Of Sheikhs and Shareholders: The EPL vs. La Liga, Better or Better Marketed?

If you asked the 10-year-old version of myself to name ANY European football team, I would have surely said Manchester United or Liverpool. For any football fan my age back then, they were both the baseline of any football conversation.

This may not seem strange to many, but when I reflect on it now, being from the English-speaking Caribbean and being a fan of such teams were more than mere chance.

Before high-speed Internet and the sport packages of cable had set its roots in our lives, the EPL was all we basically knew. Sure, the great names of Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich et al were uttered by the older generations, but if it wasn't on television I didn't know about it. 

Case and point, my local television channels religiously aired EPL (almost exclusively, save the UEFA Champions League) games weekly.

The EPL sells its television rights on a collective basis. This is in contrast to some other European Leagues, including La Liga, in which each club sells its rights individually, leading to a much higher share of the total income going to the top few clubs.

This system has produced better than expected returns, however, many have previously criticized its "Big Four" dominance.

If you criticize the "Big Four" then surely you would have a field day with the duopoly in La Liga. We are currently living in the prime of Spanish football with both international and club titles overflowing, yet the competitive power within the league itself is always under constant scrutiny.

Usually by the 10th round of matches, either Real Madrid or FC Barcelona would have already cemented their places at the very top of the table.

With that the eternal debate continues. For all the accolades that go to the Blaugrana for playing some of the most beautiful football we have ever witnessed, they are met in the same breath by some, falling victim to playing in the "most boring league" in top European football. Perhaps the marketing of the leagues itself may highlight the contrast.

Football equals money and money equals football. The disparity in the number of international broadcasters for La Liga pales bitterly in comparison to that of the EPL.

Consider the heavy investments made both privately and publicly in the clubs in the EPL within the last decade. Chelsea and more recently Manchester City come to mind. It makes perfect sense; the investments would follow where the most revenue is generated.   

For those naive few who dare to even question the talent of La Liga to argue the superiority of the EPL it's quite foolish to do so. Talent is definitely not the issue in Spain. Valencia made it to both the 2000 and 2001 UEFA Champions League finals.

Villarreal, in their first ever season in the Champions League, made it as far as the semifinals of the 2005-06 competition; even more, England's top team, Manchester United, has never defeated them (all ending in draws).

Of course, such teams are never considered to be favorites, yet imagine what a cash injection could do for them as well as Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid (current champions of the Europa League and European Super Cup). Whatever pathetic whispers judging the talent of the league should be sufficiently quenched.

However, it seems such change is already underway with the purchase of Malaga by Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani and with both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona having business relations in the UAE, who knows what other foreign investments may come to La Liga.

In today's game, spending power is power. We'll just have to wait and see how the UEFA Financial Fair Play concept works out.