Liverpool and Chelsea have both fallen in football’s global power rankings, while Manchester United has fallen out of the top 20.
The Premier League trio trail leaders Manchester City, who won their fourth English title in five years after another sensational season. Bayern Munich is in second place after winning the Bundesliga title for the tenth time in a row.
The rankings in question are created by the football statistics website FiveThirtyEight, where the Soccer Power Index compares 640 teams from around the world after each match. Each club was assigned a rating between 1 and 100 based on two factors: the previous season’s rating and their market value as calculated.
The standings aren’t good news for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who’ve slipped to third on 90.5, while Thomas Tuchel and co have seen Chelsea plummet to sixth place thanks to their score of 85.7. The Blues are behind Paris Saint-Germain, now led by Christoph Galtier after Maurcio Pochettino’s sacking, and Champions League winners Real Madrid. They’ve bumped up to fourth and fifth respectively.
City’s score of 92.3 makes them top dogs, having made marquee signings in the form of Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips this summer to add to Pep Guardiola’s star-studded squad. Bayern, who recently waved goodbye to star striker Robert Lewandowski but have offset his departure with the arrivals of Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt, boast a score of 91.8.
Making up the top 10 are Ajax, Barcelona, Inter Milan and another English side in Tottenham Hotspur, who’re hoping to make the Antonio Conte era in north London a special one. It demonstrates the Premier League’s prowess on the global stage, with no other division boasting as many teams in the top 10. However, Arsenal and United will grimace at the rankings, particularly the latter.
The Red Devils, despite moving up a whopping 10 places thanks to their summer transfer activity and appointment of Erik ten Hag as manager, are humiliating 22nd. Meanwhile, 17th-placed Arsenal have been overtaken by Sporting Lisbon, who’ve jumped up four spots. Among those also in the top 20 are RB Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.
Of course, the rankings mean very little in the grand scheme of things, especially as the new season approaches. United legend Roy Keane has already had his say on the Premier League title race, tipping City to once again edge out Liverpool, last term’s runners-up. “I don’t think they will close the gap. I think they will be a bit better,” the former Red Devils captain told Sky Bet.