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The biggest football Leagues globally

Football or soccer as it’s called in some countries is the world’s most played and most watched sport by far. The sport is the main sport in many countries through out the world except for a few major ones, China, Canada, Australia and the USA where the NFL, NBA , baseball and hockey rule.  However Major League Soccer and the sport in general is growing very radially in the US and Canada

Here’s a look inside the most popular leagues globally:

1. Premier League

The English Premier League is made up of 20 teams and is the most followed football league in the world, and houses some of the most popular teams.  the Premier League is also the biggest football league by revenue but still well behind the big 3 American sports leagues (NFL, NBA and MLB.   

Premier League teams, Manchester United, Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool are also some of the richest football clubs out there.  Amazingly, since 1992 there have only been a total of 6 different Premier League winners. Manchester United are the most successful team, historically dominating the league by winning an incredible 13 Premier League trophies.  However Chelsea and Manchester City have been much more successful in recent years.

It’s estimated that Premier League games attract viewers from 643 million households for a potential audience of 4.7 billion people.  The Premier league generated €6.1 million in revenue last year.

The 10 richest football clubs

2. La Liga

The Spanish league may be second to the Premier League but it’s still a giant and the 2 richest and  football clubs, and most followed football clubs – Real Madrid and Barcelona play in it.   These Spanish giants are two of the biggest football rivalries ever.  La Liga is the second biggest football league in both following and revenue.

There are 20 teams in La Liga and for years they had the two best football players to thank for it’s massive success.  Lionel Messi has spent his career at Barcelona while, Cristiano Ronaldo played for Real Madrid for many years before moving to Juventus.  The two legends are the most followed athletes on the planet and have brough many fans from around the world to La Liga.  It’s not surprizing that the two biggest teams have dominated the league, Real Madrid winning 34 titles, and Barcelona 26.

La Liga generated an estimated 3.4 billion last year.

The biggest sports leagues by revenue

3. Bundesliga

The German football league’s 18 clubs, bring in total revenue of just over 3 billion making it number 3 on this list in terms of revenue.

The Bundesliga has had a long history, with the league’s most successful club, Bayern Munich, entertaining fans since 1860.  Teams like Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Monchengladbach have also attracted many millions of fans fans, both at home and from other countries around the world. 

With an average of 42,738 tickets sold per game in the top division, it is the most-attended league in the world.

The best football players in the world

4. Serie A

Serie A is Italys top tier domestic league with 20 teams including long-dominating teams like Juventus, Lazio, Ac Milan, Inter Milan, and AS Roma. 

in 2019 Serie A signed a 3 year domestic tv deal with Sky Italia & Media pro which is worth a reported 1.3 billion per per year.  The broadcasting deal is one of the biggest in footballing history other than the English Premier League and the Bundesliga Serie A has a massive following in Europe and beyond, especially with teams such as AC Milan and the league’s most successful team – Juventus dominating the European competitions for years.

Serie A generated over 2.3 billion in 2021.

 

The best European football teams

5. Ligue 1

This is the top tier football competition in France.  Ligue 1, which is contested by 20 clubs and operates on a promotion and relegation system like most other league on the list.   The league dates back to 1932 and brought in revenue of 1.7 billion in 2021/22.  Paris Saint-Germain are the most famous team in Ligue 1.

6. Major League Soccer

This is the big surprise on the list, MLS produced 1.46 billion in 2021.

Soccer has always played 5th to the traditional and established US sports – Football, basketball, baseball and ice-hockey. The soccer has always played 5th to the traditional and established US sports – Football, basketball, baseball and ice-hockey. Over the past 15 years the MLS has grown massively in size, game attendance and viewership.

The MLS or Major League Soccer is the top tier men’s professional soccer league in the United States and Canada.  The league comprises 28 teams—25 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada and there are plans expand the league to 29 teams by 2023.

New York City FC are the current MLS Cup holders and LA Galaxy are the most successful team in the MLS with 5 wins.

The best football betting sites

7. Brazilian Championship

Mexicio may have the richest league in South America but the Brazilian – Brasileiro is the most popular.  Giants like San Paulo, Palmeiras and Corinthians and the other big teams attract tens of millions of fans every time they play.  Given Brazil’s long heritage in producing super stars, the Brasileiro is the number one league in the world when it comes to producing emerging superstars.

Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of European Football, where only the 32 best teams in Europe qualify and play through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final.  It is arguably the most prestigious football tournament in the world the cup that every team wants to win.

Total revenue of the 2020/21 season was over 2.8 billion and the 2021 final between Chelsea and Manchester City was watched by an estimated 700 million people!

Champions League winner list

The fastest growing football leagues

China Super League

Theres a sleeping giant in the world of football and its called the China Super League, it currently ranks 14th among professional sports leagues in the world by revenue and is now and the 6th or 7th (no recent revenue figures are available) highest professional association football league in the world, behind MLS.

There are currently 16 teams competing for this season, and the Super League starts in March and ends in December.

The most successful football clubs in China

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