Big Five (association football)

Big Five (association football)

Map showing the Big Five countries with their men's top-division leagues.  England (Premier League)   Germany (Bundesliga)   Spain (La Liga)   Italy (Serie A)   France (Ligue 1)

The Big Five refers to the association football markets of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. As of 2025, they are the five European leaders in size and popularity of the main domestic football leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 respectively in men's football, and the Women's Super League, Frauen-Bundesliga, Liga F, Serie A, and Première Ligue respectively in women's football. In Europe, the 32 most prominent football clubs have been ranked by their Enterprise Value (EV) since 2016 through the Football Benchmark data and analytics platform, a service of Ace Advisory, which specializes in data-driven sports and leisure business consultancy. In the 2023 rankings, clubs from the Big Five leagues reached a record presence, with 29 representatives accounting for 97% of the total aggregate EV.

The Premier League, often considered the most competitive and financially lucrative league, generates billions in revenue annually and boasts a worldwide audience. Similarly, Germany's Bundesliga is celebrated for its high attendance rates and fan engagement. La Liga in Spain is the home to global giants like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the most valuable and successful club worldwide, including domestic, European and international club competitions. Italy's Serie A, known for its tactical sophistication, has a rich history of European and world champions. France's Ligue 1, while often seen as the underdog comparing to the other Big Five leagues, regarding enterprise value and winning European and international titles, continues to produce world-class talent and is home to Paris Saint-Germain, a club with significant international influence.

In women's football, these leagues have been pivotal in increasing the sport's visibility and professional standards. The Women's Super League in England and Frauen-Bundesliga in Germany are among the top destinations for elite female footballers, contributing significantly to the growth of the sport. Spain's Liga F, Italy's Serie A, and France's Division 1 Feminine have made substantial strides in professionalizing women's football and drawing in larger audiences and sponsorships.

Summary

Men's competitions

Leagues
Country	League	Champions
Most titles	2024–25	2023–24	2022–23	2021–22	2020–21
England	Premier League	Manchester United (20) Liverpool (20)	Liverpool	Manchester City
France	Ligue 1	Paris Saint-Germain (13)	Paris Saint-Germain	Lille
Germany	Bundesliga	Bayern Munich (34)	Bayern Munich	Bayer Leverkusen	Bayern Munich
Italy	Serie A	Juventus (36)	Napoli	Inter Milan	Napoli	Milan	Inter Milan
Spain	La Liga	Real Madrid (36)	Barcelona	Real Madrid	Barcelona	Real Madrid	Atlético Madrid

Cups
Country	League	Winners
Most titles	2024–25	2023–24	2022–23	2021–22	2020–21
England	FA Cup	Arsenal (14)	Crystal Palace	Manchester United	Manchester City	Liverpool	Leicester City
France	Coupe de France	Paris Saint-Germain (16)	Paris Saint-Germain	Toulouse	Nantes	Paris Saint-Germain
Germany	DFB-Pokal	Bayern Munich (20)	VfB Stuttgart	Bayer Leverkusen	RB Leipzig	Borussia Dortmund
Italy	Coppa Italia	Juventus (15)	Bologna	Juventus	Inter Milan	Juventus
Spain	Copa del Rey	Barcelona (32)	Barcelona	Athletic Bilbao	Real Madrid	Real Betis	Barcelona

League cups
Country	League	Champions
Most titles	2024–25	2023–24	2022–23	2021–22	2020–21
England	EFL Cup	Liverpool (10)	Newcastle United	Liverpool	Manchester United	Liverpool	Manchester City

Women's competitions

<table><thead><tr><th>Leagues</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Country</td><td>League</td><td>Champions</td></tr><tr><td>Most titles</td><td>2024–25</td><td>2023–24</td><td>2022–23</td><td>2021–22</td><td>2020–21</td></tr><tr><td> England</td><td>Women's Super League</td><td>Chelsea (7)</td><td>Chelsea</td></tr><tr><td> France</td><td>Première Ligue</td><td>Lyon (17)</td><td>Lyon</td><td>Paris Saint-Germain</td></tr><tr><td> Germany</td><td>Frauen-Bundesliga</td><td>Eintracht Frankfurt (7) Wolfsburg (7)</td><td>Bayern Munich</td><td>Wolfsburg</td><td>Bayern Munich</td><td>Wolfsburg</td></tr><tr><td> Italy</td><td>Serie A Femminile</td><td>Torres (7)</td><td>Juventus</td><td>Roma</td><td>Juventus</td></tr><tr><td> Spain</td><td>Liga F</td><td>Barcelona (10)</td><td>Barcelona</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>Cups</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Country</td><td>League</td><td>Champions</td></tr><tr><td>Most titles</td><td>2024–25</td><td>2023–24</td><td>2022–23</td><td>2021–22</td><td>2020–21</td></tr><tr><td> England</td><td>Women's FA Cup</td><td>Arsenal (14)</td><td>Chelsea</td><td>Manchester United</td><td>Chelsea</td></tr><tr><td> France</td><td>Coupe de France Féminine</td><td>Lyon (14)</td><td>Paris FC</td><td>Paris Saint-Germain</td><td>Lyon</td><td>Paris Saint-Germain</td><td>None</td></tr><tr><td> Germany</td><td>DFB-Pokal Frauen</td><td>Wolfsburg (11)</td><td>Bayern Munich</td><td>Wolfsburg</td></tr><tr><td> Italy</td><td>Coppa Italia Femminile</td><td>Torres (8)</td><td>Juventus</td><td>Roma</td><td>Juventus</td><td>Roma</td></tr><tr><td> Spain</td><td>Copa de la Reina</td><td>Barcelona (10)</td><td>Barcelona</td><td>Atlético Madrid</td><td>Barcelona</td></tr></tbody></table>

Market

Big Five (association football)

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Market Leaders</th><th>Revenues (€ billion)</th><th>Share</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Big Five top-leagues</td><td>20.8</td><td>53.2%</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>All non-Big Five leagues</td><td>9.1</td><td>23.3%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>FIFA, UEFA, and national associations</td><td>5.4</td><td>13.8%</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Big Five countries’ other leagues</td><td>3.8</td><td>9.7%</td></tr><tr><td>  Revenue from the top national leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain   Revenue from all professional leagues (except top division) in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain   Revenue from all national leagues in all other 50 UEFA associations outside the Big Five   FIFA's European revenues, UEFA's revenues (less payments to clubs and associations) and national associations' revenues (less payments to clubs) during the 2024–25 and 2025 seasons (depending on the respective financial year end)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Driven by the boost from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, revenue in the European football market grew by 16% in the 2022–23 season, reaching €35.3 billion. The Big Five domestic leagues continued to dominate, generating €19.6 billion—or 56%—of the total market. According to Deloitte, their combined revenue is projected to rise to €20.8 billion in the 2024–25 season, accounting for 53% of the market.

In the Big Five's leagues, broadcast revenue has traditionally been the primary source of income for clubs; however, its sluggish growth in the early 2020s has led many clubs to pursue greater control over both their earnings and how they expand them. The 2022–23 season saw record-breaking matchday (€2.8bn) and commercial (€7.6bn) revenues. Within the Big Five, England's Premier League is considerably larger than the other four in terms of both popularity and wealth, with both factors influencing the other; league wealth is mostly derived from selling broadcasting rights to global markets based on the league's popularity worldwide, with competing bids. The German Bundesliga enjoys the highest average match attendance, while brand value is strongest in the main teams of Spain's La Liga, namely Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations significantly enhanced the financial performance of European football. These regulations eradicated overdue payables and converted an aggregate net loss of EUR 1.7 billion in 2010–11 into a net profit of EUR 579 million in 2016–17. Additionally, net equity positions, reflecting the balance sheet solvency or financial health of European first division clubs, have markedly improved over the past decade, as in the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of net equity for the Big Five leagues, which has ranged from 7.5% in England to 17.9% in France.

In December 2012, Bleacher Report noted that the Big Five all benefit from having "developed their own 'brand' of how football should be played." The website suggested that the Netherlands' top league Eredivisie was considered similarly to the Big Five in footballing terms, but did not reach the same popularity or funding levels because it is overlooked by international fans in favour of the Five.

Quality

Big Five (association football)

The Big Five are seen as the collective leagues where the best players in the world go to develop and shine, and it is accepted that the Big Five "represent the pinnacle of European football". Football fans, particularly in different regions, often debate the quality of each league compared to the others. As of 2024, the Big Five lead the UEFA coefficient for both men's and women's domestic leagues in Europe.

The coefficient ranks on performance of domestic teams in European competitions; football analytics website Breaking the Lines suggested that the continued dominance of the Big Five in the coefficient for men's football relies on teams from other nations – which may be as good or better than Big Five teams when fielding their best XI – thinking there is more security in aiming for domestic titles rather than European ones, and Big Five teams having the resources available to perform in both. The dominance of recent times is particularly evident in the most prestigious club competition in European football in the UEFA Champions League, in which only teams from the Big Five have participated in the finals since the 2004 final, where Porto has been the last club outside the Big Five competing in a final. In terms of national teams, they are also the only five European nations that have won the FIFA World Cup.

Women's football has been less consistently centralised and, in Europe, has also been strong in Scandinavia; as it became more popular, the largest (men's) football markets invested more, leading to a shift towards teams from the Big Five. Sweden held a spot in the UEFA coefficient instead of Italy through 2022. In 2021, several men's teams from the Big Five leagues in England, Italy, and Spain attempted to create a European Super League, but received pushback. Teams from Germany and France were reportedly invited to join the project, but declined. Top performing football players (with high playing potential) outside the Big Five leagues, are usually signed by clubs within the Big Five leagues, as the clubs in the Big Five leagues are the most competitive in terms of performance, earn more (due to larger fan bases, higher ticket sales, television broadcast rights revenue and merchandise sales) and furthermore are able to provide attractive salaries. However, due to the higher salaries offered by Saudi Pro League clubs (in association with the Public Investment Fund), numerous high-profile players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Sadio Mané had moved away from the Big Five leagues, heading to Saudi Arabia.

Records and statistics

Performance in current UEFA top-tier competitions

Competition	Spain	England	Italy	Germany	France	Note
European Cup / Champions League	Winners	20	15	12	8	2	57 of 70 European Cup / UEFA Champions League seasons (81%) has been won by a club from the Big Five
Finalists	31	26	30	19	8	114 of 140 European Cup / UEFA Champions League finalists (81%) has been clubs from the Big Five
UEFA Cup / Europa League	Winners	14	10	10	7	–	41 of 54 UEFA Cup / Europa League seasons (76%) has been won by a club from the Big Five
Finalists	19	19	18	16	5	77 of 108 UEFA Cup / Europa League finalists (71%) has been clubs from the Big Five
UEFA Conference League	Winners	–	2	1	–	–	3 of 4 UEFA Conference League seasons (75%) has been won by a club from the Big Five
Finalists	1	2	3	–	–	6 of 8 UEFA Conference League finalists (75%) has been clubs from the Big Five
Grand total	Winners	34	27	23	15	2	101 of 128 current UEFA top-tier competitions (79%) has been won by a club from the Big Five
Finalists	51	47	51	35	13	197 of 256 current UEFA top-tier competition finalists (77%) has been clubs from the Big Five

<table><thead><tr><th>Competition</th><th>Germany</th><th>France</th><th>Spain</th><th>England</th><th>Italy</th><th>Note</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>UEFA Women's Champions League</td><td>Winners</td><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>–</td><td>22 of 24 UEFA Women's Champions League seasons (92%) has been won by a club from the Big Five</td></tr><tr><td>Finalists</td><td>17</td><td>13</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>–</td><td>39 of 48 UEFA Women's Champions League finalists (81%) has been clubs from the Big Five</td></tr></tbody></table>

Performance in defunct UEFA top-tier competitions

In contrast to the current UEFA competitions, the Cup Winners Cup also showed a dominance of the Big Five, but this was significantly lower in terms of title success (over 69%) and final participation (over 62%). This should be explained by the fact that only one participant from the respective leagues could take part in this tournament as a national cup winner or national cup finalist, if the cup winner qualified for the European Cup / UEFA Champions League. Therefore only one participant from the respective leagues (unless the defending champions did not qualify for any other UEFA competition, then it were two) took part in this competition.

<table><thead><tr><th>Competition</th><th>England</th><th>Spain</th><th>Italy</th><th>Germany†</th><th>France</th><th>Note</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (defunct)</td><td>Winners</td><td>8</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>27 of 39 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup seasons (69%) were won by a club from the Big Five</td></tr><tr><td>Finalists</td><td>13</td><td>14</td><td>11</td><td>8</td><td>3</td><td>49 of 78 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finalists (63%) were clubs from the Big Five</td></tr></tbody></table>

List of Champions in the Big Five

The table below shows the winning teams in all men's Big Five leagues by season.

Sources: English football champions, German football champions, Spanish football champions, Italian football champions, French football champions

Players

	ENG	≙	Football League First Division / Premier League (1888–1992 / 1992–)
	FRA	≙	USFSA Championship / Ligue 1 (1896–1932 / 1932–)
	GER	≙	German Champions / Bundesliga (1903–1963 / 1963–)
	ITA	≙	Serie A (1898–)
	ESP	≙	La Liga (1929–)

List of top scorers in the Big Five Leagues

Rank	Player	Nationality	Goals	Itemized Goals	Period
1	Lionel Messi	Argentina	496	(474) ESP (22) FRA	2004–2023
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	495	(103) ENG (311) ESP (81) ITA	2003–2023
3	Robert Lewandowski	Poland	390	(312) GER (78) ESP	2010–
4	Jimmy Greaves	England	366	(357) ENG (9) ITA	1957–1971
5	Gerd Müller	West Germany	365	(365) GER	1965–1979
6	Steve Bloomer	England	315	(315) ENG	1892–1914
7	Dixie Dean	England	310	(310) ENG	1924–1938
8	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Sweden	302	(156) ITA (16) ESP (113) FRA (17) ENG	2004–2023
9	Delio Onnis	Argentina	299	(299) FRA	1971–1986
10	Harry Kane	England	293	(213) ENG (80) GER	2012–
11	Gordon Hodgson	England	288	(288) ENG	1925–1939
12	Alan Shearer	England	283	(283) ENG	1988–2006
13	Karim Benzema	France	281	(43) FRA (238) ESP	2004–2023
14	Silvio Piola	Italy	274	(274) ITA	1929–1954
15	Klaus Fischer	West Germany	268	(268) GER	1968–1988
16	Edinson Cavani	Uruguay	267	(112) ITA (138) FRA (12) ENG (5) ESP	2007–2023
17	Sergio Agüero	Argentina	259	(184) ENG (75) ESP	2006–2022
18	Charlie Buchan	England	258	(258) ENG	1912–1928
19	David Jack	England	257	(257) ENG	1920–1938
20	Raúl	Spain	256	(228) ESP (28) GER	1994–2012
21	Nat Lofthouse	England	255	(255) ENG	1946–1960
22	Bernard Lacombe	France	255	(255) FRA	1969–1987
23	Telmo Zarra	Spain	251	(251) ESP	1940–1955
24	Francesco Totti	Italy	250	(250) ITA	1992–2017

List of players with the most 'League Top Scorer' awards

Rank	Player	Nationality	Awards	Itemized Awards	Period
1	Lionel Messi	Argentina	8	(8) ESP	2004–2023
2	Robert Lewandowski	Poland	8	(7) GER (1) ESP	2010–
3	Gerd Müller	West Germany	7	(7) GER	1965–1979
4	Kylian Mbappé	France	7	(6) FRA (1) ESP	2015–
5	Telmo Zarra	Spain	6	(6) ESP	1939–1957
6	Jimmy Greaves	England	6	(6) ENG	1957–1980
7	Stephen Bloomer	England	5	(5) ENG	1891–1914
8	Gunnar Nordahl	Sweden	5	(5) ITA	1949–1958
9	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Argentina/ Spain	5	(5) ESP	1953–1966
10	Quini	Spain	5	(5) ESP	1967–1987
11	Delio Onnis	Argentina/ Italy	5	(5) FRA	1971–1986
12	Carlos Bianchi	Argentina	5	(5) FRA	1973–1985
13	Jean-Pierre Papin	France	5	(5) FRA	1981–2004
14	Hugo Sánchez	Mexico	5	(5) ESP	1981–1997
15	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	5	(1) ENG (3) ESP (1) ITA	2003–2023
16	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Sweden	5	(2) ITA (3) FRA	2004–2023
17	Harry Kane	England	5	(3) ENG (2) GER	2009–

Sources: English football first tier top scorers by season, Bundesliga top scorers by season, La Liga top scorers by season, Serie A top scorers by season, Ligue 1 top scorers by season

List of players with the most games played

Rank	Player	Nationality	Games	Itemized Games	Period
1	Peter Shilton	England	848	(848) ENG	1966–1997
2	John Hollins	England	714	(714) ENG	1963–1984
3	Ray Clemence	England	710	(710) ENG	1965–1988
4	Pat Jennings	Northern Ireland	709	(709) ENG	1963–1986
5	Martin Peters	England	688	(688) ENG	1961–1980
6	Gianluigi Buffon	Italy	674	(657) ITA (17) FRA	1995–2021
7	Ryan Giggs	Wales	672	(672) ENG	1990–2014
8	Joaquín	Spain	671	(622) ESP (49) ITA	2001–2023
9	Pepe Reina	Spain	665	(297) ENG (202) ITA (163) ESP (3) GER	2000–2025
10	Mick Mills	England	658	(658) ENG	1968–1985
11	Gareth Barry	England	653	(653) ENG	1997–2018
12	James Milner	England	642	(642) ENG	2002–

List of players with the most league titles

Rank	Player	Nationality	Titles	Itemized Titles	Period
1	Ryan Giggs	Wales	13	(13) ENG	1990–2014
2	Thomas Müller	Germany	13	(13) GER	2008–2025
3	Paco Gento	Spain	12	(12) ESP	1952–1971
4	Lionel Messi	Argentina	12	(10) ESP (2) FRA	2004–2023
5	David Alaba	Austria	12	(10) GER (2) ESP	2010–
6	Kingsley Coman	France	12	(2) FRA (1) ITA (9) GER	2012–2025
7	Manuel Neuer	Germany	12	(12) GER	2006–
8	Robert Lewandowski	Poland	12	(10) GER (2) ESP	2010–
9	Paul Scholes	England	11	(11) ENG	1994–2013
10	Gianluigi Buffon	Italy	11	(10) ITA (1) FRA	1995–2021
11	Arjen Robben	Netherlands	11	(2) ENG (1) ESP (8) GER	2004–2019
12	Thiago	Spain	11	(4) ESP (7) GER	2008–2024
13	Pirri	Spain	10	(10) ESP	1964–1980
14	Gary Neville	England	10	(10) ENG	1992–2011
15	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Sweden	10	(5) ITA (1) ESP (4) FRA	2004–2023
16	Marquinhos	Brazil	10	(10) FRA	2014–

List of players to have played the Big Five Leagues

The table below show the players who have played in all Big Five Leagues.

Player	England	France	Germany	Italy	Spain	SCO
Florin Răducioiu	West Ham United	Monaco	VfB Stuttgart	Bari	Espanyol	Yes
Brescia
Hellas Verona
Milan
Christian Poulsen	Liverpool	Evian	Schalke 04	Juventus	Sevilla	No
Stevan Jovetić	Manchester City	Monaco	Hertha BSC	Inter Milan	Sevilla	Yes
Fiorentina
Justin Kluivert	Bournemouth	Nice	RB Leipzig	Roma	Valencia	Yes

List of managers to have coached the Big Five Leagues

The table below show the managers who have coached in all Big Five Leagues.

Manager	England	France	Germany	Italy	Spain
Carlo Ancelotti	Chelsea	Paris Saint-Germain	Bayern Munich	Parma	Real Madrid
Juventus
Everton
Milan
Napoli

Carlo Ancelotti is the first and only manager to have won league titles in all Big Five leagues.