Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have become the headline acts of their respective leagues, one in Major League Soccer and the other in the Saudi Pro League. After years of defining the sport on the field, their presence is now reshaping entire competitions. A new global ranking has been released, offering a clear picture of which league currently holds the edge.
The strength of a soccer league can be judged by multiple factors — financial power, competitiveness, star power, fan engagement, and more. In this case, Opta, one of the world’s leading data providers, used its Power Rankings formula to unveil the Top 30 leagues in the world, with both MLS and the SPL earning a spot on the list.
As expected, the top of the table remains dominated by Europe’s “Big Five.” The Premier League leads the way with 92.6 points, followed by Serie A and La Liga, each with 87.0. The Bundesliga comes in fourth at 86.3, while Ligue 1 rounds out the top five with 85.5 points, underscoring the continued dominance of Europe’s elite competitions.
Where are Messi’s MLS and Ronaldo’s SPL ranked?
The Brazilian Serie A is the only non-European competition to crack the top 10, ranking ninth with 79.4 points. Neither North America’s MLS nor Saudi Arabia’s SPL made it into that group, though one of them has managed to stand considerably higher than the other.
Led by Lionel Messi’s star power, Major League Soccer is well-positioned at No. 12 with 78.5 points. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Pro League, meanwhile, only just made the cut, landing at No. 29 with 75.1 points.
Since Ronaldo’s arrival in late 2022, Saudi officials have aggressively pursued high-profile signings from Europe in hopes of accelerating the league’s growth. Nearly three years into that project, however, Opta’s data suggests the SPL still lags well behind more established competitions like MLS, which has had decades to build its infrastructure, talent pipeline, and global reach.
The complete ranking
Organized by position, league, and points, here is Opta’s Top 30 list of global soccer competitions:
| 1st | English Premier League | 92.6 |
| 2nd | Italian Serie A | 87.0 |
| 3rd | Spanish La Liga | 87.0 |
| 4th | German Bundesliga | 86.3 |
| 5th | French Ligue 1 | 85.5 |
| 6th | English Championship | 80.9 |
| 7th | Belgian Pro League | 80.5 |
| 8th | Portuguese Primeira Liga | 79.8 |
| 9th | Brazilian Serie A | 79.4 |
| 10th | Dutch Eredivisie | 78.8 |
| 11th | Liga Professional Argentina | 78.6 |
| 12th | Major League Soccer | 78.5 |
| 13th | Liga MX | 78.5 |
| 14th | Japanese J1 League | 77.9 |
| 15th | Croatia Prva HNL | 77.8 |
| 16th | Polish Ekstraklasa | 77.6 |
| 17th | Danish Superligaen | 77.6 |
| 18th | Italian Serie B | 76.4 |
| 19th | Swedish Allsvenskan | 76.3 |
| 20th | Turkish Super Lig | 76.2 |
| 21st | Spanish Segunda Division | 76.2 |
| 22nd | German Bundesliga Zwei | 76.2 |
| 23rd | Russian Premier League | 76.1 |
| 24th | Austrian Bundesliga | 76.1 |
| 25th | Swiss Super League | 76.1 |
| 26th | Norwegian Eliteserien | 75.9 |
| 27th | Czech First League | 75.5 |
| 28th | Ecuador Liga Pro | 75.3 |
| 29th | Saudi Pro League | 75.1 |
| 30th | Hungarian Liga NB I | 75.0 |
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