First a****' gulf now this
La Liga Is The Best In The World And Premier League Can Learn From It – Sepp Blatter
Domestic game undermined due to lack of players in World XI
Fifa president Sepp Blatter believes that Spain’s Primera Division is the best league in the world and says that the Premier League should learn from it.
Blatter pointed to the evidence of eight Spanish-based players being in Fifa's World XI and Spain winning the World Cup in 2010 as reasoning behind his view that La Liga was the top domestic competition.
"It must be the strongest league in the world," he told CNN World Sport.
"And when you see the starting XI of the Spanish national team, all of them play their football in Spain. The Spanish league also has the highest number of local players."
The Fifa president further added salt into the wounds by saying that because there were hardly any players from England and the Premier League that featured in the World XI, it undermined the credibility of the domestic league.
"The Premier League is the best-marketed league in the world," he added.
"It's a good league, with good players, but when you consider not one player made the best XI of the world, maybe they should think about whether something can be adapted."
The Fifa XI featured six players from Spanish champions Barcelona, two from Real Madrid and the other from Inter Milan, who won a treble under Jose Mourinho.
Among the players chosen were Leo Messi, who won the 2010 Ballon d’Or beating his fellow team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to the prestigious award to win it for the second year in a row.
Blatter continued: "Leo Messi is what I identify as a wonderful football player and a good boy. He is really humble. It's not a game he's playing, he's not an actor."
However, the Fifa supremo did add that in order for Messi to be compared to the great Diego Maradona he would have to help Argentina to a World Cup winning victory like Maradona in 1986.
"When I compare Messi to Maradona, both are excellent, talented players," he said. "They could not be more talented. But the difference is their personal educational characteristics.
"One is still in football, modest and not trying to get into the extravaganza. The other did it."
La Liga Is The Best In The World And Premier League Can Learn From It – Sepp Blatter
Domestic game undermined due to lack of players in World XI
Fifa president Sepp Blatter believes that Spain’s Primera Division is the best league in the world and says that the Premier League should learn from it.
Blatter pointed to the evidence of eight Spanish-based players being in Fifa's World XI and Spain winning the World Cup in 2010 as reasoning behind his view that La Liga was the top domestic competition.
"It must be the strongest league in the world," he told CNN World Sport.
"And when you see the starting XI of the Spanish national team, all of them play their football in Spain. The Spanish league also has the highest number of local players."
The Fifa president further added salt into the wounds by saying that because there were hardly any players from England and the Premier League that featured in the World XI, it undermined the credibility of the domestic league.
"The Premier League is the best-marketed league in the world," he added.
"It's a good league, with good players, but when you consider not one player made the best XI of the world, maybe they should think about whether something can be adapted."
The Fifa XI featured six players from Spanish champions Barcelona, two from Real Madrid and the other from Inter Milan, who won a treble under Jose Mourinho.
Among the players chosen were Leo Messi, who won the 2010 Ballon d’Or beating his fellow team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi to the prestigious award to win it for the second year in a row.
Blatter continued: "Leo Messi is what I identify as a wonderful football player and a good boy. He is really humble. It's not a game he's playing, he's not an actor."
However, the Fifa supremo did add that in order for Messi to be compared to the great Diego Maradona he would have to help Argentina to a World Cup winning victory like Maradona in 1986.
"When I compare Messi to Maradona, both are excellent, talented players," he said. "They could not be more talented. But the difference is their personal educational characteristics.
"One is still in football, modest and not trying to get into the extravaganza. The other did it."
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