Barcelona, Liverpool, PSG: Breaking down the champions of the five major European leagues

The arrival of Hansi Flick seemed strange as it was far removed from the style and philosophy that has long represented FC Barcelona. However, it turned out to be a massive success. The German manager has brought back the joy and the competitive soul to a team that had not been showing its usual level for years. The squad, which is mostly made up of young players such as Lamine Yamal and Pedri who have just entered the soccer world, has proven to be on on par with the best squads in the world. It outperformed its top rival, Real Madrid, but not only in LaLiga; also head-to-head, because, every time they faced each other, FC Barcelona has been infinitely better. And as for the rest of the season, except for the odd slip-up, such as the elimination in the UEFA Champions League, only good things can be said about them. All this has been achieved thanks to the link between Flick and the players. Not even the poor financial situation,-which is seen as a major handicap, as it prevented the club from making major signings, was an obstacle to winning LaLiga, among other titles.

Five years after lifting its last Premier League, Liverpool FC has returned to the top of what, for many, is the most important and difficult domestic competition in the world to win. It has been a colossus, a titan. And, since the season began back in August 2024, it has proved its dominance. It soon positioned itself as the fittest team in the world, with stats that everyone wants. In the UEFA Champions League, however, their journey in the top competition of European soccer ended sooner than desired: in the round of 16, PSG sent them home. As is the case with Flick at FC Barcelona, Liverpool came into this season with a new face on the bench: that of Arne Slot. And the Dutch manager has more than delivered. But if anyone should be singled out for his influence on the team, it would be  Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian striker, who will continue at Anfield next season after renewing his contract, has had one of his best seasons, if not the best, with numbers to position himself as one of the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or. It remains to be seen. Liverpool successfully ended the dominant run by  Manchester City in the Premier League.

Not so long ago, Juventus managed to win Serie A season in and season out. It seemed that there was no need for the competition to be contested and they were practically considered the automatic winners. Until five seasons ago, when it went into a tailspin. At that point, three teams that contested Serie A this past five years came into action: Inter Milan, AC Milan and SSC Napoli, who were crowned this season. That said, it had to wait to do so until the final stages of the season, with Inter Milan lurking in the background. At the beginning of the season, SSC Napoli's chances of winning the Scudetto seemed remote, especially considering that their star player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, left for PSG. But the team where Diego Armando Maradona once triumphed has managed to lift the Italian top flight title to the sky. Much of the credit lies with their manager, Antonio Conte, and Romelu Lukaku, who is back to his best.

The king of the Bundesliga has regained the throne. After Bayer Leverkusen's amazing feat last season, Bayern Munich is back at the top of German soccer. "Back to where we belong," the team stated immediately after winning. And it has done so without any great hardship, as was the case not so long ago. They finished 13 points clear of their nearest challengers and lost only two games. The season did feature one disappointment: the UEFA Champions League, a competition in which they did not advance beyond the quarterfinals. Belgian manager Vincent Kompany has imposed his soccer ideology on the squad with the aim of achieving better results in Europe next season. In Germany this season, it has worked for him. Another piece that delivered was Harry Kane, because the English striker closed his year with 38 goals. Incidentally, the Bundesliga title was won in the final season of Thomas Müller, a team legend who is leaving after a quarter of a century with the club.

Of the five analyzed, PSG was the one that first managed to be crowned champion of its league. Paris Saint-Germain won its 13th Ligue 1 at the beginning of April, with almost two months left in the season. That made it possible for PSG to focus on their big goal: a UEFA Champions League that they long for and have a chance of winning this season, as they are in the final. Few would have thought they would be in this position, knowing that their star player, Kylian Mbappé, is no longer with them. In addition to the now Real Madrid striker, players like Leo Messi, Neymar and Edinson Cavani have paraded through the Parisian ranks, with whom the club almost always triumphed in Ligue 1 but never in the top European competition. None of them is there and that is when PSG has made, probably, the best season since the Qatari money arrived in its coffers. Spanish manager Luis Enrique Martínez has put together a balanced squad, with dazzling youngsters and sobering veterans. Among them all, one name has stood out this season: Ousmane Dembélé, who has emerged as the leader of this new PSG generation with goals and assists. PSG was the only one of the five champions to defend its 2024 title.