There is a never-ending debate about which of Europe’s big four leagues is the most popular and most competitive, and another key figure has given full thumbs up to the English top-flight
Former Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson has raised the English Premier League as the best league in the world, ahead of La Liga and the Bundesliga.
The Spanish Primera Division continues to enjoy a significant following, having produced five winners out of the last six UEFA Champions League winners.
Real Madrid won four of those with Barcelona lifting the other in 2015.
Liverpool, however, ended the domination of the Spanish side last year when Jurgen Klopp’s men powered past Tottenham to claim their sixth triumph in the competition.
It was the first time since 2008 that two English sides met in the final of the continent’s premier club competitions.
During the intervening years, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have squared up in two separate finals while Bayern Munich defeated domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
But Eriksson, who has managed in Portugal, Italy, and England, believes the EPL at the moment has no rival due to its competitiveness.
“When you look at it so far, and for many years now, the Premier League is the best league in the world, no doubts about that – most popular, the best league to see,” the former Three Lions boss told Stats Perform News via the Express.
“Other leagues are good, but how many people are looking at Spanish football if it’s not Barcelona or Real Madrid, maybe Atletico Madrid? I don’t think many.
“Bundesliga, it’s a little bit the same if [Borussia] Dortmund’s not playing, if Bayern [Munich] is not playing, are you sitting looking at it?
“In England, it’s different because any team can beat any other team. It’s good football, and it’s always a fight, a good fight in England.”
