Power Ranking the Leagues: EPL vs Serie a vs La Liga vs Ligue 1 vs MLS
Football is an international phenomenon. Every four years the best footballing countries of the world compete in a global competition to determine which country can produce the best team. However, whilst we are all swept up in the patriotism and pageantry of these battles we neglect an ongoing debate: who has the best domestic league in the world?
Whereas partisan differences in opinion over nations can be settled through a simple knockout contest to find a champion (all hail Spain), the debate over the leagues is a more ambiguous prospect.
We have our contenders with England, Italy, Spain, France and America all under consideration, so allow me to unleash your national biases, as well as my own, in ranking the footballing leagues of the world.
5. MLS
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The MLS has come a long way in a very short space of time with increased exposure, publicity and support, but it will always face an uphill battle.
Given the American public's obsession with their national sports, football (our version) with its low scoring and negative reputation will forever be in the shadows of baseball, basketball, ice hockey and most of all football (their version).
American soccer has always centred its profile around ageing stars with blossoming reputations, from Franz Beckenbauer and Pele in the days of the North American Soccer League to David Beckham and Thierry Henry in the present day.
Despite the sports irrelevancy in the USA, the MLS is has a projected revenue of $15.6 million in 2011, expected to be profit.
A large part of the MLS' recent and future success relies on keeping national treasure Landon Donovan away from the departures lounge at the local airport.
Donovan's national profile and popularity in America coupled with the fact he's still in his prime give him tremendous appeal and an ability to be an ambassador for soccer in America.
The ability to keep Donovan away from the enticing prospect of Europe has given the MLS a huge boost, and if they can develop other promising players and garner publicity through an extended World Cup run, a brighter future may await American fans of the beautiful game.
4. Ligue 1
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France, a beautiful country swept up in a combination of stunning scenery and footballing fixation. So why does no one want to play there?
All of the country's best players have sought their footballing futures elsewhere with Patrice Evra, Florent Malouda, Nicholas Anelka, Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema among others all currently enjoying success as immigrants.
Paradoxically, French teams have always seemed to fair well in European competition. Lyon have flown the blue, white and red flag consistently over the past decade building domestic dominance into becoming a true European force.
However, with more and more players seemingly viewing Ligue 1 as a stepping stone to bigger and better things elsewhere in Europe, the French league could face a downhill slide.
According to StageUp's report, Ligue 1 has a revenue of €1.04 billion, the lowest of all the major European leagues. Their average attendance is under 20,000 per game, showing the decrease in support as their league's star power decreases.
Despite this, Ligue 1 had two clubs in the top 20 of Deloitte's annual money league with Lyon and Marseille consistently proving to be amongst the top plethora of clubs in Europe financially.
3. Serie A
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Serie A's credibility and popularity took a massive hit in 2006 following the match-fixing scandal that rocked the sport with major teams such as Juventus, AC Milan and Lazio implicated in the debacle.
Serie A's big clubs boast a tremendous history and have one of the best rivalries in football in the San Siro.
Inter are the reigning European top dogs and with four clubs in Deloitte's top 20 garnering an overall revenue of €843.6 million.
However with an overall average attendance of just over 23,000 per game, there is still room for improvement.
Serie A also has a total revenue of €1.43 billion, second only to the Premier League. The future looks bright for Italy and for its clubs.
2. La Liga
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La Liga boasts the two biggest clubs in the world today. Real Madrid and Barcelona are arguably the two best sides on the pitch, and their commercial success is something to behold.
Real have led the table since the reports were first published in 2004-05, and Barca have always been jockeying with Manchester United for the second spot.
They have 51 La Liga and 12 European titles between them and have dominated Spanish football for as long as anyone can remember.
However, with this comes a great disparity both in competition and commercial prosperity. Despite having the two biggest clubs in the world, La Liga has the fourth highest revenue of all of Europe's leagues highlighting the separation between the top and bottom of Spanish football.
Their average attendance falls short of 30,000 per game, showing that despite having the Bernabeu and Nou Camp packing in fans, La Liga's lower clubs don't give the same support in an extremely top heavy league.
1. Premier League
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Huge money is thrown around in the EPL luring the biggest superstars from the world's best leagues.
With second-tier clubs like Manchester City and Tottenham showing they're willing to spend money in abundance, the Premier League has become more balanced and competitive, and this has been shown through the commercial growth of the league.
The EPL has seven clubs in Deloitte's top 20 garnering €1.5 billion in revenue just between those clubs.
At €2.43 billion in the league's revenue, the Premier League gains €1 billion more in revenue than any other league in the world and also boasts the largest average attendance at over 35,000 fans per game, way clear of their closest rivals.
