On one level the Premier League will not care about Fifa’s back-slapping
festival on a continent that tends to regard the English as presumptuous and
pushy. Hodgson is one of the few senior figures in the English game who is
thoroughly at home among European coaches, players and bureaucrats.
If the Premier League needed an instant riposte it could point to this
season’s thrilling title race, with its increased diversity, and the usual
overload of thrills, spills and bust-ups. Although only five British players
made the 55-strong World XI nomination list (Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard,
Leighton Baines, Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney), seven of the 20 defenders
were Premier League employees together with four of the 15 strikers (Rooney,
Robin van Persie, Sergio Agüero and Luis Suárez).
Those numbers are more respectable than the Premier League’s failure to break
into the World XI for the third time in four years suggests. But Mourinho’s
solicitous thoughts in an Evening Standard interview will not conceal
the reality that the super-elite of world footballers tend not to earn their
bread in English towns and cities. “In England, you don’t do 100 points, you
don’t score 125 goals unless Manchester City can do it this season. But
normally the evolution of a player needs difficulty and the difficulties
help the development of a player,” Mourinho said. “You reach your maximum
with difficult situations. The big push comes. After that you have choices,
stay in the most beautiful league to play or go where it is easier to
succeed.”
That last poke might be aimed at Bale, who left Spurs to join Real Madrid, or
even Ronaldo, who has found his Old Vic at the Bernabéu. “You go to Spain
and there are two big clubs [Barcelona and Real Madrid],” Mourinho said,
ignoring the rise of Atlético Madrid. “You go to Germany and they have one
big club [Bayern Munich] and a little bit more. In Italy now there is one
big team [Juventus are eight points clear in Serie A], although obviously
more than one big club. So it is easier to succeed.
“If you are an attacking player and go to Barcelona or Real Madrid, it is
easier to score 50 goals than if you’re playing in England. Of course these
clubs are a big attraction. You can’t blame a player. As a manager I had
that instinct, too. I wanted to go to Madrid myself.
“So if a player has that feeling it’s very understandable. But I keep thinking
in my case, where I enjoyed most is where the competition is. It’s high
here. If I was a player I wouldn’t leave the Premier League.”
The cry of hallelujah from Premier League clubs is almost audible. Yet the
English game has been a net exporter of superstars since Ronaldo joined Real
for £80 million in 2009, with Bale following last summer for an even greater
sum. Suárez, Agüero, Mesut Özil and Yaya Touré are world-class talents
bought more cheaply than Neymar, Ronaldo or Bale. Still, telling, though, is
the list of top players who decline to work in the Premier League: Messi,
Ronaldo, Ribéry, Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Philipp Lahm,
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Robert Lewandowski, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa and
Edinson Cavani.
In some cases super-strong club allegiances (Xavi, Iniesta) render this
analysis misleading, but it remains true that Premier League clubs fail to
attract many megastars. United were Ronaldo’s university but he had no real
urge to return this summer, despite coaxing from Rio Ferdinand, and now
Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid president, is the one boasting about the
Ballon d’Or winner’s lustrous presence.
Pérez said: “Apart from his talent it is difficult to find someone who is
capable of leading in such a clear manner. He has everything. No day goes by
without Cristiano wanting to continue to improve. He only has the desire to
get better, not to show off but to give an example to the people that when
one is in love with his profession he dedicates his whole time to that.
“We have a great opinion of Sir Alex Ferguson. I think he was a point of
reference as a coach and I and Real Madrid always thanked him. Of course
everyone in the world wants to have Cristiano in their team. It was very
important to keep him with us, for the image of Madrid and for his level of
performance in the years to come. I think Cristiano was born to play for
Real Madrid.”
Then came the killer line: “As I have always said about big signings – the
most expensive players are in fact the cheapest.”
Premier
League XI v World XI: Alan Smith’s verdict
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