It is an age old question that always produces plenty of discussion and quite often a lot of arguments. Which is the best football league in the world? Some people argue that the EPL has the best quality overall but then others say that Spain has the best players in the world therefore it is the best, while some say that Germany has the best crowds and fans but that South America produces the most talent. The discussion is endless. Not only is it difficult to judge which league is the best but it is also hard to choose how to judge each league, is it based on the average goal difference? Who has the best players? What league produces the most exciting football? Once again, the discussion is endless. One thing is for sure though, the best football league in the world is bound to be either one of the big five in Europe (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) or one of the big two in South America (Argentina, Brazil). I'm going to try to rate different aspects of each of these seven leagues and decide which one is the best.
Average Goals per Game
A common way to measure the quality of a league is to have a look at the average goals per game during a season. Most people agree that goals equals high quality, however goals can be scored by anyone and can be of poor quality. I see goals more as a measure of excitement or entertainment rather than quality. Nevertheless, an entertaining league makes it a good one. Here are the ratings by looking at the average goals per game in the last five seasons:
#1. German Bundesliga: 2.892 goals per game
#2. Spanish La Liga: 2.796 goals per game
#3. English Premier League: 2.732 goals per game
#4. Brazilian Brasileiro: 2.612 goals per game
#5. Italian Serie A: 2.584 goals per game
#6. French Ligue 1: 2.414 goals per game
#7. Argentinian Primera: 2.336 goals per game
Average Attendance
A big, enthusiastic crowd always creates a great atmosphere at football matches. Fans might not directly increase the quality of teams or leagues but they definitely encourage their players to perform better. The singing and chanting always adds to the spectacle. These are the ratings of average attendances from last season:
#1. German Bundesliga: 42,421
#2. English Premier League: 35,931
#3. Spanish La Liga: 29,430
#4. Italian Serie A: 24,655
#5. Argentinian Primera: 21,321
#6. French Ligue 1: 19,262
#7. Brazilian Brasileiro: 14,951
Champions League / Copa Libertadores Results
By far the two most prestigious continental cup competitions in the world are the European Champions League and the South American Copa Libertadores. These competitions are a good measurement of how strong football leagues are since the best teams go up against each other and they're generally extremely tough to win. I'll be rating each league based on the results from the past five years.
#1. Brazilian Brasileiro: 4 winners / 1 runner-up
#2. Spanish La Liga: 2 winners
#3. German Bundesliga: 1 winner / 3 runner-ups
#4. English Premier League: 1 winner / 2 runner-ups
#5. Argentinian Primera: 1 winner / 1 runner-up
#6. Italian Serie A: 1 winner
#7. French Ligue 1: none
Europa League / Copa Sudamericana Results
The Europa League and the Copa Sudamericana are the second tier continental cup competitions for Europe and South America respectively. Looking at the results from these competitions gives an indication of the strength of the mid table teams of each league and therefore more of an overall look at a league's quality. Once again I'll be rating each league based on results from the past five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 2 winners / 1 runner-up
=1. Argentinian Primera: 2 winners / 1 runner-up
#3. Brazilian Brasileiro: 1 winner / 3 runner-ups
#4. English Premier League: 1 winner / 1 runner-up
#5. German Bundesliga: 1 runner-up
#6. Italian Serie A: none
=6. French Ligue 1: none
Club World Cup Results
The Club World Cup was established by FIFA to find a world champion, the best club in the world. Although most fans don't see this tournament as very important, it is still a good measuring stick for leagues world wide and great to compare the contrasting styles of football from the different corners of the world. These are the ratings based on results from the past five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 2 winners
#2. Brazilian Brasileiro: 1 winner / 1 runner-up
#3. German Bundesliga: 1 winner
=3. Italian Serie A: 1 winner
#4. Argentinian Primera: 1 runner-up
=4. English Premier League: 1 runner-up
#7. French Ligue 1: none
Ballon d'Or Results
It's simple, the Ballon d'Or award names the best player on the planet. The league with the best player in the world is the best league in the world right? Well not exactly, although it does add great quality to a competition. Here are the league ratings based on the Ballon d'Or results from the last five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 5 winners / 5 runner-ups / 4 third places
#2. German Bundesliga: 1 third place
#3. Brazilian Brasileiro: none
=3. Italian Serie A: none
=3. Argentinian Primera: none
=3. English Premier League: none
=3. French Ligue 1: none
Players in the FIFPro World XI
Every year at the FIFA Ballon d'Or gala, FIFPro announces the World XI, in other words the team of the year. Every year the choices for each position are heavily discussed as nearly every time a great player misses out. The choice for the team of the year could be said to be very objective but the voting system does give it great credibility. Once again it is a great measure of quality between the various leagues. Here are the results from the past five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 40 / 55 possible players
#2. English Premier League: 7 / 55 possible players
#3. German Bundesliga: 3 / 55 possible players
=3. Italian Serie A: 3 / 55 possible players
#5. French Ligue 1: 2 / 55 possible players
#6. Brazilian Brasileiro: none
=6. Argentinian Primera: none
Conclusion
Characteristics such as attendances and goals per games are more a measurement of excitement or level of spectacle than quality. While these two sections had results that could be more influenced by external factors, team and individual accolades are where the better leagues in the world stand out. After looking at the results in each section it is clear that the Spanish La Liga is currently the best league in the world. They came either first or second in all of the team and individual ratings. The most remarkable statistic is that in the last five years 40 out of the 55 possible players chosen for the team of the year came from Spanish clubs. Here are my final rankings based on the results from each section:
#1. Spanish La Liga
Average Goals per Game
A common way to measure the quality of a league is to have a look at the average goals per game during a season. Most people agree that goals equals high quality, however goals can be scored by anyone and can be of poor quality. I see goals more as a measure of excitement or entertainment rather than quality. Nevertheless, an entertaining league makes it a good one. Here are the ratings by looking at the average goals per game in the last five seasons:
#1. German Bundesliga: 2.892 goals per game
#2. Spanish La Liga: 2.796 goals per game
#3. English Premier League: 2.732 goals per game
#4. Brazilian Brasileiro: 2.612 goals per game
#5. Italian Serie A: 2.584 goals per game
#6. French Ligue 1: 2.414 goals per game
#7. Argentinian Primera: 2.336 goals per game
Average Attendance
A big, enthusiastic crowd always creates a great atmosphere at football matches. Fans might not directly increase the quality of teams or leagues but they definitely encourage their players to perform better. The singing and chanting always adds to the spectacle. These are the ratings of average attendances from last season:
#1. German Bundesliga: 42,421
#2. English Premier League: 35,931
#3. Spanish La Liga: 29,430
#4. Italian Serie A: 24,655
#5. Argentinian Primera: 21,321
#6. French Ligue 1: 19,262
#7. Brazilian Brasileiro: 14,951
Champions League / Copa Libertadores Results
By far the two most prestigious continental cup competitions in the world are the European Champions League and the South American Copa Libertadores. These competitions are a good measurement of how strong football leagues are since the best teams go up against each other and they're generally extremely tough to win. I'll be rating each league based on the results from the past five years.
#1. Brazilian Brasileiro: 4 winners / 1 runner-up
#2. Spanish La Liga: 2 winners
#3. German Bundesliga: 1 winner / 3 runner-ups
#4. English Premier League: 1 winner / 2 runner-ups
#5. Argentinian Primera: 1 winner / 1 runner-up
#6. Italian Serie A: 1 winner
#7. French Ligue 1: none
Europa League / Copa Sudamericana Results
The Europa League and the Copa Sudamericana are the second tier continental cup competitions for Europe and South America respectively. Looking at the results from these competitions gives an indication of the strength of the mid table teams of each league and therefore more of an overall look at a league's quality. Once again I'll be rating each league based on results from the past five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 2 winners / 1 runner-up
=1. Argentinian Primera: 2 winners / 1 runner-up
#3. Brazilian Brasileiro: 1 winner / 3 runner-ups
#4. English Premier League: 1 winner / 1 runner-up
#5. German Bundesliga: 1 runner-up
#6. Italian Serie A: none
=6. French Ligue 1: none
Club World Cup Results
The Club World Cup was established by FIFA to find a world champion, the best club in the world. Although most fans don't see this tournament as very important, it is still a good measuring stick for leagues world wide and great to compare the contrasting styles of football from the different corners of the world. These are the ratings based on results from the past five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 2 winners
#2. Brazilian Brasileiro: 1 winner / 1 runner-up
#3. German Bundesliga: 1 winner
=3. Italian Serie A: 1 winner
#4. Argentinian Primera: 1 runner-up
=4. English Premier League: 1 runner-up
#7. French Ligue 1: none
Ballon d'Or Results
It's simple, the Ballon d'Or award names the best player on the planet. The league with the best player in the world is the best league in the world right? Well not exactly, although it does add great quality to a competition. Here are the league ratings based on the Ballon d'Or results from the last five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 5 winners / 5 runner-ups / 4 third places
#2. German Bundesliga: 1 third place
#3. Brazilian Brasileiro: none
=3. Italian Serie A: none
=3. Argentinian Primera: none
=3. English Premier League: none
=3. French Ligue 1: none
Players in the FIFPro World XI
Every year at the FIFA Ballon d'Or gala, FIFPro announces the World XI, in other words the team of the year. Every year the choices for each position are heavily discussed as nearly every time a great player misses out. The choice for the team of the year could be said to be very objective but the voting system does give it great credibility. Once again it is a great measure of quality between the various leagues. Here are the results from the past five years:
#1. Spanish La Liga: 40 / 55 possible players
#2. English Premier League: 7 / 55 possible players
#3. German Bundesliga: 3 / 55 possible players
=3. Italian Serie A: 3 / 55 possible players
#5. French Ligue 1: 2 / 55 possible players
#6. Brazilian Brasileiro: none
=6. Argentinian Primera: none
Conclusion
Characteristics such as attendances and goals per games are more a measurement of excitement or level of spectacle than quality. While these two sections had results that could be more influenced by external factors, team and individual accolades are where the better leagues in the world stand out. After looking at the results in each section it is clear that the Spanish La Liga is currently the best league in the world. They came either first or second in all of the team and individual ratings. The most remarkable statistic is that in the last five years 40 out of the 55 possible players chosen for the team of the year came from Spanish clubs. Here are my final rankings based on the results from each section:
#1. Spanish La Liga
#2. German Bundesliga
#3. English Premier League
#4. Brazilian Brasileiro
#5. Italian Serie A
#6. Argentinian Primera
#7. French Ligue 1
