Can Ligue 1 become as big as the big 4?

by Ausi90 Sat May 18, 2013 10:47 pm

As of right now they are not there yet. only have PSG who can compete with the best teams in Europe, but with Monaco supposedly building a super team, the French leauge looks set to become very popular in the forseeable future.

They have PSG + Monaco as the super teams
then they have Lyon, Marseille, Lille as other top teams. 5 top teams.

There are also rumours that Lille might get their own billionaire.

If we look at other leagues:

EPL has 2 financially strong teams in City and Chelsea, and United, although not financially strong or stable, is always a top team. So EPL has strong 3 teams and then other top teams Arsenal and Spurs. 5 good teams, the same number as Ligue 1.

Bundesliga has Bayern and Dortmund as the strong teams, then there are Schalke and Leverkusen. 4 good teams.

La Liga has Real Madrid and Barcelona as the strong teams with Atletico, Valencia and Malaga behind them. 5 good teams in La Liga as well.

Serie A has Juventus as the only force currently, but behind them is Milan, Napoli, Fiorentina (and Inter + Roma rebuilding). This means at least 5 top teams.

Monaco has 200m warchest this summer, so undoubtly they are going to sign a host of world class players. PSG will probably win the Ligue 1 again next season, but the season after they will have at least one strong competitor in the form of Monaco, plus Lyon, and Marseille who are always competitive.
This could mena Ligue 1 will get more recognized as a big league on par with the big 4 seing as top players are going there.

I think Ligue 1 could even become the top 2-3 league.

by 1991 Sat May 18, 2013 11:15 pm

No one cares about Ligue 1.

by sportsczy Sat May 18, 2013 11:21 pm

Depends if that stupid 75% tax thing passes or not. If it doesn't, absolutely. Euro 2016 is in France and a ton of new stadiums are going up.

And finally, FINALLY... the league ownership is modernizing as opposed to living on a 1980s model. It's a global game with massive investment. You need both to compete.

And for those who say nobody cares about Ligue 1... everyone cares about great players. Nobody cares about leagues with no stars is a more accurate statement.

by Dante Sun May 19, 2013 12:01 am

Their strongest bet will be to keep their best talents and players in the league. If they manage to do that and hold on to it as best they can , they will certainly improve and climb the ladder.

It's hard because , results in Europe must happen , money have to be invested , and like Sports pointed out, off the field issues have to be addressed. By 2016 with the Euro , i guess the status of Ligue 1 should be at least better than it is right now. It has to be a collective effort however ; one two teams isn't enough.

by Lex Sun May 19, 2013 12:34 am

1991 wrote:No one cares about Ligue 1.

by VivaStPauli Sun May 19, 2013 1:49 am

Shut up, League 1 is entertaining already. I don't even want them to get a bunch of billionaires, I just want them to get rich enough to keep the talent they develop themselves, that's enough. If l'OM, Lyon etc. didn't lose their 1 to 4 best players each season, they'd all be comfortably on a level somewhere around Schalke, Spurs, Arsenal etc. of the past few seasons.

Every year amazing players get poached from Ligue 1 clubs, if a bit more than half of them stayed, they'd be good enough for me to watch them regularly.

by BarcaLearning Sun May 19, 2013 7:21 am

sportsczy wrote:Depends if that stupid 75% tax thing passes or not. If it doesn't, absolutely. Euro 2016 is in France and a ton of new stadiums are going up.

And finally, FINALLY... the league ownership is modernizing as opposed to living on a 1980s model. It's a global game with massive investment. You need both to compete.

And for those who say nobody cares about Ligue 1... everyone cares about great players. Nobody cares about leagues with no stars is a more accurate statement.

I still dont know much about the league, where can I find more about this, or sport can u explain it? Whats the 1980s model u mean?

If PSG and Monaco really rise quickly, what about the rest of the clubs, do u think they can compete and pulling the standard of the whole league up or it will just likely be a big 2 or 3?

Euro 2016 there surely will help put them on the map a lot.

by sportsczy Sun May 19, 2013 10:34 am

The model in Ligue 1 is that you homegrow all your players and make the club profitable or at least break even by selling you best players... with the idea that you have more coming up from the youth system.

When Serie A became a superstar league starting in the mid 80s and EPL starting buying more foreign players, Ligue 1 was comfortable being a feeder league. You had PSG and OM fight that off at the time... but everyone else went along with it because, at the end of the day, they could compete in Ligue 1 regardless.

By modernizing i mean to have the ambition to compete in Europe and develop a global brand as opposed to just looking at things domestically... it does 2 things:
- You invest money and buy players from everywhere so you can compete on the bigger stage
- The competition within the domestic league becomes a lot tougher so everyone is forced to keep their better players to survive as opposed to selling them.

It's a domino effect. But it takes more than one club to start it.

by BarcaLearning Sun May 19, 2013 5:23 pm

sportsczy wrote:The model in Ligue 1 is that you homegrow all your players and make the club profitable or at least break even by selling you best players... with the idea that you have more coming up from the youth system.

When Serie A became a superstar league starting in the mid 80s and EPL starting buying more foreign players, Ligue 1 was comfortable being a feeder league. You had PSG and OM fight that off at the time... but everyone else went along with it because, at the end of the day, they could compete in Ligue 1 regardless.

By modernizing i mean to have the ambition to compete in Europe and develop a global brand as opposed to just looking at things domestically... it does 2 things:
- You invest money and buy players from everywhere so you can compete on the bigger stage
- The competition within the domestic league becomes a lot tougher so everyone is forced to keep their better players to survive as opposed to selling them.

It's a domino effect. But it takes more than one club to start it.

Thanks a lot for that reply sport. It seems very clear and simple than Razz

But it feels a bit like Portugal, where big 2 Porto Benfica buy cheap and sell high, probably mix it less with local or talent developed within than the French league.

If PSG and OM have the money and power to attract nowadays, and what I know Monaco has that tax break thing and are rich? Then if them 3 start and continue this, other clubs may be forced to follow to compete Smile

From a personal pov though, Im not sure I want that simply becos it is such a long process and the TV rights and coverage is so little, and whenever I saw a French league game it is boring Razz

Although I know about thats changed a bit in the last few seasons? I only say that becos I Wanna see all the big stars and if they start going to the French without much tv coverage then we dont get to see them Razz

by JAY-Z Sun May 19, 2013 5:28 pm

Well with Monaco raising from the dead and PSG already being somewheren on the top with the footballers they have and the money they will invest, I would say yes. Big 4 league in 5 years maybe.

by Kaladin Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:22 pm

"The French TV situation has gone about as badly as you can imagine."

This week's episode looks at which Ligue 1 clubs are most likely to see an exodus of players this summer https://t.co/w6UuJlU8lR
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) July 14, 2021

Ligue 1 is in crisis mode:

-Due to a TV rights debacle, the pool is down €400m euros from last year
-Clubs were already struggling as is and by the looks of it, the majority of clubs will have to sell to cover their losses
-Not just sale of players, clubs themselves are on the market as owners frustrated of Ligue 1 precedents, Marseille has been in the market historically, Rennes owner might look to sell, Lille is debt-ridden and could be taken over by Elliott, etc
-Newly promoted Troyes part of City football group unfazed by what is happening due to nature of their backers.
-There will be a hotsale of players over the coming 1 year if this trend continues

Ligue 1 really turning into a dumpster-fire, this doesn't bode well for PSG in the long-term i think, they will benefit from an attractive domestic league.

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