Once upon a time, the Premier League’s traditional ‘Big Four’ marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League on a regular basis and it usually threw up at least one all-England draw in the last eight. Between 2006 and 2011, clubs from the self-proclaimed ‘Best League in the World’ reached the quarter-finals 16 times.
However, that trend has now stopped and English sides no longer pose a threat in the continental competition. Between 2012 and 2017, you can literally count on your fingers the number of times Premier League teams have reached quarter-finals – five times.
The era of English dominance in the knockout stages is now gone. Since Chelsea’s win in 2012, no English club has reached the final. We look at five reasons why; most of which revolve around one major factor (*cough money cough*).
1) The Premier League is just more lucrative
Ever since television companies made those astounding billion-pound bids to claim rights to broadcast the Premier League, everyone’s pockets have bulged (except the poor fans who are forced to shell out insane amounts of money for tickets and subscriptions).
When the revenue from the Champions League and Premier League are compared, the scales are tipped heavily in favour of the English sides.
Picture this: when Real Madrid won the Champions League last year, they received approximately £81m in prize money and TV revenue distribution. In contrast, every club in the Premier League received £51m just from domestic and overseas TV rights alone.
Even relegated clubs such as Aston Villa and Norwich City earned a total of £66-67m. The top five clubs earned a minimum of £93m.
When finishing higher in the league is a lot more lucrative than going further in the Champions League, it creates a system where clubs prioritise the cut-throat competition that is the Premier League, focusing on domestic opponents when they know they can’t go all the way in Europe.
It’s not quite the same in La Liga where top teams almost always win and tend to relax when they have a safe lead. Even a 4-0 lead is not safe in the Premier League (just ask Arsene Wenger).
“In Spain, you can be up at half-time against the bottom club and take your foot off the gas. You can rest players and take people off. If you try for 45 minutes you won't win a match in the Premier League.” – Gareth Bale
Tottenham Hotspur is a prime example; a club that finds itself in the football version of the Mobius Strip where they perform well in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League – only to perform poorly in the group stages and then play for a top four spot to qualify again. You get the picture.
2) Lack of a winter break
Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 – four of Europe’s top five leagues have a winter break in the December-January period. And what do we see in England? More games to make the best use of the festive period. Again, it’s television companies who lick their lips and count their money knowing full well how they can milk the fans during Christmas and New Years’.
Most teams play as many as three games in the span of eight days. And this is three Premier League games we are talking about – not the odd League Cup game where managers are inclined to field a second string side to give their stars some much-needed rest. The lack of a winter break also comes as a culture shock to foreign players playing in the Premier League for the first time.
“Obviously, the winter break is massive. In England, you'll play four or five games and we don't play any. You don't get many rest days and it really does burn you out for a long time after that.
“It's nice to really get away from it mentally as well as physically. Spanish teams definitely know they have this edge over the English.” – Gareth Bale
Need we say more?
3) No squad has had a strong core over the last five seasons
When Premier League sides achieved a level of consistency by reaching the Champions League knockout stages, one common theme among most sides was that the core of the team was the same. In the mid to late 2000s, most English teams had the same spine to lead them through to the semis and finals.
Take for instance Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Between 2007/08 and 2010/11, the Red Devils reached three finals, winning the 2008 final and finishing runners-up to Barcelona in the latter two. All those sides featured a spine of Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney – most of whom were in their prime.
Of late, not many English teams have managed to keep a core of players intact for more than five years. With the constant chopping and changing of managers and players, teams have looked for a quick-fix solution rather than forge a dynasty.
In contrast, European giants such as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have dominated the competition in the past few years since they have maintained a strong core of world class players, enhancing the squad with a sprinkle of necessary transfers to create the perfect team capable of competing.
The arrival of new managers in the league will also see English sides take a season or two to acclimatise before they are worthy of challenging in the Champions League. But there’s just one other problem when it comes to building that title-winning squad...
4) The world’s best players prefer Spain
What can you do when your best player is enticed by the allure and glamour of the Spanish La Liga? Manchester United could not convince Cristiano Ronaldo to stay when Real Madrid came calling. Arsenal saw Cesc Fabregas “return home” to Barcelona while Liverpool could not stand in the way of Luis Suarez when the Catalan club knocked on their door. Even Gareth Bale took the brave step of moving to Madrid when British players usually stay in England.
And that’s just the players who actually made an impact in the Premier League. There are others who never even got to England because Real and Barca scupper any negotiations as soon as they enter the room. Once they make an offer, a player’s head is effectively turned.
Because the transfer market is so inflated in England, there is no chance of actually signing a top quality player unless record-breaking bids are made. How else can one explain why Samuel Umtiti cost Barcelona half as much as John Stones did for Manchester City?
The media glare is also not so prevalent in Spain as much as it is in England. Every move a player makes in England is scrutinised with a magnifying glass and the paparazzi have a field day. That is not to say it doesn’t happen in Spain but page three news is devoured on a daily basis in England and a number of players have complained about the lack of privacy.
5) Packed domestic schedule
Call it greed or capitalising on the global television audience whose numbers increase every year. The FA are averse to helping clubs playing in the Champions League knowing full well that such clubs playing in prime time slots is beneficial to all parties concerned.
Ever since England have had four slots in the Champions League, they have taken it as a given. As a result, the matter of concentrating on the Champions League is solely down the clubs themselves with no support from the FA.
In other leagues, the top teams are protected well. For example; Juventus had a massive game against AC Milan and the Serie A match was actually scheduled for Friday night to give Juve an extra day’s rest. The Old Lady eventually won their Champions League tie to qualify for the quarter-finals.
On the other hand, the Premier League’s television broadcasters decide when top of the table clashes are to be played and a Saturday night slot brings in the money but gives teams effectively 24 hours fewer to prepare. Add both League Cup and FA Cup games to the mix and you have players looking at a schedule of 50 to 60 games a season.
“Other countries, they care a lot about the Champions League. In this country the Premier League will always come in front of the Champions League. The institutions that lead the competitions make it very, very clear.
“Other countries play Fridays to rest, they play Thursdays to rest. They don't play — to rest!” – Jose Mourinho
Each of these five reasons alone is not why English clubs fail in the latter stages of Europe but it is a combination of some or all these points that have seen them struggle.
