According to AS, La Liga has faced a dual evaluation dilemma in recent years, falling behind the Premier League in commercial development, but still maintaining competitive strength and a strong youth academy foundation. AS states that, we should give La Liga the recognition it deserves, bolstered by the tailwinds of the World Cup and the prestige it brings.

For many years, roughly since the end of the Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry, the Spanish Football League has been grappling with a dual evaluation problem. The first issue is commercial. The Premier League has become a target for insistent American billionaires, who spare no expense when entering English football. The latest is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is interested in acquiring a 40% stake in Liverpool. It is clear that the Premier League is an excellent commercial product, with effective marketing and sophisticated packaging. The Premier League has no rivals in Europe, but this situation has also led to a false and distorted perception of La Liga.

In the first phase of the Champions League a year ago, five Spanish teams and six English teams – Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United – played a total of 10 matches. The results were dismal: English teams won nine times, and Spanish teams won only once, that victory being Barcelona's away win against Newcastle United.

Spanish media therefore repeat season after season the narrative that La Liga is in decline, a fading and boring league. This constant self-deprecating obsession does not align with reality. Since the turn of the century, including recent years, Spanish teams have consistently performed exceptionally well in European competitions.

However, the tendency to underestimate La Liga persists. The superficial glamour of the Premier League overshadows everything, even though complaints about the decline in Premier League standards can be heard in England: an increase in long balls, the reappearance of old-fashioned Stoke City-style long throw-ins, and teams' obsession with scoring from set pieces. The current champions, Arsenal, are leading this trend, with 35% of their 71 goals (excluding penalties) coming from such tactical plays.

Aside from Real Madrid, Barcelona, and to some extent Atletico Madrid, Spanish clubs cannot compete with English teams in the transfer market, but this obvious fact cannot obscure La Liga's footballing foundation. La Liga's strengths lie in its diverse styles, a wealth of excellent players, the continuous emergence of young talents, and outstanding player development capabilities – a consistent tradition in Spanish football, repeatedly confirmed in the national team and its various youth levels.

At the start of the new La Liga season, there are 18 players in the squad who won the last World Cup, accounting for 70% of Luis de la Fuente's call-ups. This proportion is similar to the number of English internationals in the Premier League, while there are only seven French World Cup winners in Ligue 1. These World Cup-winning players will feature in six teams in every league round: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, and Celta de Vigo. These players, who play in Spain and are highly acclaimed on the international stage, are also the vanguard of La Liga.

This summer, Spain won the U19 European Championship, and Real Madrid won the UEFA Youth League. This is not an anomaly. Spain is the leading country in European youth football, and La Liga consistently draws strength from its local youth academies with astonishing stability. With such a strong base of excellent players, several of the world's most valuable international stars, more sought-after accomplished coaches than ever before, and a rich diversity of footballing styles, it is difficult to believe that La Liga is in decline. We have every reason to cherish La Liga, enjoy it without reservation, and cast aside those self-defeating narratives.

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