There is a serious character issue among Brazilian footballers who possess good dribbling skills. They play at a Ballon dor level for 3-4 years, then they soar to the top, think they’ve already achieved everything, start acting dismissive and whining, and gradually see their form decline. This happened to Robinho, and later to Neymar. Now it seems that it is happening to Vini who basically stopped playing football after losing the Ballon dor to Rodri. Do you think he’s on his way to becoming a slightly better version of Robinho?

I know its early and I will do these a couple of times maybe in Jan and one in Feb.

But for now let’s us see who are your semi-finalists?

Putting the banter aside I think atleast one of them should've made the top 10

Barcelona have plenty of attacking talent, but their defensive balance can become a real issue against elite opposition. do you think their biggest weakness is at centre back or defensive midfield? Which position should they prioritize strengthening before their next big European campaign?

David Raya was robbed. I feel the World Cup shouldn’t be factor this much into ratings. It’s only 7-8 games and that decides who the best goalkeeper is? David Raya was superb all season and was better than Unai Simon’s

Edit: I hate Arsenal and I’m a united fan btw

Looking through the player stats and there are some interesting names on the list.Who has stood out to you the most this season? Any underrated player you think deserves more recognition?Curious to hear your picks.

I was wondering this because they would have probably win like 10 ballon dors in a row. Would this be annoying for people for someone to just keep on winning. For example messi won 4 in a row but Ronaldo was there take some away imagine if they played in different eras they would have like 10 ballon dors or something. I was seeing in other sports like Wayne Gretzky who won 8 in a row would this ever happen in football or voters fatigue would play apart and how would the football world react to it. Imagine winning the award consecutively and having to go up to say a speech but you know people don’t want you to win because naturally people want different winners right.

Let me know what you guys think.

by a Liverpool and England diehard fan -- 21 Oct 2026

This post covers a statistical trend that no other article in the footballing world has touched. While the media focuses on isolated matches, the underlying data shows a massive, permanent shift in power.

For decades, the story of European football was told with a distinct Iberian accent.
Whenever English sides met Spanish counterparts on the continental stage, an invisible psychological barrier seemed to govern the tie.
It was a cycle of technical mastery over physical intensity, exemplified by Barcelona’s midfield carousels or Real Madrid’s cold-blooded inevitability in knockout football.

But football, like any ecosystem, is prone to structural shifts.
Last night at Anfield, Liverpool’s breathless 4-3 comeback victory over Villarreal did more than just secure 3 points in the UEFA Champions League phase – it brought down the curtain on an era.

With that result, the all-time historical head-to-head record between English and Spanish clubs reached total parity.
Across decades of continental warfare, the ledger has been balanced perfectly down the middle: 151 wins apiece.

The All-Time Continental Balance

While eight league-phase fixtures remain in the current campaign – not to mention the inevitable fireworks of the knockout rounds beginning in February 2027 – the broader trajectory is undeniable. The historical deficit has been erased, and the power dynamic has reversed.

The Watershed: 2020/21 Season
To find the exact moment the tide turned, one must look back to the 2020/21 season.
Before that campaign, Spanish clubs held a historic stranglehold over direct matchups.

However, 2020/21 served as the structural catalyst for English supremacy.
It was the season that yielded an all-English Champions League final between Chelsea & Man City.
More importantly, it laid the foundation for six years of relentless Premier League progression against La Liga.

That season, the English reps created a staggering H2H record that never happened in their history vs their Spanish counterparts:
16 clashes resulting in 7 wins, 7 draws, only 2 losses – with 22-8 goal difference
(eliminating 5 times and got eliminated 3)

The Post-2020/21 Paradigm Shift (2020/21 – 2025/26)
• Matches Played: 86
• English Wins: 47
• Draws: 19
• Spanish Wins: 20
• Goal Aggregate: 148 - 98
• Tie Advancements: 23 vs 15 in favour of English clubs

Over the last six seasons, English clubs have won more than double the number of games they have lost against Spanish opposition.
A staggering +50 goal difference over 86 matches underlines a reality that is no longer about isolated victories, but total systemic superiority.

The Real Madrid and Barcelona Illusion
For years, La Liga’s collective dominance was shielded by its two apex predators.
But peel back the skin of those statistics, and the structural reliance on Real Madrid and Barcelona becomes clear.

Real Madrid – the ruler of European champions – has found the English waters increasingly turbulent. Los Blancos’ record against English clubs since 2020/21 stands at a vulnerable 12 wins, 5 draws, and 9 losses out of 26 matches.
For a club that treats European nights as a birthright, that stat represents a distinct vulnerability.

Meanwhile, Barcelona – the holder of H2H records vs English clubs – only managed a perfectly symmetrical, yet uninspiring record against Premier League teams: 6 matches, 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses since Man. Utd eliminated them in the Europa League 2022/23.

Beyond the Big Two: The La Liga Collapse
The truest indicator of England's dominance lies in how PL clubs have systematically dismantled Spain's middle and upper-middle classes.

Away from Madrid and Barcelona, the rest of La Liga has simply failed to keep pace.
Elite Spanish institutions with deep European pedigrees: Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Sevilla, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, and Athletic Bilbao – alongside contemporary overachievers like Girona, Granada, and Rayo Vallecano, have suffered a collective, ongoing negative trend against English teams.

They are being out-muscled financially, out-thought tactically, and out-paced physically.
The financial chasm between the Premier League and La Liga has transformed into a sporting reality on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.

The Verdict
Yet, in that short span, English clubs have entirely rewritten a decades-old narrative.
The total trophy count still tilts toward the historical achievements of Spain's golden eras:
20 v 15 of UCL,14 v 11 of EL, and 0 v 3 of today's Conf. League trophies.

But if the current trajectory continues, that record will be the next to fall
... considering that 4-5 years is a mere blink of an eye in the grand tapestry of footballing history.

And the Three Lions may benefit from this, as well. (But this is for another story).

Indeed, the numbers tell a story of an impending, inevitable monopoly.
The baseline has been levelled; the ascent has truly begun.

And for all English football fans around the world,
we are entering the golden moments of English football...

All I can say is:
Enjoy while you can, mates!
These are football times!

YNWA!

Olise 9? Genuinely what are we doing?
Nuno Mendes in 23rd?
Unai Simon over Raya?

Harry Kane was a deserving winner so I don’t mind that, but genuinely how Olise is #9 is hilarious

Can we talk about Barcelona? On this sub, and every other sub, for months, we’ve been hearing all about how Barca are the favorites in this competition. Before the PSG game, I don’t think it was considered all that ridiculous to put Barca above PSG.

Despite great performances in small LaLiga games against weak opposition, Barcelona has failed to win in the every big game they’ve played this season. They also did not look as great against Real Betis, but did score an additional two goals after their red card. They’ve been giving away goals against worse opposition all season.

Every year, Barcelona fans overrate their team only for them to go out early into the knockouts every time. This year, I don’t think things have changed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this Barcelona team are a bunch of bums or anything, they’re a great team, definitely. I do not think they are anywhere near as complete as PSG, Arsenal or Bayern. I think they are a level below, I would put them around the same rank as a Man City this season, top 5.

Two bad games or one mid team? What do you reckon?

Hey everyone! Just thinking about Mbappé's place in football history.

He already won the World Cup at 19, scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final, and has over 300 career goals. The only huge trophy missing from his resume is the Champions League.

If he lifts the UCL trophy with Real Madrid, does that officially lock him in alongside legends like Ronaldo, Zidane, and R9, or does he need to dominate for another 5+ years first?

Award proving again why it's such a joke. Diaz had 17 G/A more and won trophies.

Welcome to the weekly Champions League discussion thread!

Use this post to talk about anything related to the UEFA Champions League. Share your opinions, discuss teams and players, react to performances, debate tactics, and chat with fellow fans.

All Champions League discussions are welcome. Keep it respectful and enjoy the conversation.

What is on your mind this week?

- Won the EPL 3 times in a row, team top scorer in all 3 wins, Europe’s top five leagues top assister in his first win, EPL top scorer in his second win

-Won 5 Champions Leagues, being top scorer in all of them, knockout top scorer in 4 of them, top assister in one of them, and top knockout assister in one of them

- Scored 60+ goals in 4 calendar years, 50+ in 7 and 40+ in 13. 30+ goals for 15 consecutive years

-Highest goals per game ratio in La Liga history (1.07). This is the highest goals per game ratio for any player in history in the Top 5 leagues

-Holds the highest goals per game ratio for 2 different leagues (Serie A and La Liga)

-only to score in 23 consecutive international seasons, only to score in 10 consecutive major tournaments

-UCL Top scorer in SEVEN seasons (6 in a row).

-Oldest ever world top scorer (38)

-Only player to be world top scorer 3 calendar years in a row, with the most calendar years being top scorer (5 different years, 2nd place is Lewandowski and Messi at 2)

-34 hat-tricks after turning 30, (2nd place is 16, for Messi)

-Only player to win every major individual award at 2 different clubs

-only to score 30+ goals in a season in England, Spain and Italy

-Oldest player to win Euros top scorer (36)

-Oldest player to be top scorer of an international competition (40)

-Most match winning goals in a single La Liga season

-Most match winning goals in the UCL

-Most KO UCL match winning goals

-From the Quarter finals upwards, Ronaldo has 42 goals in 49 games. 38 non penalty goals

-Favorite UCL opponents:

Juventus: 9 goals 7 games

Bayern: 9 goals 8 games

Ajax: 9 goals 7 games

Atletico Madrid: 7 goals 10 games

BVB: 7 goals 9 games

-In Euros, he holds records for: Most goals, assists, G/A, , dribbles, tournament with a goal, chances created, MOTM, wins, and games with a goal. Oldest player to assist

-Since the 2000s, he has:

1st, 2nd and 3rd most goals in a single UCL campaign

1st most goals in a single UCL Knockout stage

1st most goals in a Nations League campaign

1st most goals in a Nations League knockout campaign

2nd most goals in a Euro campaign (3 less games, 1 less goal than 1st place)

- Won 3 Champions Leagues and 3 ballon d’ors in 4 years

-According to OPTA, between 03/04 to 08/09 (included), Ronaldo completed 189 dribbles in the UCL. Averaging 4 dribbles per 90 minutes, which is right up there with the successful dribbles of the likes of Messi (4.1), Hazard (3.7), Neymar (4.2) (The data for these players are from 2012 to 2023)

-According to Sky Sports, in the 05/06 season Ronaldo averaged 62% dribbling completion rate

-Most EPL successful dribbles between 2003-2009 (506 successful dribbles)

-Most dribbles completed in 2006 world cup (18)

-Ronaldo has 6 international goals (+2 assists) in (7 games) major semi-final international matches (the most in history) (against Netherlands, Wales, Switzerland and Germany)

-Only player to be Euros top scorer in 2 campaigns

-Only player to become top scorer in 3 different leagyes

-Most matches won (858)

-Most UEFA TOTY appearances (15, 14 in a row)

-Most consecutive Serie A matches scored in

-Fastest in La Liga to reach: 150, 200, 300

-Most goals vs Neuer (10 goals, 9 matches), 2nd most goals vs Buffon (10 goals, 7 matches. One less goal than 1st place), most goals vs Courtois (10 goals in 10 matches), most goals vs Oblak (11 goals in 22 matches, 3 hat-tricks)

Well, and of course:

All time top scorer

All time international top scorer

For the few years I have watched football, it's still stupid how people care about who's 23rd, 18th, 30th, etc, when it does not matter. They were never contender and had no chance of winning, so they barely received any votes, so their placement will not accurately show how good they were. This more apply to placemnet up until around maybe 13th, but even then they had know chance. At the end of the day, only the top 5-10 really matters, and even then the winner is all that matters

Rooney got done dirty by the Ballon d’Or

He deserved one, 2008-2011 Rooney is one of the best players ever. Man U was in the UCL every year from like 2008-2011, good times that.

Even I was a Man U fan back then, Rooney and Ronaldo and Tevez

Shit was one dangerous attack

Wanna see if there’s any pulls from before 2010 on this, 03 Cannavaro vs Inter for example

I am a barca fan, but I usually try to respect the teams around, and have good arsenal friends. However, I saw the posts of few arsenal fans putting themselves in the top 3 debates among PSG and Bayern, when every year they never maintain consistency across all the tournaments , whereas teams like barca and even madrid at least reach the quarters or RO16 in all the competitions last few years. I’ve lost the count with the amount of times Arsenal has endured an upset every season against a small team.