Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes that giants Barcelona and Real Madrid would not dominate in the Premier League in the same way as they do in La Liga. The Chelsea manager, who won La Liga once in his three year spell at Real Madrid, claims the two clubs would struggle in England because there is too much competition, even from lower league teams in cup competitions.

"I was in Spain, but I didn’t enjoy," he told TalkSPORT. "I didn’t enjoy it because I won a title with a record in Spain with 100 points and 121 goals, but we played only three or four matches all season."

"I lost a title with 92 points, but again we played only four or five matches in the season. “You feel the pressure that you have to win every match because if you don’t you are not champions. You have to win and win and win. But it is a big, big gap between the giants and the others."

"I think the difference between the two leagues [Premier League and La Liga] is huge. Would they [Barcelona or Real Madrid] win the Premier League? Maybe yes. Maybe not."

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/barcelona-and-real-madrid-would-not-dominate-in-the-premier-league-says-chelsea-manager-jose-mourinho-10260077.html

Considering Barcelona average about 1.05 in odds against the average-weaker teams (meaning that the betting sites believe that Barcelona will WIN 19 out of 20 games against that opposition and STILL have a margin of profit return) I think he might be on to something here. Yes, both Barcelona and Real Madrid are way better than the top teams in England. Note, I'm not arguing this very fact. But when teams have "privileges" like Barca or Real (You know what I mean right ;) ) it's not weird that either team win year after year.

Barcelona etc currently have 103-19 in goal-difference (19-0 in the last 5 league matches). and have taken 37 out of 39 points in the last 13.

Meanwhile Chelsea who totally dominates the BPL has taken 27 out of 37 possible points.

What are your thoughts? Would Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate in the BPL or do you agree with Mourinho who actually managed Real for 3 consecutive years?

picture credit:liomessi10

No one is doubting a rivalry, that isnt the discussion. Its about dominance. Can you not see how Man U has eclipsed all the other teams in terms of EPL achievements? Is it really that hard?

Again, read what I poseted earlier. Its true Barca and Real are always favorites to win La Liga, yet Barca has 11 titles since 1992 and Real 7. That is 2 and 6 titles fewer than Man U. What does that really say about EPL?

I dont see how it hasnt gotten through yet. You are focusing on the last 5 years where United have declined and have gone through lots of changes. Its not that the competition got stronger (it somewhat has) its just the all time champion got weaker. This has been pointed out before and many, many comentators (at least in spanish) feel the same.

I've created a MONSTER of a thread.

Anyways, what tiki just wrote is complete and utter BS. Less concentrated on football? What is the guy on about?

and raimondo.. Where to start..? Convenient you talk about dominance of a league? Did anyone get tired of seeing Man United? lol. Are you really the right guy to say that? Also convenient that you seem to believe that competitiveness and rivalry is only about who wins the league. Let me tell you, it's not. It's about top 6 in the league because of the international cups, it's about the national cups, it's about any team being able to beat any team on ocassions. Let me see Almeria (that someone seemed to believe is as good as the lower teams in EPL LOLLOLOL) beat Barcelona or Real Madrid. In BPL as I've shown pretty much all teams have taken points from the top 4. Is it because English top teams suck? No, it's not. It's because the lower teams are fairly competitive. WHY is that you might wonder? Well, first of all it's about those teams receiving tons of more money than the lower teams in la liga and thus has squads that are valued to far more than La Ligas. Does this automatically make them better? No, it doesn't, but it certainly attracts better players. Teams like Stoke, Everton, Swansea and West Ham among others put up a fight every single time. There will be no 8-0 matches here. I always fear meeting Stoke away or Evertomn on any occasion. West Ham obviously just beat us and I knew in before hand that they would. Which team do you fear in la Liga if you're Real or Barca? Be honest now. Nobody. But they sure would fear English teams.

Anyways, this is still not a thread about that. The only thing Mou said is that Barca and Real would NOT dominate in the EPL and that it wasn't even sure they'd win it. Now, I do think they would at the moment but I also think that they wouldn't after 3-4 years. Why? Because EPL is more competitive and managers like Mourinho would find ways to stop them.

KTB what exactly is your point? Why wouldnt I be the right guy to talk about it?

Teams that have taken points from top 4 in La Liga exluding the current top 4 teams:
Celta de Vigo
Real Sociedad
Malaga
Getafe
Sevilla
Villarreal
Rayo Vallecano
Espanyol
Athletic Bilbao
Levante
Deportivo la Coruña
Granada

Thats 12 teams from the remaining 16 teams. What excactly were you trying to prove that teams like Sunderland West Ham West brom have taken points, again?

No 8-0 games in EPL?
8-0 Southampton-Sunderland
6-0 Man City-QPR
5-0 Man City-New Castle
6-1 Southampton-Aston Villa
5-0 Chelsea-Swansea
etc

Please, try to make some better arguments.

Dont fear any teams in La Liga? Do you even watch La Liga games? Have you seen Real-Valencia? Or Atletico? or Bilbao? VIllarreal? Celta?
If you want to judge a league at least attempt to watch some of the teams first.

What I'm trying to prove? Read it again if you don't understand. Then take a look at the goal difference for Barca etc.

Cordoba-Barcelona 0-8
Barcelona-Getafe 6-0
Barcelona-Rayo 6-1
Elche-Barcelona 0-6
Barcelona-Elche 5-0
Barcelona-Cordoba 5-0 (That makes it 13-0 in 2 matches)
Barcelona-Elche 5-0
Elche-Barcelona 0-4
Elche-Barcelona 0-6
Barcelona-Elche 3-0 (That makes it 18-0 in 4 matches)
Barcelona-Granada 6-0
Levante-Barcelona 0-5
Real madrid-Granada 9-1
Deportivo-Real Madrid 2-8

And honestly, why do you include Southampton into your stats? are they a top team now? I was merely showing that the teams on the bottom side of the table has taken points form the top teams. If I include the teams on the upper side probably all teams have taken points from the top teams. Why did I show this? To show even considered weak teams are fairly strong. There are no easy games in EPL, thus Barca and Real wouldn't dominate it. Especially not with the top teams into the mix. You don't agree with this or what are you trying to argue about? Also, Valencia is far from as strong as the top teams in EPL. Suck on that.

Maybe they are, maybe they arent (refering to Valencia). We will just have to wait till they face one of them. At least I dont have to resort to attacking once team to prove a point. Im still waiting for your reply on the whole statement you made about MSN not being able to score even close to 120 goals in EPL when Suarez alone scored 31.

Why include Southampton? Well, they are part of the EPL, arent they? The point is to compare the entire league, not cherry pick stats that work in your favor.
First, you added matches from the Copa del Rey, keep it to the league, and second you reapeted results (not sure if by mistake).

Of those barcelona games, Messi alone scored 14 goals. Of the two Real Madrid games you mention, Ronaldo scored 8 goals alone.
When you pick stats with only Real Madrid and Barcelona your statement is already weak. EPL has no player that can compare to Messi or Ronaldo. They singlehandedly tilt the favour towards their team.

Also, some of the goal difference is reflected in the way Spanish teams play. Its their custom (us south americans too) to be attack minded. I recommend you take the time and watch some matches from various leagues, not just EPL. Each continent and country have different philosophies and its great to watch them. It will also give you some sort of credibility when you criticize a league you dont even watch.

Attacking once team? What are you on about? Go back in the thread and read what has been said about Valencia and United. And let me tell you once again, since you seem to be in doubt. They aren't. Far from.

The discussion we had was about teams on the lower half on the table being able to beat the top 4 so don't get yourself into a corner now!

Suarez and Sturridge enjoyed a tremendous attacking relationship. Pretty much all balls went through them and together they scored 54 goals. Truly remarkable and a partnership not often seen in the EPL. All together 101 goals in the league that season, which is the reason they almost won it. How many goals have MSN made of Barcelonas goals? MSN are trully spectacular but what I said was (once again) that they wouldn't score no where near as many goals in EPL as in La liga; which is true. You said it yourself. Teams in la liga are more attacking minded while BPL teams generally are better defensively. Or you don't agree with that either? That, together with the fact that they would meet better oppoistion (as the lower table teams in EPL trully are better than La Ligas) would make them to score less.

Just realize that Barca and Real wouldn't dominate the EPL. Only lunatics would think they would. It's not even a bald statement from Mourinho. Just common sense.

Furthermore, you're taking a wild guess here by assuming I don't watch La Liga. I do, so please stop the dr.phil advises. La Liga itself is entertaining football but as I said before the general standard is lower than in EPL because of obvious reasons. With that being said, La Liga has the potential to be a far better league and Barcelona and Real are way better than any english team.

"MSN are trully spectacular but what I said was (once again) that they
wouldn't score no where near as many goals in EPL as in La liga; which
is true."

Its not true. Its just a guess you have. How many goals has Messi scored against Arsenal City and United? He along with Neymar and Suarez would have no trouble scoring against them or any of the lower table teams. Defensive or not, they would bag goals just like Costa, Sturrdige, Aguero, etc.

Better opposition or not, Barcelona is a consistant Champions League team. You really honestly thing they would have trouble against Burnely? New Castle? Crsytal Palace? The only team truely capable of stopping Barcas attack is Chelsea (and i believe this new barcelona wouldnt stuggle much as before).

"Only lunatics would think they would. It's not even a bald statement from Mourinho. Just common sense."

What exactly did you not see when i showed you how United dominated the League? That my friend, is dominating. Its been done by United, and i have no doubt Barca or Madrid would do the same. Winning one season by a good margin is not dominating. Dominating comes from a consistant period of time.

If you really watched La Liga (not just Real Madrid and Barcelona games) then youd know which teams are strong and competitive. Youd see the improvement Valencia has made under a new direction. Did you forget Valencia tied and defeated Real Madrid, and only fell to Barcelona by 1 goal? Theyve been far more attractive than United under LVG.

I agree that it has a lot of potention for improvement and under the new TV rights distribution we are hoping it does get better. Give it a few seasons.

But again, Mous statement is ridiculous. Barcelona and Real are the single strongest teams in Europe for the last ferw years (including Bayern). To think they would struggle against a mid table team in the EPL is just nonsense.

This argument has just gotten redundant and pointless. Ive made my points with stats and a bit of common sense.

this topic will become a whole different story if we exclude the numbers of Messi and Ronaldo

^ very wise words from u there bruh. LOL

^haha lol, I just want this topic to continue, this is by far the funniest and serious poll we have had in the last couple of months

LOL. Back to this again?

This bit, for me, sums up the entire argument. Madrista11 said this:

"That's not the case.. La Liga is a strong league that has 3 outstanding teams. You guys make it look as if La Liga is nothing without Barcelona and the two Madrid clubs, that isn't the case."

Well, actually, it IS the case. You know how we can tell? Because, and this should probably be repeated again and again and again until it sinks in: no Spanish team aside from Barca and Real have EVER won the European Cup.

Ever.

And do you know how many finals anyone other than those two have made it to, ever? Valencia twice, and Atletico twice. That's it. EVER.

La Liga has always been about Barca and Real, and it probably always will. There are not '3 outstanding teams' in La Liga. There are 2 outstanding teams, and a bunch of others who occasionally have a good season, like Atletico last year. Do you remember the years before? Here's a refresher:

2009-10: Barca win with 99 points. Valencia take 3rd with 71. (28 point gap)
2010-11: Barca win with 96 points. Valencia take 3rd with 71. (25 point gap)
2011-12: Madrid win with 100 points, Valencia take 3rd with 61. (39 point gap)
2012-13: Barca win with 100 points. Atletico take 3rd with 76. (24 point gap)

You can trace this trend back as far as you like. You will only ever find occasional breaks, before it resets itself, and in the last 10 years it's been iron-tight. Then Atletico have one amazing season, they lose two or three key players to Chelsea... and we're right back to:

2014-15: Barca win with 94 points. Atletico take 3rd with 78. (16 point gap)

It's like that season never even happened, and the gap is only going to get wider again when Atletico lose Koke, Griezmann etc to teams like, well, Barca, Real, Chelsea, City, Bayern, United, PSG or any of the teams which can totally afford to.

This is why Real and Barcelona dominate their league. They are miles better than any other teams, and this also means they can rest their best players for the big clashes in the Champions League. Barcelona and Madrid could certainly win the PL, and both are currently better than Chelsea. But would they dominate the PL as they have done La Liga?

When will Spanish fans ever just admit that they have a 2-horse league, always have, and probably always will until they change it to be more like, well, the PL that you hate so much... ;)

My MONSTER thread has been awoken. Please come in and disagree with each-other fellow footyroomers.

I agree with Lodatz. Of course, I am born and bred with American sports that limit how much teams can spend (aka, American football) so theoretically anyone can do well, and they do. In my very humble opinion, allowing richer teams to spend literally 300-400 million more than other teams is asking for a situation like the one in Spain. I think it was football daily who pointed out that Real and Barca don't just succeed in Spain by spending more and getting better players, they do it by owning the market.

As shown: (all numbers are theory)

Barca owns 40% of Spanish market
Real owns 35% of market

What does everyone else have?

25%. For 18 other teams. Barca and Real choke everyone else, and that's why the gap is so large.

Now the EPL could still have those same numbers, but due to the overall world market for the EPL, the actual market has been increased, therefore:

Manchesters: 40%
Chelsea/Liverpool/Arsenal 35%

Does everyone else have 25%? No.

Because the overall market is larger, even double per say, so that leads us to everyone else having:

125%. Split up between 15 other teams. Sure they can never title for a title or anything, but anyone can beat anyone else on any given day. And that's why I follow the BPL, and not La Liga.

Ah well. The EPL is worse now than its ever been, hopefully United can become a powerhouse again to kick ass and play pretty football in Europe so we can have a real talk about this. CHELSEA Y U NO REPRESENT

This debate is getting bored...

We honestly don't even need to guess at the market shares of the leagues; the TV rights are pretty trackable.

http://soccerlens.com/tv-money-distribution-la-liga-vs-premier-league/155280/

The Spanish league is, frankly, one of the most corrupt and lopsided sports organizations in the world. The thing which saves its popularity is the ability of Real and Barca to break transfer records to keep signing players from outside La Liga.

@tuan_jinn certain people doesn't think so and you always have the option not to take part in it. After all, we're in between seasons and there's not much else to talk about except for transfers and national football.

I really do hope the TV rights change for the better. The two-sided theft of money is getting ridiculous. I want to see Valencia and Atletico competing neck-to-neck. I want to see Villareal in the Champions League with depth in their squad. These teams deserve more money than they receive. If they can be this damn good on a shoe-string budget, God knows how well they might perform if they were able to purchase the players they needed and couldn't afford?

Watch out Valencia and Sevilla in CL next year, dont feel surprised money or fans doesnt affect the pitch results look to Dortmund or Juventus lately, they did amazing with less than half of some big clubs budgets, let away Atletico who can kick many teams a$$ any day.

I hear all those off pitch argument, then i turn on TV and watch games, compare players and levels for 4 years now, and each year we get to the simple conclusion...

Porto and Juve doesnt buy players, or not the most hyped or valued at least, they still get better results and looks stronger then most of money teams, could you disagree with this ?

Sevilla B team did wonders in EL, while Everton, Liverpool, Spurs did as miserably as their CL counterparts...
So maybe none of those teams wants to show any strenght outside of England, nor the national team, but i watched all those games and some were lost fair and square...

English teams regularly loosing to Italians isnt a surprise for me, i think its incredible for some to see mighty teams or England loosing to Italy, for me Italian style is just superior technically and tactically...

The situation in Spain is unfair and no one could deny it, at the same time, no one could deny that teams like Sevilla and Valencia and Atletico for years now has got a good level and increased their attractivity for players, they have an identity and good long term plans, they do not get ruined after a player departure, they dont rely on 2 or 3 individuals and feel lost when they leave or injured, we feel that the whole group has a good level no matter who is playing and that explains why they are able to fight in several fronts that PL teams arent able to do so.

The keys of success doesnt only rely on Arab money or overpaying players, the keys rely on some hard work following a long term plan by the direction, the players, and the coach. Good coaching, players progression and healthy atmosphere, ambition of players, good scouting, smart transfers...

In Italy, Spain and Germany we assisted to some decent clubs rise out of nowhere and perform in CL, Villareal reached semi-final, Atleti reached the final and estblished themselves in the closed top 8 of Europe, Dortmund period of Klopp were very close to win CL and looked eye to an eye to big Historical clubs, Juventus lately... None of those teams own the market and no achievement is witnessed comming from the PL, at the opposite, Liverpool misadventure was quite logical despite the easy group they were in...

Money is important sure, but its not everything, Liverpool, Qpr and co know something about it.

I still cant understand after all the results why people are unable to change their minds, the '' we loose each year, each game but we are still better argument '' looks more and more stupid, to me it looks stupid for years because witnessing how teams play Football, having a Football player point of view, not just a fan watching highlights in social networks...

I can understand people unability to judge a team level based on the Football quality they play, but i dont understand their unability to change their minds after successive loss in direct confrontations or whole season results, i just cant...
And its not surprising that those people are closed to discussions in every other topics even none related to Football.

^ a good post Tiki, btw do you remember that conversation we had months ago? few days ago came out this:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/22/juventus-tactics-fiorentina-champions-league-napoli

title: Why did Serie A clubs outperform their richer English rivals this season? Superior tactics.

i do not agree with everything he says, like all the Allegri system's hyping (which may be somewhat correct when it comes to Serie A, and totally inappropriate when it comes to CL), but the juice of the article is spot on.

@Lodatz,
Chelsea would have a 15pts gap too against this current Barcelona and Real Madrid (leaving all the money thingies aside). Atletico are more or less at Chelsea's level when it comes to the game. you can figure out the rest.

Will be very interesting to see if Sevilla and Valencia have a chance against the EPL teams in the upcoming CL. I don't see them beating any of the top 4 EPL teams but who knows, they might (probably not though, right?). After that, this discussion will be settled for a while, whoever wins it. There'll be no excuses for any team that they didn't focus on the cup because obviously all teams focus on CL. The EPL teams will come out even stronger than last year so I've got good hopes there. Meanwhile, there won't be many changes in Valencia and Sevilla and as they have been fairly good last season, they'll probably be as good the next season. No excuses. Just hope they get to meet each-other.

"Porto and Juve doesnt buy players, or not the most hyped or valued
at least, they still get better results and looks stronger then most of
money teams, could you disagree with this ? ". Can't argue against that.