The great dream of the vast majority of the world's soccer players is to establish their careers in Europe. The Old Continent is synonymous of quality, of pure elite, when it comes to soccer. And it is in this continent that the 5 most powerful leagues in the world live: the English, the Spanish, the Italian, the German and the French. However, behind them, a solid competitor could be emerging and that is Mexico's Liga MX, according to a player who already knows what it is like to win the FIFA World Cup.
According to the aforementioned assessment, at least 5 leagues that frequently compete in the best club-level arenas, the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League, with clubs with a long tradition, would have a lower level in terms of both soccer quality and infrastructure than Liga MX: the Dutch Eredivisie, the Portuguese Liga, the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, the Turkish Super League and the Russian Premier League.
Although at the Concacaf level, Liga MX has shown its superiority in the Champions League in that region, at higher levels it has not yet shown the potential mentioned by the World Champion, which places it behind the best leagues in Europe. Thus, only Pachuca in 2006 was able to put itself in the eyes of the world by winning the Copa Sudamericana. The most recent international success for Mexican teams was Tigres' runner-up finish in the FIFA Club World Cup 2020.
The World Champion player who exalts Liga MX
A star at Olympique Marseille, with a discreet stint at English club Newcastle United, and part of the France squad that won the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, Florian Thauvin is one of the most renowned players in Liga MX alongside his compatriot, friend and teammate, André-Pierre Gignac. Both are current stars of Tigres UANL.
In an interview with L'Equipe, Thauvin was full of praise for his current home, Liga MX, which he joined in May 2021: "It drives me crazy when I hear people say that we've gone (Gignac and him) to Mexico to get lost, that it's an "exotic" championship. It's a lack of culture and respect. Liga MX is the sixth championship in the world behind the European Big 5.", stated.
The former Olympique Marseille player also reminded his compatriots who doubt the current level of Liga MX of the tough defeat the French team suffered against Mexico in Tokyo 2020: "In Tigres, there are guys who played for Villarreal, FC Porto, Sevilla FC. There are Mexican, Argentine, Brazilian and French internationals. We have a great team. With the French Olympic team, we took a beating in Tokyo against Mexico (1-4). Last year, Tigres went to the final of the Club World Cup against Bayern Munich. Can you tell me the last French team to have reached this level? None!".
