Torres - La Liga is the best

Liverpool striker hails Spanish league as the best in Europe

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres believes that the Primera Liga is stronger than the Premier League.

Three English teams have reached the semi-finals of this season's UEFA Champions League, but Torres insists that the Spanish top-flight is the best in Europe.

Torres joined Liverpool last summer from Atletico Madrid and has made a blistering start to life in England as he notched his 30th goal in all competitions in the Reds' 3-1 win over Blackburn on Sunday.

And Torres has hinted that he has found it easy to acclimatise to his career in England, when compared to his days in Spain.

"In England the top four are better than the ones in Spain, above all when it comes to consistency," Torres told Radio Marca.

"Apart from that, the rest of the teams in the Primera Liga are stronger as they have more quality."

Torres has also admitted that he is enjoying the patience afforded by English supporters.

"The fans aren't on top of you all the time here, they give you time, they get behind you but don't suffocate you. I'm very happy here," Torres added.

And the Spanish international has also indicated that he would rather face Barcelona in the final of this season's Champions League, rather than meet domestic rivals Manchester United.

Liverpool take on Chelsea in their semi-final, with the first leg at Anfield on 22nd April, while United are due to face Barcelona and Torres is in no doubt over who he would rather face in the final in Moscow.

"The people here (in England) would prefer to face Manchester United, but I think it would be great to take on Barcelona," Torres concluded.

Probably thinking the League is piss easy because he's just gone over 30 goals.  Deflate your head Fernando la!

Wonder if he'll get the same comments andriy did.

You know I wouldn't be surprised.

He didn't say it was the better league ACTUALLY... he said it had more quality more evenly spread across all teams in the top flight La Liga primera division - which this season is very true.... loads of so called smaller clubs doing very well (e.g. Almeria, Racing, Villareal... yes Villareal is a relatively small club in a small town).

...and yes I have listened to the interview in Spanish.

He didn't say it was the better league ACTUALLY... he said it had more quality more evenly spread across all teams in the top flight La Liga primera division - which this season is very true.... loads of so called smaller clubs doing very well (e.g. Almeria, Racing, Villareal... yes Villareal is a relatively small club in a small town).

...and yes I have listened to the interview in Spanish.

ACTUALLY!  I just copied & pasted the title from the story

No I completely agree.  You always see sides like Getafe or Racing get good results in the hands of Barcelona or Real Madrid.

I dont think his head is inflated Court, in my opion he speaks the truth, if you read what he says about outside the top four la liga has better quality so in other words what he is actually saying is that aside from LFC SCUM CHAVS & GOONERS which in his opion are better teams than Barce, Real Madrid, Atlético & Villarreal the rest of the league that makse up the EPL is not as good as La Liga, which its not I would argue that Sevilla are a much better team than Everton & Racing Santander are a better team than Portsmouth, yet again sky sports misquote and try to stir sh*t for us in one way or another, they are becoming more and more like The S*n in almost every aspect of what they say and do when it comes to Liverpool Football Club.

I think that Nando means that after the 4 teams at the top most others are pretty ordinary and it's only the physicality of our game that gives the teams lower down a chance of beating the top teams. In La Liga you cant lean or push and shove other players and a lot of football in the EPL would be penalised a lot more their than here also they play football on the floor (all teams) and there you have the best of the South Americans and most would grace any league in the world,so I agree with the guy but in the end it comes down to what you as an individual prefers,a blood and thunder game or one with more finesse and don't forget the weather because I really believe it's had an influence on the way we play here and the way the Spanish play in the sun (slower football)..........

He'll find out next season because Everton, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Man City, West Ham, Newcastle & Spurs are going to be very very strong in the near future.. Nando hasn't realised this but they will be catching up with the top four for sure!

They hope they will but they wont. As they improve the top 4 improve alot quicker.

Newcastle think they will challenge for a top four place every season and never do. Everton have done well but cant keep it up imo, west ham are too inconsistent, man city the same, and spurs. Villa and portsmouth are probably the most likely but i think they will take 5th and 6th most likely.

Its been the same for years they all think they will get into the top 4 and never do unless one of the top four has a really bad season in the prem. Especially newcastle, god they annoy me more than any of those teams listed except the bitters of course.

I didn't say they think they'll be getting in the top four, but they will catch up on the top four thats for sure! Remember there are only so many points you can win in one season, and Everton have improved on previous seasons! I only think that Newcastle under Keegan, Villa under Martin O'Neil and Man City under Sven will get far stronger. They won't get into the top four, but they won't be far behind unlike most seasons when they have been a distance away...

premier league is better than la liga

this is true, Many Spanish say it included I

All 3 major leagues have their qualities.

Seria A is the most technical, Premier League is the most fast paced, and Spanish is in-between. .

for people outside europe (like me), it's very passionate watching the premier league, cos the atmosphere is so wonderful... the english clubs are play very fast, strong n very much attractions... the atmosphere of the supporters also very crowded, so supporting... so, i think, the premier league is the best in europe... this is a note from indonesia!

I can see what he's saying that the sides are closer in terms of quality, but any league which allows teams tons of space and time on the ball will let individual players show their skills and this will always create an opportunity in Spain. I think that's why the likes of Getafe and Almeria sometimes do get a result against the bigger sides!

The outstanding players you see in England are the ones who can make themselves that little bit of space to do something in. When a goal is scored here, a defender is usually left standing there, not being able to do a thing about the striker. In Spain, you see defenders in front of the people who score, giving them tonnes of space. Here you wouldn't see that in a Birmingham - Reading match!

I think it's a testament to how difficult this league is to play in when you see players come from the Premier League to go to Spain and succeed, but when players come from Spain, they do nowhere near as well as they did in La Liga! (Unless your name is a certain Fernando Torres of course! )

Agree, our top 4 may be stronger than theirs but the rest of the La Liga sides are far better than the likes of Newcastle, Bolton, Fulham, Aston Villa etc.

Fair comment IMO Fernando

What Nando says in the interview doesn't warrent that trouble causing title.. Man.. i want to murder those journo's with their
school yard physcology.. !!!

I agree with what he's saying. Apart from the top 4 epl teams you'll probably find better quality teams spread throughout la liga. The UEFA cup probably supports this.

I also agree with county red...
To create space in the much more frenetic epl is definitely harder..

I think he has a point, if nothing else compare the results of the three national sides over the last 5 or so years - England, Spain and Portugal (cause lots of Portugese national players ply their trade in La Liga).

I think he is probably right, he's not commenting on what style of play is better or anything, just saying that once you get past both league's top 4 teams the Primera Liga has more quality. For example Valencia are like 15th or 16th and look at some of the players they have. But there is no doubt that England's top 4 are far better, I'd say they're in Europe's top 6 or 7 clubs, Liverpool obviously first!

For me it depends on how you compare the leagues if its quality of the top four, then like he has said we are much better.  If its success of our teams in Europe again we have been far better in recent years.  Also we have more quality/world class players. 

The only thing is that maybe they have a better top 8 than us.  But like so many have pointed out ours is improving there are some good manages at these clubs.  The thing is that the top two sides in Spain have not been at their best in the last few seasons this is my opinion based on very limited knowledge of la liga and have made the league very competitive.  We also have a very competitive championship which can challenge with most top flight leagues and can give a lot premier league teams a run for their money.  So it all depends on how many teams you want to put into the basket.

Its obvious Torres is going to have something positive to say about his own native league when giving an interview to the Spanish press.  You would expect the same from an English player.   

He's got a point.

Apart from the top 4 there isn't a great deal of quality.  If you watch the La Liga, even the teams near the bottom play great football and have a number of flair players.

Why do none of our UEFA teams ever win? 

I agree the big 4 are better in England but the lower teams in spain are of a much better quality than the english teams, mid table now the prem is coming strong with pompy, blackburn, spurs, man city and dare i say it even everton all improving

I think if the Scottish premier league had four places in the champion’s league it would be just as effective.  We in the premiership have some very big clubs and they’re run well.  Making it very difficult for the others to come in and compete for the 4 places in the champion’s league. Realistically, though Newcastle are the only team that have the infrastructure to really sustain a challenge on fourth spot, consistently.  Whilst in Spain they have 2 very big clubs and two places that are up for grabs and that’s a lot of money for smaller clubs.  Personally, I don’t think La Liga deserves 4 places in the Champion’s league three at most.

Champions league semi finals 3 English sides 1 Spanish says it all.

I agree the big 4 are better in England but the lower teams in spain are of a much better quality than the english teams, mid table now the prem is coming strong with pompy, blackburn, spurs, man city and dare I say it even everton all improving

It's true!!  These teams are improving.  Soon they will reach the dizzy heights of mediocrity instead of just being sh*te.

It's true, La Liga is a better balanced out league than the prem is.

However Prem will be stronger because...

They make the stars, and then Premiership teams nick them or buy them.. either way they've lost out!

No actually the La Liga is better. The likes of Getafe, Osasuna etc all play attractive football or atleast attempt it whereas Wigan, Derby, Birmingham all just sit back and try hit on the counter.

I agree whole heartedly with Nando on the talent in La Liga compared to England and the football each league delivers.

Champions league semi finals 3 English sides 1 Spanish says it all.

how does that say it all?
the top four are in another world in the prem i agree with that. i reckon that the clubs in the next bracket like everton, pompey, spurs, aren't as strong as their spanish and italian counterparts, like atletico, villareal, fiorentina and lazio.

20 teams v 20 teams, la liga is stronger.

I think if anyone thinks that the Premiership is stronger then they need to actually start watching Revista De La Liga on SkySports.

The smaller Spanish teams play some beautiful football that would probably carve open some of the lower English teams.

Racing Santander
Ososuna
Espanyol
Deportivo
Seville
Mallorca

These teams have far more quality than many think. Latin South American players join Spanish teams as the culture is not too different, and these Spanish teams get them for a fraction of what they'll be worth in the next year or so.

It's up to Gordon Brown to clear the clouds, bring the sun closer to the earth, make more sandy beaches and dump english as our language and everyone to take up spanish... only way to attract south american's no?

He'll find out next season because Everton, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Man City, West Ham, Newcastle & Spurs are going to be very very strong in the near future.. Nando hasn't realised this but they will be catching up with the top four for sure!

People have been saying that for years though,
Remember when tesco FC finished above us?
They were hailing it the 'end of the big four'
the problem is the mid table teams improve, but so do the big four, it takes massive investment to close the gap.
What Torres has said is basiclly that the big four in england are stronger then the big clubs in spain.
but he raises an arguement for the league overall being stronger because the middle table teams in spain are stronger then the middle teams in england. We see teams like getafe, real betis, rcd espanyol and real zaragoza winning games or taking points of the big  clubs in la liga far more often then we see the likes of pompey, man city and villa beating the big four.
I completely agree with him, If you watch la liga ill think you agree that the technical standard of player is higher in their middle table teams then englands.
Look at sevilla beating boro 4-0 in the uefa cup final a few years back, wasnt that the first time they qualified for the tournament in recent years?
and last year there were three middle table spanish teams in the uefa cup semis, sevilla rcd and osasuna two of which were outside the top 10 in the league that season. tottenham and newcastle failed last year and this year everton and tottenham again didnt impress whilst Getafe should have knocked out Bayern munich with only 10 men!
The media are just shortening the interview and using misleading headlines to make it look like nando is paying out the EPL.

Champions league semi finals 3 English sides 1 Spanish says it all.

Not really.At the moment,the top 4 in the EPL are stronger than the top 4 in Spain/Italy.But if you look at the mid table teams in Spain/Italy they are better than those in the EPL.

If you kook at the recent winners of the UEFA Cup,only one English team has won it in the past 10-15 years (Liverpool-2001). In 2007, Sevilla, Osasuna and Espanyol made the final four.

Overall,I believe that La Liga is the strongest league but the top 4 English clubs are better than those in Italy/Spain.

I dont care which league he thinks is best as long as he keeps scoring like a legend! THE ARMBAND PROCED HE WAS A RED!!!!!! YNWA

I think too many people are being sucked in by this bullshit story. He doesnt mean the EPL is sh*t but the overall standard is much better in La Liga, i think everyone has picked on the moral to the story by now. Nando is inclined to say that, he has played in both leagues against every team. Nando is being portrayed as the bad guy here.

I dont care which league he thinks is best as long as he keeps scoring like a legend! THE ARMBAND PROCED HE WAS A RED!!!!!! YNWA

Its proved mate