A fourth straight Premier League title for Manchester City marks an unprecedented period of dominance by one team in English soccer. A sixth in seven seasons underlines City's superiority in a league that is widely regarded as the most competitive — and certainly the most popular — in the sport. But does City's preeminence mean England's top division is in danger of becoming a turn-off for billions of fans around the world?
Pep Guardiola doesn't think so.
“It’s boring? It’s not. It is so difficult,” the City manager said last week as his team closed in on another title.
City's run of success bares comparison to the likes of Germany where Bayern Munich had turned the Bundesliga into a one-horse race until its 11-year winning streak was ended by Bayer Leverkusen this season. Paris Saint-Germain has won 10 of the last 12 titles in France. Celtic has won all but one of the last 13 in Scotland.
None of those leagues are as popular as England's top flight and a lack of competition could be a reason why. That is not City's problem. But if four in a row becomes five, six, seven, it could be a problem for all of England's leading clubs if it impacts on the revenues generated by the sale of global broadcast rights.
BORING?
The competition is what makes the Premier League such box office entertainment. And, for now, that competition is still evident. City needed to win its final game of the season against West Ham to finally hold off the challenge of Arsenal and clinch the title by two points. It was the third time Guardiola's team had been taken to the final day of the campaign before being crowned champion, having twice been pushed all the way by Liverpool. While the headline figure tells the story of City’s near unbroken rule over the past seven seasons, the detail shows just how closely they were challenged, with Liverpool missing out by just one point in 2019 and 2022.
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