European Football: The Top 5 European Leagues Ranked

Mentioning Football and Europe in the same sentence wouldn’t come as a surprise as the two have always gone hand in hand since the inception of modern-day football. Europe is widely regarded as the top promoter of football in the world, with several popular football champions such as the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Euro Cup, and UEFA Super Cup being conducted in the continent.

In this article, we rank the top 5 football leagues in Europe according to their recent performances in UEFA Club competitions. All the football leagues usually attract the most competitive betting odds, making them an extremely popular option in sports betting markets as well.

Premier League

The Premier League is the top flight of the professional football league system in England. Being the top level of England’s football system, the Premier League works on the relegation and promotion system with the EFL.

Being a highly competitive league, the EPL generates more Television revenue than any other football league in the world. An interesting thing about the Premier League is that the instability at the bigger clubs has resulted in four different EPL champions in the last five years.

Manchester United, Leicester Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham have all been in and out of the top three in the EPL in the past few years. Also, the number of good players in the non-European competing leagues in the EPL has increased significantly in recent times. 

La Liga

The Primera Division of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, which is widely referred to as La Liga in England, is the top tier of Spain’s football pyramid. Since its establishment, 62 teams have taken part in La Liga and nine football clubs have been crowned champions. 

Real Madrid has been the most successful team in the league, with 34 titles to its name. Having won the league a whopping 26 times, Barcelona is the second most successful club in the Primera División. Featuring some of the best players in football history, these two football clubs are usually at the top of the charts when it comes to football betting on La Liga. 

Other notable clubs participating in La Liga include Valencia, Atlético Madrid, and Villareal. While Spain’s mid-table might not be as good as the football countries, the quality of their top teams is enough to earn them a second spot in the top 5 European Leagues.

Bundesliga

Also referred to as 1. Bundesliga, Bundesliga is Germany’s top professional association football league. The league is contested between 18 teams and it works on a relegation and promotion system with 2. Bundesliga. 

Since its inaugural edition in 1963, a total of fifty-six clubs have competed in the Bundesliga. However, the league has been the most favourable for a single football club. Bayern Munich, the most successful football club in Bundesliga history, has won the Bundesliga title 30 times.

Other champions seen by the Bundesliga include Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and VfB Stuttgart. Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Schalke, Monchengladbach, Wolfsburg and Leverkusen have all managed to retain their position in the top three since the 2015-16 season. 

It’s worth noting that Bundesliga led the UEFA ranking between 1976 and 1984 as well as in 1990. Also, the league has produced some of the best football clubs that have several UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup titles to their name. 

Serie A

Serie A is the top tier of the professional football league competition in Italy. Founded in 1898, Serie A has been home to several top football clubs that have major contributions in European club competitions.

It’s worth noting that Serie A hosts three of the most popular football clubs in the world – AC Milan, Juventus, and Internazionale. Juventus, the most successful club in Italian football history, is the only team in the world that has registered a victory in possible official confederation competitions. With 18 titles to their name, Milan is the joint third club that has won the most official international titles in the world. Internazionale, following their greatest football season in 2009-10, became the first football club in Italy to have achieved a treble.

Another interesting fact about this football league is that more footballers have received the Ballon d’Or award while playing at a Serie A team than any other league on the planet, with Spain’s La Liga football association being the only exception. Being one of the most storied leagues in the world, Serie A has always attracted the most competitive betting odds in football betting markets.

Ligue 1

Ligue 1 is the top-flight of the men’s professional football league system in France. As with many other European Football leagues, Ligue 1 works on a relegation and promotion system with its counterpart, Ligue 2. This French football league, which was established under the name National in 1932, got its name changed to Division 1 after the conclusion of its first season. And it was in the early 2000s that the name of the league was renamed to La Liga. 

Paris Saint-Germain, the club that has won seven of the last eight Ligue 1 titles, has the league record for longevity with 47 seasons. As you’d be knowing, FC Nantes is the only football team in Ligue 1 that holds the record for the least number of defeats in a single season.

Having clinched the Ligue 1 title in the 2020-21 season, Lille are the current champion in this French football league. The league has also seen foreign-based club AS Monaco emerging as a winner on multiple occasions in recent times.