Top 30 leagues in world football ranked | OneFootball

Highlights

The top 30 leagues in world football have been ranked by Opta Power Rankings and it makes for very interesting reading. You won't be too surprised to see the English Premier League lead the way, pulling away from their rival European competitions due to their vast riches. That dominance has been evident in European competitions in recent years.

In five of the last six seasons, there has been an English side competing in the Champions League final, with three English winners. Manchester City won the competition at the end of the 2022-23 campaign and are undoubtedly the best side in Europe right now. Meanwhile, West Ham won the Europa Conference League last campaign, so it's safe to say that England's top-flight has earned its spot at the top.

Now it's time to look at how the rest of the top 30 leagues in the world shape up. Without further ado, let's get started.

World's best leagues: 30th-21st

Including the Saudi Pro League & Japanese J1 League

Making it into the top 30 by the skin of their teeth is the Norwegian Eliteserien at 30, the Romanian Liga I at 29 and the Israeli Premier League at 28. Interestingly, despite all of its spending, the Saudi Pro League is only ranked 27th. Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to move over to the league but has since been joined by *deep breath* Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, N'Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Karim Benzema, Edouard Mendy, Marcelo Brozovic, Roberto Firmino, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom, Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin, Sadio Mane, Franck Kessie, Neymar, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Otavio, Aymeric Laporte and Gabri Veiga among others.

Despite all those star players, it hasn't done enough to raise the league's ranking in Opta's eyes just yet. But there's no doubt that, given a few more transfer windows, the Saudi Pro League will have as much quality as some of the best leagues in the world. The rest of the teams ranking in the bottom 10 are the South Korean K League 1, the Japanese J1 League, the Swedish Allsvenskan, the Cypriot First Division, the Mexican Liga MX and the Croatian HNL. Looking at some of the teams ranking above the Saudi Pro League is quite a shock considering the lack of noticeable names that they possess.

World's best leagues: 20th-11th

Including MLS & the Swiss Super League

Moving into the top 20, we see a noticeable step-up in quality. At 20 is the German 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. The first second-tier league to make the top 30, it's followed by the Argentine Primera División in 19th and the Polish Ekstraklasa in 18th. We get another second-tier division next, with the Spanish La Liga 2 coming in at 17th. Next up is the Austrian Bundesliga at 16th, before we reach Lionel Messi and Major League Soccer (MLS) at 15th.

The Argentine's arrival at Inter Miami last summer saw a surge in popularity for the league across the United States and the world in general. Whether his presence will see it continue to rise remains to be seen, but with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba all following him across the pond, there's a strong chance further superstars will join. So, what other players are there in the league? Well, 22-year-old Thiago Almada who plays for Atlanta United is extremely highly-rated. The likes of Austin's Sebastian Driussi, Orlando City's Facundo Torres and Nashville's Hany Mukhtar are among the best players in the league. You've also got former Barcelona wonderkid Riqui Puig, who plays for LA Galaxy and Italian Lorenzo Insigne who plays for Toronto.

At 14 is the Danish Superliga, 13 is the Russian Premier League, and 12 is the Turkish Super Lig, with numerous high-profile names making their way to the division recently, including Wilfred Zaha, Hakim Ziyech and Mauro Icardi certainly helping its reputation. The final competition outside of the top 10 is the Swiss Super League, which comes in at 11th.

Top 10 best leagues in world football

Includes the English Premier League, Serie A and La Liga

Kicking off the top 10 is the Brazillian Serie A. Losing a superstar like Luis Suarez won't help the division's reputation, but there are plenty of talented young stars currently plying their trade in the division that should help it maintain its status as one of the best leagues in the world. At number nine, we have the Belgian Pro League. While it isn't the most star-studded league in football, Belgian sides regularly compete in both the Champions League and Europa League, always giving a good account for themselves, earning a spot in the top 10.

At eight is the Portuguese Primeira Liga, and things are really starting to heat up now, with some quality players and quality teams coming into the equation. FC Porto and Benfica are still two top sides in Europe and provide a significant boost to the league's reputation. Just pipping the Primeira Liga is the Dutch Eredivisie. Ajax might not quite be at their dominant best this season, but PSV Eindhoven has really stepped things up and is currently looking unstoppable in the Netherlands.

Some incredible gems have been produced in the Eredivisie over the years, and there's a plethora of promising talent currently playing within the league ready to become stars. So, which league is the best of the rest outside the big five? Incredibly, it's actually England's second-tier, the Championship, that ranks in sixth in terms of quality with a ranking of 78.58. This season, the Championship includes huge clubs such as Leicester, Southampton, Leeds and Sunderland and has some true superstars.

Now we're into the top five, and we're looking at the real elite here. France's Ligue 1 comes in at five, with some of the best footballers in the world playing in the division. Messi may have left, but Kylian Mbappe remains there and his Paris Saint-Germain side are capable of beating just about anyone when they're at their best. A Champions League title might have eluded them so far, but they're still a very good team and with the likes of OGC Nice, Lille and Marseille all also competing in the league, it's an impressive division.

Fourth place is a surprising one. Many will likely have expected the Spanish La Liga to fall in as the natural runner-up to the English Premier League. Over the years, they've undoubtedly been number two, with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo really making it a must-watch affair. Their departure, though, and a significant decline in quality for teams like Barcelona sees La Liga fall to fourth place. Make no mistake about it, though, Real Madrid are still a very good side and Jude Bellingham's rise to superstardom might even see the division climb the ranks again soon. Right now, though, Madrid, Atletico Madrid and the Girona fairytale story aren't enough to help La Liga break into the top three.

Ranked third, earning a spot on the pedestal, but not quite reaching the top two, is Italy's Serie A. The league comes in third place despite Juventus falling away from being one of the best sides on the continent. Instead, Napoli, AC Milan and Inter Milan - who reached last season's Champions League final - have lead the way in the division in recent years. AS Roma and Fiorentina were also losers in the Europa League and Europa Conference League finals, respectively. So, the league has had some success in Europe.

Germany's Bundesliga comes in second with a ranking of 84.04. That may come as a surprise, but Bayern Munich are one of the greatest sides in European football, while Borussia Dortmund regularly reach the latter rounds of the Champions League. Eintracht Frankfurt also won the Europa League in the 2021/22 season and there are some exceptional players in Germany right now. Harry Kane's arrival and incredible form has only helped.

To the surprise of no one, the English Premier League comes in as the best league in the world and for good reason. The most valuable players and clubs are all in the division. The likes of Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne all ply their trade in England and walk into any team in the world. As we've already mentioned, clubs in England have dominated Europe recently too, with three of the last six Champions League winners being English. The league is incredibly deep too, with quality players found at some of the lower-ranked teams as well as the best ones.

There we have it, then: the 30 best leagues in the world. Very interesting results, but some star-studded leagues nonetheless.