What even the most desperate English fans could never have anticipated finally happened: the best league in the world—the English Premier League—has lost its first spot in the FTBL rating. The January survey on our web site showed that the vast majority of viewers (88%) had no doubt that the position of the English Premier League as the leading football league in the world remained unassailable. But after last weekend matches in Europe, the best absolute rating is now in the Spanish La Liga: 3194.62 against 3142.83 points for the Top-23 of the Premier League.

This happened because the leaders of the Spanish league were so successful in their last matches: 17 of the 23 players in the Top-23 all boosted their ratings. Only three players from Atletico Madrid and Villarreal lost rating points despite the victory over Athletic Bilbao. Five players earned 25 rating points or more, taking their overall ratings to the 194.83-point level.

In the Premier League, the Top-23 players have not been as successful recently, even though their showing cannot be called a complete flunk. The fantastic display of form by Steven Gerrard—42.02 rating points—is a case that comes to mind! Franck Lampard, whose rating has taken a dive of 25.39 points, also deserves better treatment. Seventeen Premier League leaders have lost rating points just like him, giving the league an overall rating boost of just 66.89.

In other words, it remains premature to speak of a trend despite the steady increase in the rating of the Spanish league since after New Year. There is still plenty of time before the various European championships conclude. In addition, it helps to remember that four English clubs remain in the running for the Champions League title…

The fact that the Top-23 of the Spanish league has edged past that of the Premier League is reason enough for us to return to the theme of our recent online vote and offer football fans its revised formulation.