Opta’s latest global football statistics reveal that Major League Soccer (MLS) is ranked higher than the Saudi Pro League, with a significant gap in overall strength between the two competitions.
Opta ranks more than 15,000 football teams worldwide using advanced performance data. From this, the company identifies which leagues have the strongest concentration of elite clubs, providing a clear picture of a league’s overall quality.
According to the ranking, the English Premier League remains the best league in the world. The Premier League received an average team strength rating of 92.6, far ahead of other top European leagues such as Italy’s Serie A (87), Spain’s LaLiga (87), Germany’s Bundesliga (86.3), and France’s Ligue 1 (85.5).
Outside Europe, Brazil’s Serie A was the only league to break into the top 10. It ranked ninth with an average score of 79.4, just ahead of the Dutch Eredivisie in tenth place with 78.8.
MLS, where Lionel Messi currently plays for Inter Miami, was placed 12th in the world with a score of 78.5. In Asia, Japan’s J1 League ranked highest at 13th with an average of 77.9.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Pro League, where Cristiano Ronaldo and several high-profile stars are now playing, came in at 29th place. The league recorded an average score of 75.1, making it the second-best in Asia after Japan.
While the overall difference between MLS and the Saudi Pro League is clear, the gap between the two competitions narrows when focusing only on their top clubs. MLS ranks 12th globally in terms of its strongest teams, while the Saudi Pro League is ranked 17th.
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12. Major League Soccer (USA) – 78.5
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13. J1 League (Japan) – 77.9
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29. Saudi Pro League – 75.1
Opta’s findings underline the strength of established European leagues, highlight Brazil’s continuing influence outside Europe, and show that MLS currently holds a stronger global position than the ambitious but still-developing Saudi Pro League.