tiki and knibis argue that this is the case in this thread: http://footyroom.com/forum/football-talk/tv-rights-money-distribution-over-top-5-leagues-66917/1/

The topic is quite a bold statement and I totally disagree with this. What are your thoughts?

Why would this be true? Why wouldn't this be true?

"not sure if you can understand that Villareal or Valencia are stronger
than Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and maybe City at the moment, thats
not hating thats an opinion who could be realistic...."

" Spanish league is the most enjoyable League at the moment in Footballing quality"

" if La Liga mid-table teams play vs PL mid table teams, the La Liga teams are likely to win, same for the bottom-teams)"

"PL fans narcisism make them ignore pitch reality..."

Nope, their teams are good but to play a full season against english teams and be contenders for the PL crown makes me laugh. They have good squads don't get me wrong but I know that they wouldn't excel in the PL.

For me it's just laughable in a fun way. Comedy on the highest level. And still they're so sure they'd be at least as good as the top performing teams in the EPL. Just imagine them playing with the same hectic match-schedule as the other EPL teams..

No they wouldn't. Although Barcelona, Atletico, and Real can dominate the EPL just as they are doing right now in La Liga, the likes of Sevilla/Villareal/Valencia are different.

Valencia are a very good team. However, I believe that they would be competing for 3rd place rather than 1st or 2nd. Perhaps if they have an amazing run, they could come 2nd, but that's unlikely. As you can tell, I clearly believe that Chelsea are a better team than Valencia, and Man City are probably an outright better team as well (provided that all their players are fit). However, Valencia are a visibly better team than Man United and Arsenal.

Sevilla are a decent team, comparable with the likes of Tottenham. They can come around the 5th-6th mark. Villareal are an excellent side, and play beautiful and effective football. Their problem is a lack of finishing. I believe they can be around the 5th mark in the EPL if they were placed there.

Thats an opinion, a fair one imo :)
Actually Mata, Silva,Herera, Cazorla,Navas all came from Spanish midtable but people seems to give credit only when you wear a PL team shirt, they arent born in a season, they have just changed leagues...

Anyway the opinion would never be confirmed, we can only compare individual confrontations but again, i cant do nothing either for those who thinks Valencia or Sevilla cant beat or be higher in rankings than Spurs or Liverpool, really cant help...

The moment you realize that Valencia level at the moment is compared to Atleti level.

Then again you dont have any problem criticizing other leagues, so why this point annoys you that way ?

Just putting this out there, Atletico would do a lot better in England than anyone thinks. This is because English teams choose to rely on strength more than strategy, which is perfect for Atletico because they can rip apart teams like Stoke with quick passes, while simultaneously standing their ground against rough players. If you think that Barcelona masterclassed Man City, wait until you see Atletico play City. I guarantee you that the difference in tactics will lead Atleti to rip City to shreds. Remember what they did to an uber-defensive Chelsea last season at the Bridge when Chelsea tried to play offensively? Simeone's tactics haven't changed. In fact, his team has gotten better, even if they have lost key players.

Barca/Real/Athletico is another question. I don't doubt the performance of those teams. But we all know there's a huge gap down to the other teams in La Liga. For me Valencia, Villareal and Sevilla are probably on equal level with Spurs who currently resides 7th in the BPL. Of the above 3 teams I hold Valencia as the strongest. However to claim that Villareal who averages £25t a week in salaries to their players are as good as Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and even Manchester United in their current poor form is just laughable. (Who all average at least 5 times the salary) - Does a high salary makes them better? No. But it's a testimony what the club is willing to pay for their bought players. Compare this with Barca and Real for example who totally dominates La Liga. So once again, comparing Villareal to the top teams of BPL is laughable. I might even go so far as saying idiotic.

It just makes me wonder what perception some people have of the premier League.

No doubt that Spain produces some of the best talents in the world but Mata, Silva, Herera, Cazorla and Navas who were all among the best players in their respectable team got sold. To PL teams.

Not Chelsea and probably not City, but for the actual form of the rest itscompletely possible...
With 3 more quality players, So'ton could have qualified to CL, and dont bring wages, form and motivation are seen on the pitch not how much a player earns...

Atleti and BVB players past years earned less than almost any PL team players...
Money has nothing to do in a green pitch, consistence,results, tactics, motivation...Leave wages to club owners and players.

Huge wages made the fighting spirit disappear in that league, a player should become a star when week in week out he delivers, salary should follow, the fact that many teams could afford players makes them confident about future anda bit lazy.

On paper i could agree, but Football isnt played on paper, nor on Fifa, if you play at 30% while hungry players give 200% you can be a better player you will still suffer, and being overpaid doesnt help to have motivation...

At the moment those teams have the hunger, the motivation, good coaches, a team spirit and quality...

I think you are right that i dont see PL as the mighty league PL fans see it, since United fall (temporary) the competition level decreased...

@KTBBFFH

"However to claim that Villareal who averages £25t a week in salaries to their players are as good as Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and even Manchester United in their current poor form is just laughable."

You said it yourself. High salaries do not mean one team is better than the next. So how can you possibly contradict yourself and use that same argument again?

Villareal are an excellent team. Their counter attacking and possession game is exceptional, proven by the fact that they lost only 1-0 and 3-2 to Barcelona, drew Madrid in the Bernabeu, and beat Atletico. They are more than capable of holding their own against a Manchester United side that cannot even string 10 passes together and are overly-reliant on crosses. Believe me, I watch Villareal play quite a bit. They can hold their own against United and Arsenal, and are more than capable of beating Spurs and Liverpool. However, their lack of depth is what would lead them to a 5-6th place finish in the EPL (if they were in England).

HA! Another thread with mindless debate about a league that has not justified 4 th spot since 2003 .

EPL is different kind of animal . Every club from top to bottom competes in at least three and at times 4 competitions with no breaks in winter . Villareal will have change their philosophy and their style to play in EPL .

Atletico would fit to EPL faster . Thanks to Diego Simeone who has unorthodox to La liga teams tactics , that every one calls dirty and praises it when it is comfortable to back their bias arguments .

Also , The only team that Atletico rips to shreds is Real Madrid . Still That does not give guarantees that they will take out City with ease or even beat City who are dynamic and powerful with Toure in CDM .

Look at you all EPL is in the phase , we are reshaping and changing our style and approach . Be patient you will be swallowing your own words . It always happens . That is why I have a huge smile knowing present is bright and future is even brighter . :))

@dynas

"Remember what they did to an uber-defensive Chelsea last season at the Bridge when Chelsea tried to play offensively?"

• And ? We were doing great until our GOALKEEPER ON LOAN saved their a*ss taking out that header and then Eto made one of the most idiotic falls one can make , all in space of 5 minutes . Game was over . Two moments changed everything . Bloody football like sir Alex like to say .

I mean that wages don't explain it all. But obviously wages are an incentive to keep supposedly good players and attract new ones. Look at Real and Barca for example. Dare you compare your teams to Villareals?

This obviously doesn't mean that a rising star in a mid-team with an average salary is bad, but chanses are that he'll leave for a club that pay him tremendously much higher. So it's a fact that extremely talented players get higher wages sooner or later. And when the difference in wages between two teams are in the 5-600% region then it doesn't take an einstein to figure out which team who should be better in terms of quality players. Note that the difference in wages in Dortmund and Athletico are far higher than villareals. Now, another thing; and this is the reason to why wages don't make a team good by itself, the team need to function as a team and not only as individual players. Most teams in the English top 5 teams do function as a team, otherwise they wouldn't be on top in the worlds most competitive league.

So back to the question, I think it's hilarious that anyone can be so biased towards their own league that they believe that Villareal could compete with the top english teams about the title. Makes me question the knowledge of certain individuals in this forum. Once again, we're talking Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United among other..

and @tiki "Huge wages made the fighting spirit disappear in that league". What do you base this on? If anything the individual players fight more for personal incentives. In fact that statement isn't true at all. Football clubs nowadays are run like companies. The down-side with high wages are many, but 'fighting-spirit' isn't one of them.

Talking at the moment, things change quickly in Football...

KTFHHE Well i base on results, and you ? When Liverpool looks like Levante VS Madrid, take 1 pts out of 6 from Basel, and only able to score on PK in 4 games against Besiktas and Ludogretz, what this inspires you ?

I cant see this competitivity in any occasion, when Arsenal drawto Anderlecht leading at home 3-0, Anderlecht ? loosing to Monaco in their home ground, when the PL holders struggles to qualify to final stage and never knew what quarters is, probably wont know it this year either...

Only Chelsea looks good,and Chelsea of October isnt the actual Chelsea but a Mourinho team is always dangerous thats the difference...

I really cant see this incredible competitivity and last year was absolutely the same...

Well if we are talking about these Liga teams in PL we have to consider they would also have an increase in revenue thanks to the astonoshing TV rights of the PL. This would almost double the cash available to each team to be able to accuire or keep talented players. Players such as Silva, Bernat, Soldado, Alba, Mata, etc wouldnt really have to leave since we would be able to keep up with the salaries.
This would grately help La Liga teams and in 2-4 seasons each team could very well be fighting for the top spots. Its imposible to say where each would finish as a league is very unpredictable and moments can change everything. I think it would be fair to say Valencia and Villarreal could compete with Spurs, Arsenal, United, Liverpool. Maybe have get a point off City and Chelsea if they catch them off form. But since its league i would expect Chelsea and City to always finish ahead.
Valencia always manages to find a way to perform good enough with limited budget, now we have some money and we are pushing Atletico like the old days.

KTBFF, " Most teams in the English top 5 teams do function as a team, otherwise they wouldn't be on top in the worlds most competitive league." - Manchester United does horribly funcioning as a team yet get results. other teams they get the occasional game were they do terrible as a team sometimes pull of a win.

I only see the level of top teams decreasing specially after SAF era, top teams doing very poor and at the end of a poor performence drawing West Brom fans saying this is why PL is the best league.

Its like PSG loosing to Guingamp and screaming, this is why Ligue 1 is the best league...

Sometimes you face a good opposition, sometimes you're not just good enough and i think the second reason is more frequent in PL while its completely ignored by fans...Not all of them, because when Basel or Ludogretz eleminates you cant say this is why PL....

@Marcus

"And ? We were doing great until our GOALKEEPER ON LOAN saved their a*ss taking out that header and then Eto made one of the most idiotic falls one can make , all in space of 5 minutes . Game was over . Two moments changed everything . Bloody football like sir Alex like to say . "

That was intelligent business from Atletico. They managed to convince Chelsea to keep Courtois for one more season, and managed to get a massive performance from Courtois that night. It doesn't matter if he was on loan or not, he was an Atletico player on that night. He wore Atleti's jersey, and represented them on the pitch that night. I don't see how that is excusable for the loss. Eto'o can be blamed since he was on your team, but don't try and pull the 'Courtois was our player' card. It's frankly embarrassing as an excuse.

And don't put all the praise on Courtois when the whole team performed excellently. Doesn't matter how good Courtois is, he still needs a defense in front of him. His defense collapsed in the final, and that's when Madrid scored 3 goals.

Anyways, the EPL is a competitive because the quality is evenly spread throughout. However, the best teams are obviously in La Liga, since Atleti, Real, and Barca all reside in Spain. The only other teams you can throw in with them are Bayern, PSG, and England's own Chelsea. This shows that the world's best teams are mostly in Spain. Don't forget that the EPL teams get 3-8 times more money than La Liga teams. If La Liga had that kind of TV rights distribution, we would undoubtedly be the best league in the world. The only reason there are doubts now are because the EPL is so popular. But it's okay, we can already see the difference in class from the City-Barca matches (both are 2nd in their respective leagues, mind you), and I doubt any English team other than Chelsea will progress to the next round in the CL.

"That was intelligent business from Atletico. They managed to convince Chelsea to keep Courtois for one more season, and managed to get a massive performance from Courtois that night. "

Lol you serious ? Embarrassing was from UEFA to break their own rules and pressure Chelsea to allow one of our biggest assets to play against us . However, what can you say about scum like UEFA , who allows Madrid to do whatever crap they want but when it comes to English club they bent their own rules .

And don't give that crap that Atletico developed Courtois . Our goalkeeper coaches week and week out used to send out tips and monitored his performance. THAT IS WHY WE ARE GOOD AT WHAT WE DO . WE DONT LOAN OUT CRAP TO BIG TEAM LIKE ATLETICO and we make sure our loanies improve not stagnate ! If we notice our loanee not getting improvements that we want to see we take them out !

"he best teams are obviously in La Liga, since Atleti, Real, and Barca all reside in Spain. "

Worlds best team still buys their best inventory from EPL . Worlds best won La Liga due to our goalkeeper performance . How are Atletico doing this season ? Not so good are they ? Worlds best had to thank EPL stars that they acquired for "lucky' win in final . Atletico deserved it more .

"La Liga had that kind of TV rights distribution, we would undoubtedly be the best league in the world. "

If La Liga has EPL kind of distribution . KEy word is "If" . IF United and Arsenal were given freedom to make their own deals with backing of the Queen ( Like Madrid gets backing of the King and Barcelona from Catalonia state ) they would have been ruling Europe . IF .

If La Liga had same model as EPL , which Madrid and Barcelona never wanted to settle for , you would have been SERIA A in disguise . IF .

IF Madrid was not getting all the tax breaks and doing , they would have been like AC Milan dying club with rich past , when CL was won in 3 matches . IF.

IF only Real was not getting all the backing from Spains banks , IF .

Ohh lord I could go on and on about corrupt Spanish football . And all this corruption is just to be good in Europe . BECAUSE SPAIN IS NOT GOOD AT ANY THING ELSE AS COUNTRY . Mate , your league and club is a joke that was build on corruption ! They saw it coming , that they will become like SERIA A if they don't move things fast . Good for them .

"Doesn't matter how good Courtois is, he still needs a defense in front of him. His defense collapsed in the final, and that's when Madrid scored 3 goals. "

Yes , their defense gave , but when you have team full of stars who worth at least 50 million to 100 million attacking , eventually they will break and Courtois . Team that played without their ohter key players . WTF do you want Courtois do when attack was not functioning well as always without their ACE striker and without their ACE Winger and few others were not 100% after Barcelona match .

Imagine Real Madrid , without Ronaldo and Di Maria or Bale in final ? They would have got their a*s handed and Madrids defense would have crushed just as much when attack is not doing their job and not taking off the pressure from defense .

We lost to a full squad Atletico with OUR GOALKEEPER in their goalie , on contrary you barely got lucky against crippled Atletico with your multibillion dollar team and you proud of it? Not even going to mention about Parking bus against Bayern then calling it beautiful football , what a hypocrites , and getting lucky against Half Injured Dortmund . Please mate , it is embarrassing !!!

"I doubt any English team other than Chelsea will progress to the next round in the CL."

All in time , be patient . Balance of power slowly shifting other direction . Nothing is stoping EPL clubs . They will be knocking harder and harder . Btw Hence money does not win you games , I hope Madrid will start relying on local recruiting instead of paying 150 k to 16 years olds from abroad .

Marcus i have two statements for all you wrote:
If Arab drug money didnt help city become the power they are today. IF.
If Roman blood stainded money didnt help Chelsea become the power they are today. IF.
What would the EPL look like then? Probably Arsenal at the very top.

i'd love to have valencia, sevilla and villareal in EPL, chelsea will get easy 18 points every season. :) :)

Remember Marcus, a huge portion of the best players in the EPL have perfected their art in La Liga itself. Sanchez, Aguero, Silva, Mata, Navas, Toure, Courtois, Costa, Luis, Di Maria, Ozil, Cazorla... the list goes on. When Arsenal want to buy players who will push their team to the next level, where do they look? Spain. When Chelsea want to buy a few players to solidify their team, where do they get them from? Spain. When Manchester United is looking for a Ronaldo-like figure to push their team back to success again, where did they go? Spain. When Manchester City was looking to buy players to bring their financially-backed team to the spotlight, where did they go shopping? Spain.

"We lost to a full squad Atletico with OUR GOALKEEPER in their goalie , on contrary you barely got lucky against crippled Atletico with your multibillion dollar team and you proud of it? Not even going to mention about Parking bus against Bayern then calling it beautiful football , what a hypocrites , and getting lucky against Half Injured Dortmund . Please mate , it is embarrassing !!! "

You are a pitiful creature, really. Courtois was Atletico's goalkeeper that night. Real getting accused of being a multi-million dollar team? For God's sake, look at your own dirty team. Entire squad made from blood-soaked dollar bills taken from a Russian billionaires filthy and corrupted as.shole. Real Madrid parked the bus against Bayern? Yeah, that's exactly why we won 5-0, am I right? Parking the bus is Chelsea's specialty, and I'm afraid Ancelotti left that club before it became a regular habit. Getting lucky against a half-injured Dortmund team? Dortmund were lucky that Ronaldo was injured throughout both legs, because if he took that penalty that di Maria missed, we would've been 4-0 in the lead and we wouldn't have looked behind. :)

"Ohh lord I could go on and on about corrupt Spanish football . And all this corruption is just to be good in Europe . BECAUSE SPAIN IS NOT GOOD AT ANY THING ELSE AS COUNTRY"

Seriously, I thought we were going to have a healthy discussion like men. "Because Spain is not good at anything else as a country". Really? This is an argument? Pathetic. Shameful. Embarrassing. Disgraceful. This is precisely why many people dislike Chelsea fans. Bags of filth like your paint the beautiful Blue canvas a different color with your childish 'opinions'.