England will host Spain in an int'l friendly on Tuesday, and Richard Martin of REUTERS compared the "state of football in the two countries." Spain has "shown determination" under La Liga President Javier Tebas to "challenge England as the most lucrative league in the world." As well as "forcing clubs to significantly reduce their debts, Tebas pushed to change the law and oblige teams to sell their television rights collectively, paving the way for its biggest ever domestic deal" in '15, worth $2.9B over three years. Spain, however, has a "long way to go" to catch the Premier League, which earned a record $6.5B from its latest domestic deal.
TOP CLASS PLAYERS: Spain can "legitimately claim to host world football's finest players, and not just because Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo play in La Liga." Spanish football boasts 13 entrants in the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist for 2016, more than any other league. The Premier League is next with eight.
ELITE COACHES: With "serial winners" Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho at the helm of the two Manchester clubs and Antonio Conte revitalizing Chelsea since giving up the Italy job, the Premier League "has a strong claim to having the best coaches in the world."
EUROPEAN PEDIGREE: Spain monopolized the European Cup in its early years, "with Real Madrid winning the competition five consecutive times" from '56-60. England’s four Champions League successes since '92 "pale in comparison to Spain's nine."
INT'L SUCCESS: Spain won the European Championship in '64 and "England triumphed in the World Cup two years later, but decades without international glory then followed for both countries." Spain "brought an emphatic end" to its 44 years in the wilderness, however, by winning successive European Championships in '08 and '12 and the World Cup in '10 (REUTERS, 11/14).
