Portugal the 6th best league in the world, according to study
A study by a reputable organisation has concluded that the Portuguese Primeira Liga is the 6th best league in world football based on the last year of football.
In what includes some unexpected results, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) concludes that the Portuguese top flight is above some highly prestigious leagues, moving up four places to 6th in the world, while two South American competitions make it into the top 10 of the rankings.
The English Premier League finds itself top of the standings after an excellent showing from their clubs in European competition, with Liverpool winning the Champions League and Chelsea victorious in the Europa League in the previous campaign.
It is then the Brazilian league which finds iself in 2nd in the rankings, perhaps a surprise to many European football fans. Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus’ Flamengo won the league title this year, as well as making it to the final of the Club World Cup, where they narrowly lost to Liverpool after extra time.
The Spanish La Liga then comes in at 3rd, dropping two places from the previous study in 2018. Italy’s Serie A is then deemed the 4th best league in the world.
In another highly interesting twist, it is then the Colombian top flight that is concluded as being the 5th most reputable league on the planet, amassing 15 more points than the 834 secured by the Portuguese league.
It means that the Primeira Liga comes in above the French Ligue 1, which occupies 7th in the standings, as well as the Dutch Eredivisie and the Argentinian Superliga, which come 8th and 9th respectively.
Then, stranded in 10th in the standings is none other than the German Bundesliga. The home of world heavyweights Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund is deemed the 3rd best league in Europe according to the UEFA Coefficient, but according to the IFFHS, it is only worthy of being 10th in the standings, which is a significant reversal to common consensus.
The Portuguese League has made a tremendous rise in the past two years, moving up from 16th in 2017 to 10th in 2018, and now up to 6th in 2019.
