Last night's Champions League final was a bit of a damp squib from the perspective of the neutral, but such over hyped occasions often are. The BT commentators made desperate attempts to talk up the game. What is clear is that the chances of Premier League success in the competition are increasing over time, important as it morphs into a European Super League.
Historically, English teams have been outperformed by Spanish teams and to some extent German teams. The Spanish duopoly of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have won seven of the last ten Champions League titles.
Distribution of broadcasting cash in La Liga is weighted towards the top teams, while Barcelona and Real Madrid have been both adept at using their international profile to gain large sponsorship contracts. This has meant the earnings of the two Spanish clubs have outpaced those in the Premier League.
The best predictor of team performance is thought to be how much a team spends on player wages. Real Madrid and Barcelona each spent at least €100m more on player wages last season than Premier League clubs. However, as revenues increase, Premier League clubs are ramping up their spending on players.
Football consultancy 21st club has devised a player ranking system. According to their calculations, the Premier League has acquired 15 of the 30 best players in the world more than any other European division. Messi remains the best player in the world, but he is now 31.
Omar Chaudhuri, head of football intelligence at 21st Club, told the Financial Times that another factor in Premier League success was that English clubs had hired the world's best coaches, paying them enough to hold on to them for several seasons.
Last season Premier League clubs made a combined £4.8bn, a new record. Last week, the Premier League said that it would make £4.2bn from the sale of overseas television rights for the next three seasons to 2022, a £1bn increase from the three previous years. This will more than compensate for a fall in the value of UK domestic screening rights over the next three seasons.
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