The 10 Best Football Leagues in the World
The Premier League is the most popular, Serie A is the most defensive, and La Liga the most technical, but which are the 10 best football leagues in the world? Find out here!
Image Credits: QUIQUE GARCIA,LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images
Table of Contents
Several factors determine the best football leagues in the world. All the most-watched leagues are in Europe and South America. South America provides Europe with an unlimited stream of the most talented young players on the continent. Europe is the finishing school for footballers, the road to riches, and every player’s dream. Ranking leagues from both continents is tricky.
The league-rankings criteria are based on international and continental honours. For context, Ballon d’Or winners are included as another measurement of a league’s strength. The records from the English First Division are excluded because the English Premier League (EPL) was a new, breakaway competition. The Premier League uses statistics from 1992, and so will SportsBoom.
This will alter the English top-flight historical data, but context and statistics are added where possible. Only titles won during the Premier League era are added. SportsBoom tallied all the major international and continental trophies won by clubs from leagues in Europe and South America to determine the best football league in the world. This is what we found.
Best Leagues in World Football Honours List
| Rank | League | Country | Continental Trophies** | Ballon d’Or Winners |
| 1 | La Liga | Spain | 20-14-12 (46) | 24 |
| 2 | Serie A | Italy | 12-10-9 (31) | 18 |
| 3 | Premier League | England | 7-4-5 (16) | 2 |
| 4 | Bundesliga | Germany | 8-7-5 (20) | 7 |
| 6 | Primera Division | Argentina | 25-9-9 (43) | 0 |
| 5 | Brasileirão | Brazil | 23-5-10 (38) | 8* |
| 7 | Eredivisie | Netherlands | 6-4-3 (13) | 2 |
| 8 | Primeira Liga | Portugal | 4-2-2 (8) | 1 |
| 9 | Ligue 1 | France | 1-0-0 (1) | 2 |
| 10 | MLS | USA | 1 (1) | 1 |
*Le nouveau palmarès (retrospective Ballon d’Or but original recipients remain unchanged)
**Continental trophies (Europe: UCL-UEL-CWC // South America: CL-CS-CWC)
Spain and La Liga: The Best Football Nation in the World
La Liga tops the charts for the best football league in the world. Since Liverpool beat Alaves, and Bayern Munich beat Valencia to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League (UEL) and UEFA Champions League (UCL) in 2001, Spanish teams played twenty-seven major finals and won them all. This includes national results.
The national team is the most decorated since 2000. Spain won the 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup, three UEFA European Championships (EUROs) and the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League. La Roja is the second European country, after France, to win all three major international tournaments.
Real Madrid (8) and Barcelona (4) have won twelve Champions League titles since the 1999/2000 season. The Premier League clubs have won the second-most titles but only half the number of Madrid and Barca. Serie A has three European Cups, won by the two Milan clubs. Bayern Munich (Germany) has three titles, and Porto (Portugal) has one.
Image Credits: Christophe Karaba
Sevilla has won seven UEFA Cup/Europa League titles since 2005/06, when they won their first. Valencia and Atlético Madrid (twice) have also tasted success. Since 2000, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea (twice) have won the tournament, making the Premier League the second-most successful league.
Real Madrid won five FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) titles. Barcelona, three. Brazil and England each have four World Cup titles since 2001. Corinthians (twice), São Paulo, Sport Club Internacional, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City are tournament winners from the two countries. Campeonato Brasileiro Série A teams have been runners-up six times, the most after clubs from the Primera División (4).
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have shared thirteen Ballon d’Or trophies. Messi won seven with Barcelona. Ronaldo four at Madrid. La Liga is the best football league in the world. La Liga has the most Continental and European honours and Ballon d’Or winners, historically, since the turn of the century, the last decade, and the last five years. La Liga is unmatched in success and silverware.
Image Credits: Archimadrid.es
10. Major League Soccer | United States (founded 1996)
Major League Soccer (MLS) has traditionally been a retirement league for European footballers looking to make one last paycheck. Although not the first big name to play in the USA, Messi has established MLS as one of the best football leagues in the world.
Many top players have graced the league, but no one could anticipate Messi leaving Europe for Inter Miami. His arrival stirred interest around the globe, increasing television revenue. Messi led Inter Miami to a first-ever Leagues Cup title, giving Miami a shot at qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup.
9. Ligue 1 | France (Founded 1930, Renamed 2002)
Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille, 1991) and Messi are the only Ligue 1 players to win the Ballon d’Or. Messi won the 2021 Golden Ball at Paris Saint-Germain but for his performances at Barcelona and the 2021 Copa América. The Argentinian won his PSG Golden Ball in 2023 after another league triumph but mainly because he led Argentina to 2022 World cup glory. Olympique de Marseille is the only Ligue 1 club to win the Champions League, but the club was stripped of their league title for a match-fixing scandal.
8. Primeira Liga | Portugal (Founded 1934, Renamed 1999)
Portugal’s Primeira Liga is producing many talented players in Europe. Portugal is rivalling Spain for world-class footballers. The Premier League is packed with former Primeira Liga stars, many of the top sides in England. Portugal has won four Champions League and two UEFA Cup/Europa League titles, including two Intercontinental Cup triumphs.
7. Eredivisie | Netherland (Founded 1956)
The Netherlands is renowned for developing talented footballers and playing with style. “Total Football” came out of Holland in the 1970s as Ajax and Holland excelled on the world stage. The Dutch Eredivisie has six European Cup/Champions League, four UEFA Cup, and three Intercontinental Cup successes. Johan Cruyff won two of his three Ballon d’Ors playing in the Eredivisie.
Image Credits: Anderson Bueno Pereira
6. Brasileirão | Brazil (Founded 1937)
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A is the most-watched league in South America. The Copa Libertadores de América is the highest level of South American continental football. Brazilian clubs have won twenty-three Copa Libertadores, second behind Argentina.
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana is the second-most prestigious club competition, and the Campeonato Brasileiro has produced five champions, four fewer than the Primera División. Brazilian clubs have, however, won one more Intercontinental Cup/FIFA Club World Cup (10) title than Argentina (9). FIFA retrospectively awarded Pelé (7) and Garrincha (1) eight Le nouveau palmarès awards (from 1958 to 1994) to include players from South America.
5. Primera División | Argentina (1891)
The Liga Profesional de Fútbol was the first league formed outside the United Kingdom. England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland were the only countries with a national football league before Argentina. Clubs from the Primera División have won the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores de América a record twenty-five times. Argentina has the most Copa Sudamericana champions (9) and nine Intercontinental Cups. The Primera División has, however, won no FIFA Club World Cups since the competition’s formation in 2000.
Image Credits: Damine178
4. Bundesliga | Germany (Founded 1963/64)
German football is the most successful in Europe. The Bundesliga has had several eras of dominance, but it is no longer the best football league in the world. The Ballon d’Or winner has come from the Bundesliga nine times, three more than the Premier League and old English First Division.
The Bundesliga has eight UCL titles, with eleven runners-up (tie first with La Liga and Premier League). German clubs have won five Intercontinental Cups/Club World Cups. Only Portugal and Holland have had fewer UCL winners than Germany since 1992. Despite winning more trophies and having more golden Ball winners, the Bundesliga is 29 years older than the Premier League. This leaves the German league below England in the rankings.
3. Premier League | England (Founded 1992/93)
The English Premier League is the most-watched league in the world, the most popular, and the most riveting. The EPL is a soap opera for the ages. England has fifteen Champions League successes, the second-most behind Spain. However, only Liverpool (2), Manchester United (2), Manchester City, and Chelsea (2) have had more success in the UCL competitions in the Premier League era.
There have been six Golden Ball winners from England’s top division. Michael Owen (Liverpool) and Cristiano Ronaldo (United) are the only Ballon d’Or winners since the formation of the Premier League. The EPL has four UEFA Cup/Europa League titles, five more from before the inaugural season. Serie A edges the EPL because the Italian league has three times the Ballon d’Or winners than English football, and more trophies.
2. Serie A | Italy (Founded 1898/99, Revised 1929)
Serie A was the best football league in the world from the mid-1980s to the late-2000s. Eighteen Ballon d’Or winners come from Italy, second-most behind Spain. Italian teams combined for twelve UCL titles (third-most after La Liga and the Premier League), with seventeen runners-up places, the most in Europe.
Serie A also has ten UEFA Cup/Europa League triumphs. Italy’s top division boasts nine Intercontinental Cup/Club World Cup titles, one fewer than the Brasileirão but level with the Primera División. Serie A has four more than the Premier League and Bundesliga, the second-most in European football.
1. La Liga | Spain (Since 1929)
La Liga tops the charts for the best football league in the world. Since May 2001, when Liverpool beat Alavés and Bayern Munich beat Valencia to win the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League, Spanish teams have played twenty-seven major finals and won them all. Spain won the 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup, three UEFA European Championships (EUROS) and the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League.
Image Credits: Антон Зайцев
La Liga has twenty European Cup/Champions League titles, the most in Europe, and fourteen UEFA Cup/Europa League titles, and fourteen Intercontinental/Club World Cup honours. Spain’s top flight has fifteen more major honours than Serie A, in second. Real Madrid (8) and Barcelona (4) have won twelve Champions League titles since the 1999/2000 season.
The Premier League has six titles, Serie A and Bundesliga have won three UCL apiece. Madrid and Barcelona have produced twelve Ballon d’Or winners, giving Liga twenty-four Golden Balls for the world’s best player. Serie A has produced the second-most (18). Kaká was Serie A’s last Ballon d’Or winner in 2007. The EPL has not produced a Golden Ball winner since Ronaldo in 2008. Spain and La Liga is unmatched and unrivalled for success
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.