The most valuable leagues in football

From far away…

Recently, an informative article was published on the excellent sports website Sportingpedia about the most valuable leagues in world football based on team values.

The ranking includes the 25 most valuable national leagues in Europe, the top 5 from Asia and Oceania, the top 5 from North and South America and the top 3 from Africa. The total team value of the top 12 leagues on the list is over €1 billion, with the total value of these leagues exceeding €39.6 billion. Belgium’s Pro League and Argentina’s Apertura are new members of the “Billionaires Club”, while the Saudi Pro League, whose value has fallen from €1.02 billion to €891.78 million, falls to 13th place. Morocco’s Botola Pro League is last on the list with €129.7 million.

The findings confirm the Premier League’s status as football’s financial powerhouse, with its European rivals still far ahead, despite a slight decline in value since February. The Premier League is the world’s most valuable league, with its 20 teams worth €11.49 billion, despite a €280 million drop, followed by La Liga with €5.37 billion and Serie A with €5.08 billion. Brazilian Serie A saw the biggest increase, with a €210 million increase, followed closely by Ligue 1 and Liga Portugal, both with €200 million. It is noteworthy that the two leagues in the top 10 that have lost value since February are the Premier League and the Turkish Super League. It is worth recalling that the Championship, below the Premier League, has a current market value of €1.76 billion, above our three-team Süper Lig, which is worth €1.08 billion. While we're at it, let's take a look at the elements that make the Premier League, which we follow closely, most valuable:

Rivalry

It is not surprising that teams struggling at the bottom of the league are taking points from teams struggling for the top, as you know, football is beautiful with the possibility of each team beating each other. The fact that Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who started last season with the aim of finishing in the top four, finished the season just above the relegation zone is a summary of that rivalry. The total number of defeats of the two giants who competed in the UEFA Europa League final in the league is 40, Tottenham, which is among the 10 richest clubs in football, lost 10 matches at home last season, as you can see, in the most valuable league in the world, you do not win matches with jerseys, fan pressure, or support. As I have written before, every team is great for its own fans, while the league managers keep an equal distance from each team, they do not make distinctions between small and big, they do not design football. Although Manchester City has dominated the championship cup in recent seasons, the number of teams that have won the championship since the league's first season in 1992-93 is 7... Two of those teams, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City, will be competing in the Championship next season. The number of teams that have won the championship in the league founded in 1888 before the Premier League is 24, and Preton North End, who won the championship in their first season, are lamenting the past while competing in the Championship.

Viewing rate

In the league watched by approximately 1.87 billion viewers worldwide every weekend, the stands are not empty on match days, contrary to popular belief, the issue is not to build brand new stadiums all around the country, but to fill those stadiums on match days. As I have written before, the football of a country that cannot fill its stands on match days will not progress. Leicester City, the big team of the small city that was relegated at the end of last season, hosted 597,516 fans at their 32,259 capacity temple, King Power Stadium, and the average number of fans per match is 31,448. Let us remind you that the population of the city hosting the team is 560 thousand, and there is a waiting line for season tickets. West Ham United, the 'Hammers' of East London, hosted 1,1862,407 fans at the 62,500 capacity London Olympic Stadium last season, and achieved an average of 62,407 fans. Lebi Derya Craven Cottage, one of the most beautiful temples of football, has a capacity of 29,589, and the average fan attendance per match last season was 26,826.

Star parade

It is a well-known expression in football: “Good football is played with good footballers.” The Premier League, which opened its curtains in the 1992-93 season, has become a ‘testing ground’ for the elite talents of European football over time. The intense match traffic, the tempo of the matches, the high competition, the opportunity to show off and develop their skills, but many players who have made a name for themselves in football have failed to make the expected impact after transferring to the Premier League for big money. Even Lionel Messi has been the subject of the joked football cliché, “Can he do this on a cold and rainy Stoke night?” Those who can keep up with the high demands of the league and prove themselves at the highest level, have their names written in the books of football as legends of the beautiful game forever, and have shown their greatness in the arena of the big ones.

Hard derbies

Local derbies such as the Manchester derby, Merseyside derby and North London derby are the matches marked by the fans when the season's fixture list is published. Although they are not teams from the same city, the Manchester United and Liverpool derby, which are close to each other, are the tough fixtures that add flavor to the league for football fans and should not be missed. On this occasion, our Fulham's defeat of Chelsea away in the Southwest London derby last season after a 45-year hiatus, and Arsenal's defeat of Tottenham twice in the 'bloody' North London derby made their fans happy. Our Deniz, who recently turned 12, is very much in love with both of them, the weekly money he has saved up is not enough for Arsenal season tickets for now, but he takes his place in the 'Johnny Haynes' stands with his buddy Jeremy with his season ticket when Fulham, the wonderful neighborhood team, plays at home. The Black and Whites gave new season jerseys to children under the age of 10 last season. What can we say, clubs that make children love football are great.