Which Football League Is The Strongest In Europe?

Since the dawn of football, there has been an on-going debate to determine the strongest and most competitive leagues in Europe. Football fans who bet on the different leagues will know that the odds are always changing and the stakes are always high – just look at the current football betting odds that are in place online and you’ll see.

It can be said that over 90% of the decisions about which league is the strongest are made on personal preferences. For instance, some believe that the Premier League is the most unpredictable, especially when compared to the likes of La Liga and Bundesliga. In the past five years, there have been four different Premier League title winners, one of whom was Leicester City who defied all odds to win the title.

There is a mathematical order to determining which league is the most competitive, exciting and strongest. This article will discuss five top flight leagues in Europe. However, this does not mean that second tier football leagues cannot be classified as good or impressive, but they simply lack the element of competition and excitement which all top tier football leagues have. This is why only five top flight football leagues are ranked based on different factors.

There is a vast list of criteria on which leagues are judged. However, there are two main factors which are taken into consideration – the newsworthiness of each league and its reputation for producing exciting young players. The scores are mostly obtained from factual data such as average goals per game in the league, attendances, biggest transfer fees and highest value XI by market value.

Every league is scored on a scale of 10 for each of these factors. The league with the highest scores in all the areas is then considered to be the best. For instance, the Swiss Super League had an average of 3.4 goals per game last season. This is higher than any other top-flight league in Europe. Hence, it will be given a score of 10 while other leagues’ scores will receive nine points or lower according to the average goals per game.

The scores obtained for each area will then be added to find an average across the board. The leagues will then be ranked according to the scores they have received.

Before we find out the strongest league in Europe, let’s take a look at the league which is just outside the top five.

Dutch Eredivisie

Dutch Eredivisie is ranked as the six strongest league in Europe. People who watch the Dutch top flight league are casual observers with divided attention. The only time when it gains traction is during a rivalry match or when big teams are involved. Dutch Eredivisie is ranked sixth with a score of 6.3. It is a respectable league compared to its rival European leagues. Last season, the league had an average of three goals per game.

Let’s find out which league is the strongest in Europe: (lowest to highest)

French Ligue 1

French Ligue 1 is ranked fifth which is not a big surprise. With a score of 6.9, it is clear of the Dutch league. The top tier French league has managed to get higher than average numbers in each key area. What’s disappointing is that it has not yet made its mark. Ligue 1 has managed to produce some raw and young talent over the years. With plenty of big name players, rivalries and good attendances, the top tier French league is one of the best leagues in Europe.

With 2.5 goals per game, this is the only weak spot of the French league.

Italian Serie A

Italian Serie A is ranked fourth with a score of 8.1. The difference between Serie A and lower ranked leagues is prominent as we get closer to finding out the strongest football league in Europe. Fan involvement in the matches has been tremendous with Inter Milan having the highest average attendance last season.

Italian Serie A is comfortably clear with a number of top names in the football world. This means that both of the top flight and second tier leagues in Italy have good teams and players. Apart from this, Italy is home to a number of historical clubs loved by thousands of fans. The league has managed to retain its position in the top 5, despite attendance being one of the missing aspects last season.

German Bundesliga

Just 0.5 points above the Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga takes third place with a score of 8.6. Another exciting thing is that there is a difference of just 0.4 points between the Bundesliga and two teams ranked above (across all criteria).

Germans are best known for producing young talent and stars over the past few decades. Bundesliga is fully loaded with some of the hottest young prospects and potential and current best players in the world. Most of the star players are currently in their prime and dominating at both domestic and international levels. It has the highest value XI which gives it the top score. However, the league only has an average of 2.7 goals per game which is the lowest among the top four European leagues. In fact, it is the eighth lowest average of the top nine leagues in the world.

However, no league can overtake German Bundesliga when it comes to the highest average attendance for the season.

Spanish La Liga

Without a doubt, Spanish La Liga takes the second position for being the strongest football league in Europe. With a score of 8.8, La Liga is the most expensive league when it comes to high value XI. Furthermore, the league is also known for making headlines day in and day out due to the number of stars, transfer sagas and star-studded teams. La Liga averages 2.9 goals per game which makes it a better and more exciting league compared to Serie A.

The areas where the Spanish top flight football league lacks is the ability to bring in star players and attendance. In the past couple of years, top La Liga teams have failed to push the boat like Manchester United or other clubs during the transfer windows. Also, it failed to maintain attendance throughout the season (except for big and rivalry games).

English Premier League

Football fans world over know that English Premier League is the strongest league in Europe. England’s top-flight football league has been the top rated league when it comes to competition, star players, drama and what not. Moreover, as discussed earlier, there have been four different league title winners in the last five seasons which is not the case for other top flight European leagues.

The English Premier League has a score of 9.0 and 2.9 goals per game average. The league has it all except for the fact that it has failed to develop national young talent in recent times. Players who were supposed to take over the national teams are nowhere to be seen now. Few examples would be Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and many more. However, apart from this, no league can come close to what Premier League has to offer to fans and neutral spectators.