In the first two decades of the 21st century, La Liga looked like it had become the most important league in the world. However, five years later, the Premier League seems to have taken over, establishing itself as the most lucrative soccer stage across all industries connected to the sport.
While some may argue that La Liga’s “downfall” caused this shift, the financial divide between the two leagues and countries would dispute that claim. In many ways, no competition can rival the Premier League, and that’s a reality that fans from other countries should accept.
A Lot of Dominance, but Restricted to the Biggest Clubs
La Liga supporters often point to the 2000s and 2010s, when Barcelona and Real Madrid sat at the top of world soccer. The two clubs featured epic fights, such as Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos vs. Gerard Piqué, and Sergio Busquets vs. Casemiro.
One of the issues with this view is that it fails to acknowledge that only two clubs (later three, with Atlético de Madrid) were awarded major sponsorships. They were the ones who received a major proportion of TV rights (which Javier Tebas has tried to change). This “dominance” wasn’t reflected elsewhere, except for Valencia and Sevilla.
Because of their dominance on the pitch, fans have often tried to compare La Liga and the Premier League, as if it were a race. But that narrative tends to overlook what makes the two leagues attractive.
Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo – The best football era. pic.twitter.com/Nw2T4TdfQA
— Curiosities Foot (@CuriositiesFoot) August 25, 2025
La Liga was known in most parts for its technical prowess and academy soccer, which by default isn’t the best marketing argument. It often had trouble exporting itself abroad, in part because of linguistic barriers.
English is the international language, while Spanish is less accessible. This doesn’t only concern match broadcasts, but also after-match programs, communities, and influencers. For a long time, La Liga only focused on Spain and other Spanish-speaking regions, such as Mexico and South America.
For England, there is a larger fanbase in India and Nigeria, where the Premier League’s natural linguistic advantage allows the content to be understood by a majority of the population. Because of that, the marketing of both leagues has been very different, with the Premier League allowing fans to repost match clips on Twitter, unlike its Spanish counterpart.
Home of the greats.
Two more players will be voted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2025…
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 7, 2025
This has been especially true under La Liga president Javier Tebas, who has repeatedly claimed that piracy is the league’s biggest issue. Most would condemn this opinion, arguing that La Liga taking down every clip poster on Twitter has hampered its global growth. Under his guidance, its social media policies have only become stricter, with DMCA claims issued against virtually any post containing video highlights.
By contrast, leagues like the NBA (basketball) have demonstrated that hunting piracy and other clips online only damages viewing numbers.
Another Reality
There’s a clear geographical factor that sets the two leagues apart: one is in England, and the other is in Spain. Though it may sound obvious, this comes with different financial and geopolitical realities. England, until Brexit, was synonymous with one of the world’s most stable economies, attracting migrants each year (from Spain, among others).
By contrast, Spain’s economy was often viewed as one of the weakest in Western Europe. The country regularly ranked (and still does) among the EU’s leaders in youth unemployment, while struggling with widespread emigration.
🇪🇸🗣️ Marc Cucurella: “Sunderland, which has just been promoted, has invested €200m in players, and two of the best in La Liga have arrived at the Cristal Palace, in Yeremy and Uche.”
“That is something they should solve, because LaLiga is falling a little further behind with… pic.twitter.com/N5BresXgiO
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) September 6, 2025
It was also on the gates of the immigration crisis in 2015. All of this meant that Spanish clubs received less investment from private investors than the UK, leading to a shift of balance towards the Premier League.
Austerity Measures
Throughout Spain’s modern history, La Liga clubs have often faced bankruptcy due to irresponsible spending by private owners. Many have become publicly owned, but more importantly, Javier Tebas has imposed austerity measures.
This meant that clubs couldn’t spend beyond their means and, in many cases, were forced to operate more responsibly. On one hand, it has brought stability for most teams, but it has also limited their potential reinvestment, hurting smaller sides.
These so-called Financial Fair Play measures sound good on paper, but are not implemented elsewhere. As a result, the Premier League has attracted more and more talent, both in players and coaching staff from La Liga, with the promise of greater financial freedom.
Quizá, uno de los entrenadores españoles más infravalorados.
Andoni Iraola
pic.twitter.com/tbO2VLq4SU— Diego Gaona (@GaonaDieg0) August 30, 2025
This inequality is why coaches like Andoni Iraola left the league, and a similar phenomenon has occurred among players, especially in women’s soccer this summer. The Premier League clubs, who receive a larger share of revenues through broadcasts, are simply able to pay higher wages.
