The EPL moves into a league of its own

By Vaidik Dalal, howindialives.com

The English Premier League (EPL) is the richest and, in recent history, has also been the most successful of the five major European football leagues. From tight competition among the top teams, to performances in Europe, to solid defensive displays, multiple data metrics show it is also the most competitive league in top flight football.

“We want our cold nights in Stoke,” a defining banner by English football fans during protests against the Super League read. The phrase might have originated as a joke during TV discussions around Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but has now almost become a slogan on how the English fans feel their clubs are different from the rest of Europe. Recent years have amplified those differences across many dimensions of club football – revenues and spending, fan culture and, lately, footballing style and dominance.

RISING DOMINANCE IN EUROPE

In the summer of 2021, in the aftermath of a pandemic and loss in match day incomes, EPL clubs spent €1.35 billion on player signings. That’s more than twice spent by 2nd-placed Italian Serie A (€570 million). While English clubs have historically spent more, the gulf has widened. In the year before the pandemic, EPL clubs spent €1.6 billion, closely followed by Spain’s La Liga at €1.5 bn.

Increasingly, in the backdrop of this growing chasm, differences between the leagues is extending on the pitch as well. Data shows that English club football is more tightly contested than other leagues. And in Europe, English clubs are currently in the midst of a winning spell. In 2017-18, English side Liverpool made the finals of the Champions League after six years. In the three years since, two English clubs have won the competition, with two all-english finals. As a result, English clubs have leap-frogged Spanish clubs in UEFA scores for the first time this decade.