La Liga is dying?

[AGD]

Very interesting article here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/mar/28/barcelona-real-madrid-spain

suggesting that despite claiming to be the best league in the world, La Liga has serious problems. To sum up:

- Clubs have a high level of debt:
barca: €350m debt and only made €8 last year
real madrid: €683m of debt
valencia: more than €600m of debt
athletico madrid: more than €300m
villareal: have just failed to play their players
Deportivo La Coruña: more than €120m in debt
Mallorca: desperately seeking a buyer and preparing for administration

Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad have been relegated and, with no parachute payment to break the fall, went into administration.

Also

-It will be harder to attract top players as the huge tax relief for them is being removed (from a 23% tax rate to 43% for the top earning players)

A picture emerges of a league where teams are dependent on local banks and authorities to save them from administration and the league is completely dominated by barca and real madrid.

According to reliable statistics Madrid have 13.2m fans while Barcelona have 10.4m. Valencia are third with 2.1m. Nearly two-thirds of all football fans in Spain support one of the big two. And supporters of other clubs almost invariably choose Madrid or Barcelona as a "second" team.

and

The dominance is felt most on TV – and that is the crux of the issue, the precarious foundation upon which Spanish football is built. Unlike elsewhere – and even Italy is going collective – Spanish clubs negotiate individual television deals. "The lack of a centralised deal is the biggest problem we face," Tebas says. The reason is clear. Madrid and Barcelona will earn approximately €120m in rights each year until 2013. Last season's third-placed side, Sevilla earn around €20m; Valencia, currently third, make under €30m – less than Portsmouth. Right throughout the league, the imbalance is extraordinary. Competing is impossible.

One headline in Spain recently declared: "La Liga becomes the best in Europe." The "evidence" was two-fold: Madrid and Barcelona's place at the head of Deloitte & Touche's rich list; and the "big two" racking up more points than any other team in Europe. A closer read suggests the exact opposite. Madrid and Barcelona were at the top but there was not one other Spanish club among the leading 20 and their points totals – a record at both clubs – suggest that while they are good sides, maybe the teams they are playing against are not. Valencia, third going into this weekend, were 18 points behind. No other major league has such a gap.

Seems like the premier league isn't the only one with problems and it looks like those in spain are worse. So what do you think, is La Liga the best in the world or not?