Kaka, Ronaldo, and Messi: Is Sunny Spain the Place to Be?

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Introducing the three best players in Europe and probably even in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Ricardo Kaka.

The 2008-2009 season comes to an end, all three of them are at different clubs, in different leagues, and using the Champions League as a platform to compete with each other.

Cristiano Ronaldo, at Manchester United in England, lighting up  the Premier League for 18 league goals last season.

Lionel Messi already in Spain with La Liga Champions, FC Barcelona, scored 23 league goals last season.

Kaka in Italy with AC Milan, scored 16 league goals last season.

Here comes the summer and brings one Florentino Perez back to Real Madrid.

Perez eagerly launches a sequel to his invention, the Galacticos, who despite a star studded cast first time around, featuring Raul, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, and David Beckham, failed miserably.

The sequel is planned, a budget is arranged.

Kaka is the first man to be roped in for a whooping ₤68.5 million.

The Galacticos II also features ex-Manchester United winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was next to put pen to paper, for a staggering ₤80 million.

Lyon's French wonderkid, Karim Benzema came next, for a stunning...hold your breath—₤35 million.

Valencia's want away defender cum midfielder, Raul Albiol couldn't resist this opportunity, he followed suit, in a deal worth ₤11.5 million.

Alvaro Negredo and Esteban Granero returned but they probably won't be making the cut for airing of the Galacticos II.

From the existing squad, the cast also features the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Raul (making his second appearance), Wesley Sneijder, Rafael Van der Vaart, and Arjen Robben.

After these transfers were completed, Manchester United, Lyon, and AC Milan didn't just lose a player; or didn't just lose their best player.

The English Premier League, Serie A, and French Ligue One have lost valuable star power. In other words, a significant drop in their star value.

This could lead to a fall in their following and global viewership, with loads of money blown into thin air, and we're all aware of the consequences.

All Cristiano Ronaldo fanatics and Kaka enthusiasts will now switch over to La Liga.

Lets compare a bunch of "World Class" stars from the Premier League to some from La Liga.

Premier League—Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Carlos Tevez, Cesc Fabregas, Micheal Essien, Robinho, Dimitar Berbatov, Andrei Arshavin, Micheal Ballack, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba.

La Liga—Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, David Villa, David Silva, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Rafael Van der Vaart, Karim Benzema, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta, Xavi.

Which list looks more attractive?

Opinions are likely to differ based on different schools of thought, but I think the second list has a slight edge over the first one.

Now that we've got that settled, lets look at why all the starlets are moving to Espana?

Mind you good fellows, it's not just Ronaldo, Benzema, and Kaka even lads like Nilmar ditched Blackburn and Spurs for Villarreal.

Shunshuke Nakamura went to Espanyol despite attracting interest from Sunderland.

Even Maxwell and Ibrahimovic left Inter for Barca—with Eto'o heading the other way of course.

Jeremy Mathieu chose Valencia ahead of Hull and Wigan, and even Jermaine Pennant's gone to Zaragoza!

The Premier League and Serie A aren't really as appealing, are they?

Why?

Don't beat yourself up if you don't know the answer, we'll figure it out.

• Money (income, after deduction of tax, in the Premier League and Serie A, unless you're at Manchester City or at any of the Big Four are likely to be less than that compared to the average La Liga outfit) Wigan's Maynor Figueroa earns £18,000 a week, in comparison, a player of a similar calibre, Atletico Madrid's Andrea Pernia earns £42,000 a week.
  
• Tax as suggested by Willie Gannon, in his article, is another prime reason which makes La Liga so attractive. The player's in Spain get to keep a larger proportion of their real income which invariably means their real disposable income is higher than the average Premier League player.
• Glory? This happens to be by far the most controversial point, but if you ask players who played in Spain and England for e.g Diego Forlan, he says "They are both good countries but here (Spain), football is tougher and I'd like to stay here." Perhaps, that points towards the fact, that players gain more satisfaction playing in Spain.
• Weather is another important factor. Most players feel more comfortable in "Sunny Spain" as compared to the snow in England as Nemanja Vidic was earlier rumoured to be keen to leave Manchester United for Barcelona due to an "unfavorable climate."

Is it a growing trend?

Is Spain really the place to be now?

Is La Liga, in any way, better, than the Premier League?