The Best Soccer Leagues in the World

There is a soccer ranking body known as the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). Although some criticism has been leveled at this organization in terms of its often obscure methods, it can help us to provide a framework for a league's popularity.

The IFFHS assigns points to soccer clubs based on their match results. For example, there are more points for a win than a draw. Points are awarded for domestic, international and world cup competitions. These are tallied until a final amount for the entire league is registered which is compared with other soccer leagues around the world. We use this system to rank each league and provide the points they have earned.

The latest data published by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) correspond to 2023. These detail the list of the top soccer leagues in the world. Italy's Serie A leads the way with 1,619.5 points. This is the first division of Italian soccer, where some of Europe's most powerful clubs compete, such as Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Juventus.

The last Serie A champion in the 2023-2024 season was Inter Milan. AC Milan was the runner-up.

The Premier League occupies second place on this list. Clubs as important as Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea F.C. compete each year to be crowned champions of one of the most prestigious leagues in world football.

Manchester City were the last Premier League champions for the 2023-2024 season, with Arsenal finishing runners-up. City have won the last four consecutive Premier League titles.

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With its full title being Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, La Liga ranks as the third-best domestic competition in world football. In recent decades, it has competed with other leagues such as the Premier League, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 to be the best league in the world. It continues to strive for that title.

This is one of the best soccer leagues in the world since it is home to historic clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético de Madrid. Real Madrid is the club with the most league titles (36) and the last to win this trophy, in the 2023-2024 season.

Commonly known simply as Brasileirão, this is the first non-European league on the list. The Brazilian First Division climbs to fourth place with 1,290.5 points. The current Brasileirão champion is Botafogo, who won their third Brazilian league title in 2024. Palmeiras finished runner-up and Flamengo finished third.

The German Premier League is ranked fifth among the best leagues in the world. Bayern Munich has clearly dominated the Bundesliga in recent years, but the last champion was Bayer Leverkusen. They achieved this feat in the 2023-2024 season, making history. They were the first team ever to finish the Bundesliga undefeated.

The French league is the sixth-best domestic competition in world football with 1,143.25 points. Paris Saint-Germain is the most powerful club, thanks to the titles won in recent seasons. They are also the most recent champions. Certainly the financial capital they have gained since Qatar took over ownership of the Parisian team has not hurt them either.

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Portuguese soccer has a place on this list, occupying seventh position with 1,097 points. Sporting Lisbon is the current Primeira Liga champion, having won the title in the 2023-2024 season. Benfica was the runner-up and Porto finished third in the standings.

Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, and Feyenoord are the three clubs with the most titles in the Eredivisie, the Dutch First Division. This occupies eighth place on the list of the best soccer leagues in the world with a total of 1,049.75 points. Ajax has 28 titles to its name in this league, PSV has 22 and Feyenoord has 11. The last Eredivisie champion was PSV Eindhoven in the 2023-2024 season, while Twente was the runner-up.

Officially the Jupiter Pro League, the Belgian Premier League has a total of 1,004.75 points and is ranked ninth in the list of the best leagues in the world. Club Brugge was the last champion (2023-2024 season), while Union Saint-Gilloise finished runner-up.

Rounding out the top 10 best football leagues in the world is the Argentine Primera División with 966.5 points. It's the second non-European league on the list of the top soccer leagues in the world. Like the Brasileirao, it represents South American football.

The last Argentine Primera División champion was Vélez Sarsfield (2024), securing their eleventh title with their win. Talleres finished runners-up and Racing Club finished third. River Plate, with 37, and Boca Juniors, with 29, are the two clubs with the most Argentine league titles in the professional era.

Now that you know the best football leagues in the world, discover which football managers have won the most trophies in history with our related guide.

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