Premier League dominance a depressing and stark warning to Europe’s big guns
The gulf between the haves and the have nots is widening due to the Premier League and it is not good for European football
There will, no doubt, have been plenty of backslapping at Premier League HQ this morning. Five of its Champions League participants sailed into the round of 16 without the need for the play-offs while the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have to fight for their lives next month.
It was another powerplay from Europe’s financial heavyweight. Is it good for the Premier League? Absolutely. Is it good for football, or UEFA? Absolutely not.
The biggest turn-off in sport is imbalance. We all love an underdog story – and Bodo/Glimt’s achievements in beating Manchester City and Atletico Madrid despite being in their domestic close-season warms the heart – but they are few and far between in a world where money talks.
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Premier League money starting to dominate on continental stage
The recently released Deloitte Football Money League shows that of the 10 clubs that generate the highest revenues across the continent, six come from the Premier League. Bigger revenues = more scope for bringing in the best players = on-field success.
Another worrying stat is the total outlay in the last summer window by Premier League clubs was greater than that from the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A clubs combined.
Many of the aforementioned leagues are dominated by one or, in some cases, two clubs that financially dwarf the rest. The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 have been dominated by Bayern Munich and PSG for years while La Liga is a two-horse race. Serie A is more competitive but lags behind in general due to a lack of commercial savviness.
Real Madrid and Barcelona top the Deloitte list but they don’t have the spending power of the Premier League’s big boys which perhaps explains their desire to join England’s elite in the now discarded Super League.
Barca have bought just one player for more than £50million since 2020 – Raphinha – as they wrestle with legacy debts while Madrid’s net transfer spend over the past five seasons is approximately £245m. Arsenal’s net spend last summer alone was around £243m.
The disparity was demonstrated perfectly last week when the Gunners went to Inter Milan – one of the great names of European football – made seven changes and won 3-1. It was not a dissimilar approach to one they would take against Newport in the early rounds of the EFL Cup.
Their North London rivals Tottenham can barely win a game domestically, yet finished fourth in the Champions League having lost just once.
There is no sign of this juggernaut stopping either. As long as the television money continues to pour in, the Premier League clubs will get richer and richer. It is a worrying moment for the rest of Europe.
Is it harder to win the Premier League than the Champions League?
The brutal reality is not many in England will care. We get to watch the best players and the best teams week after week.
There is also a growing case to say it is harder to win the Premier League than it is the Champions League.
If table-toppers Arsenal get over the line, they will have played 10 games against five of the richest clubs in the world. They reached the last 16 of the Champions League by playing one. There will be tricker tests to come, of course, although a place in the quarter-finals looks more than likely given their opponents will be one of Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen.
The romantics will be cheering on Bodo/Glimt, a small club from inside the Arctic Circle. Their biggest challenge now is holding on to their players with clubs already sniffing around.
Last night’s matchwinner against Atletico Madrid, Kasper Hogh, is likely to be picked off. Not by a club from the top flight in Italy, Germany, Spain or France. They can’t afford the £7m fee. His reported suitors are none other than Norwich City, who sit 18th in the English Championship.