Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Neither Is the Best in the World

Week in and week out, I have to hear the nonsensical drivel of thousands of football supporters all over the world about how Spain possesses the two best clubs in the world right now. Even commentators, who have started to spectacularly don Messi-tinted glasses, speak as if the Premier League and the La Liga are the only two leagues in the world.

Barcelona is a world-class team, any fool knows that. However, there are few things that make me dislike them intensely. Blatant cheating and diving to win detracts from their quality of wins; I do not know why they do it, but it’s becoming one of their tactics.

The Sergio Busquets dive and Dani Alves injury fake have been the worst of all of them and have caused me to lose all respect for the team. Their sportsmanship leaves much to be desired. Many players dive and cheat, but Barcelona takes it to a whole new level. They try to get opposition players sent off and with a great deal of success, and it diminishes the quality of the match.

Perhaps the day when they try to win solely on skill–which they posses by the tones, I might add–I will start to consider them the best in the world. But for now, they are a team who relies on tactics that are a disgrace to football. Plus, there is the obvious bias, although unfounded, that seem to favor Barcelona during the tough stages: Tom Henning Øvrebø immediately comes to mind. 

Barcelona’s closest competitor is Real Madrid, and like Barcelona, their team possesses a host of superstars and plays a game of football that is beautiful to watch. However, for me, they also exemplify what is wrong with football today–spending ludicrous amount of money and buying trophies, very much like what Manchester City is doing.

This inflates the value of several players, leaving other clubs struggling to purchase players due to their inflated value. But for all the money they have spent, they don’t have the trophies to show for it. When’s the last time they won the champions league? They’ve been playing second fiddle to Barcelona for too many years now.

Which brings me to the this question: Which is the best club in the world? Is it Bayern Munich? They do play with sportsmanship, have a great squad, attract quality players and compete in a league far superior and competitive than the La Liga, no matter what the UEFA co-efficient suggests. (Oh yeah, they also win trophies that matter!)

Leave your opinions! 

Please Also Read: Why the Bundesliga Puts all Other Leagues to Shame