Rise of Saudi Pro League in Asia echoes Premier League dominance in Europe

In the past week in the UEFA Champions League two Spanish teams tried desperately to stay with English Premier League opposition in the first legs of their semi-finals. Nobody would say that Liverpool, who defeated Villarreal 2-0, and Manchester City, disappointed to beat Real Madrid only 4-3, are in the final just yet but whatever happens in the return leg, most would agree that they are currently setting the standards at the top of the European game.

It was not always like this. From 2009 to 2019, Spain reigned. In that decade, Barcelona and Real Madrid won seven titles between them and Atletico Madrid were twice defeated in the final. At the start of the period, Manchester United were the best team in England but lost the 2009 and 2011 finals to Pep Guardiola’s magnificent Barcelona team. Then came Real Madrid, who won four between 2014 to 2018. They were prevented from making it five from five when their Catalan rivals defeated Juventus in 2015.

Spain’s last win came in 2018 as Real Madrid defeated Liverpool but that final now looks like the changing of the guard. It marked the end of the Spanish dominance and hastened in an English era that could rival the country’s success in the old European Cup in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Two of the last three finals have been all-English affairs and there is a strong chance that it will be three out of four in Paris on May 28.

English teams are helped by broadcasting riches that other leagues can only dream of. This means the best players and coaches —Klopp at Liverpool and Guardiola at Manchester City, to name just two examples of the latter — are heading to the country. For the immediate future at least, success on the continental stage looks likely to continue.

Ju