition, more recently alongside Atletico Madrid.
The top 10 players at the Euros in France this summer were:
Ronaldo, Bale, Griezmann, Payet, Pepe, Ramsey, Lloris, Chiellini, Kroos and De Bruyne.
4 of these players are in the EPL which suggests it's far from drooping! Outside of Europe the likes of Sanchez and Aguero are some of the best players in the EPL, to say quality is very low is ridiculous given the likes of Hazard and Ibrahimovic in the EPL.
Overview
Financially the EPL is the most well supported league in the World with deals as high as £5 billion for TV showing rights propelling the League forwards. Transfer spending in the EPL is higher than any other league, look no further than a potential £100 Pogba move! As a result I would still say the EPL is the best League in the World in spite of being outranked by La Liga in terms of quality. However the EPL retains its crown ahead of the Spanish League thanks to its competitiveness and unpredictability.
As you can see the largest gaps in quality are significantly less in the EPL and Serie A compared to Ligue 1 or La Liga. Some will say this makes it less entertaining as their are fewer routs whilst others argue closer games are much more engaging, most of all from a neutral's perspective.
Quality wise:
The shortlist for UEFA best player (Ballon D'or) has recently been released. It consists of 10 players who have been voted for by 55 journalists from each UEFA country. The top 10 were as followed (ranked in leagues):
Serie A: Gianluigi Buffon (1)
Bundesliga: Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer (2)
La Liga: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, Pepe, Antoine Griezmann, Toni Kroos (7)
EPL players (as of last season):
11) Riyad Mahrez
13) Dimitri Payet
17) Ngolo Kante
19) Eden Hazard
This suggests that players in the EPL are nowhere near as good as those in La Liga for example, this is supported by the Champions League:
2015/16: Semi Finalists: Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City
2014/15: Semi finalists: Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich
2013/14: Semi Finalists: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid
2012/13: Semi Finalists: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona
Whilst English clubs have rarely featured in the latter stages of the Champions League in recent years they still surpass the number of Serie A (1) and Ligue 1 (0) sides in the Semi Finals. La Liga once again is on top with Barcelona and Real Madrid constantly featuring in the later stages of the competition, more recently alongside Atletico Madrid.The top 10 players at the Euros in France this summer were:
Ronaldo, Bale, Griezmann, Payet, Pepe, Ramsey, Lloris, Chiellini, Kroos and De Bruyne.
4 of these players are in the EPL which suggests it's far from drooping! Outside of Europe the likes of Sanchez and Aguero are some of the best players in the EPL, to say quality is very low is ridiculous given the likes of Hazard and Ibrahimovic in the EPL.
Overview
Financially the EPL is the most well supported league in the World with deals as high as £5 billion for TV showing rights propelling the League forwards. Transfer spending in the EPL is higher than any other league, look no further than a potential £100 Pogba move! As a result I would still say the EPL is the best League in the World in spite of being outranked by La Liga in terms of quality. However the EPL retains its crown ahead of the Spanish League thanks to its competitiveness and unpredictability.
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