The 31-day continental carnival of 2024 has concluded with the Euro 2024 and Copa America finals, with Spain returning to glory and Argentina successfully defending their championship. As a result, immediately after the Paris Olympics 2024, which begin on July 26, 2024, Europe’s top 5 leagues will serve as the primary source of entertainment for football fans.
Let’s see what Europe’s top 5 leagues have in store for the 2024–2025 season. Football fans are in for a treat with the English Premier League’s intense fight for the championship, La Liga’s historic rivalries, Serie A’s interesting mix of youth and experience, and the Bundesliga’s high-scoring games. In Ligue 1, rival teams are vying to unseat the defending champions, and the fight is heating up. This season promises exciting football across Europe and memories to remember.
English Premier League
The 2024–25 Premier League season has been nothing short of spectacular, delivering the high-octane drama and competitive spirit that fans around the world have come to expect and being one of the most competitive in Europe’s Top 5 leagues. The season 2024/25 will start on August 16, 2024, with the last match day on May 25, 2025. The 2024–25 season will consist of 380 matches, 33 weekend rounds, four midweek rounds, and one bank holiday match week. The first match will be played at Old Trafford, where the most successful team in the Premier League, Manchester United, will face Fulham. The English Premier League claimed first place in Europe’s top 5 leagues in the UEFA Association coefficient ranking.
Defending Champions
Manchester City will defend their title for the fifth year in a row. They have won the premier league record four times consecutively in the last four seasons. Last season, they came victorious by earning 91 points and became the champions of England for the 10th time in their history. Arsenal, just two points short of Manchester city, secured second place. Currently, Manchester City holds first place in club coefficients with 123 points among Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Promoted and Demoted Teams
The top seventeen clubs from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the championship will make up the league’s twenty participating teams. Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton are the teams that have advanced. Southampton and Leicester City will make their comebacks after a year apart, and Ipswich Town will make their comeback after a 22-year absence. They will take the place of Luton Town, Burnley, and Sheffield United, who were all demoted to the Championship after just one season in the top division.
Spanish La Liga
The 94th edition of La Liga will kick off on August 15, 2024, with Athletic Club Bilbao taking on Getafe in New San Mames. With the addition of Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid, the stakes in La Liga are high again, as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo left their Spanish clubs a few years ago. With some serious young talent in every squad, we are very looking forward to another exciting season of La Liga. Currently, Spain’s La Liga is ranked third in the UEFA rankings among Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Defending Champions
Real Madrid will defend their crown under Carlo Ancelotti once again in the upcoming season of La Liga. With Kylian Mbappe’s arrival in their lineup, their hopes are well high for another historic season after they had won La Liga and Champions League by beating Borussia Dortmund in the final in the recent season. FC Barcelona came second last time, finishing 10 points behind the Liga champions.
Promoted and Demoted Teams
Club Diportivo Leganés, Real Valladolid, and RCD Espanyol de Barcelona are the teams that were promoted from the Segunda division, whereas Union Diportiva Almería, FC Granada, and Cádiz FC will not be part of La Liga 2024/25.
German Bundesliga
Bundesliga 2024/25, which will be the 62nd edition of Germany’s first division league and one of the most anticipated among Europe’s top 5 leagues after what we saw last season. The next season will start on August 23 and conclude on May 17. Remember, Germany’s Bundesliga claimed fourth place among Europe’s top 5 leagues in the UEFA rankings.
A total of 18 teams will participate in the 2024–25 edition of the Bundesliga, 16 of which competed in the league campaign during the previous season, while the remaining two were promoted from the 2. Bundesliga. The Bundesliga starts its 62nd season with a duel between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen.
Defending champions
Bayer Leverkusen will defend Bundesliga title after having one of most historic and dominating season. With Spanish maestro Xabi Alonso on the sidelines, they took 90 points to win the league and became the first ‘invincible’ side to be Bundesliga champions. They won 28 games, drew the remaining six, and lost none of them. In addition, Bayer Leverkusen also broke FC Bayern Munich’s streak of winning the league eleven times in a row.
Promoted and Demoted Teams
FC Köln and Darmstadt 98 are the teams that are demoted to the 2. Bundesliga, whereas FC St. Pauli Holstein Kiel will play in the first division of the German League.
French Ligue 1.
Another one from the western part of Europe is French Ligue 1. Founded in 1932, the 87th season of Ligue 1 will begin on August 16, 2024. Ligue 1 is considered one of the top national leagues, ranked fifth in Europe’s top 5 leagues, behind England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, and Germany’s Bundesliga. The 2024–25 season will conclude with a relegation play-off between the 16th-placed Ligue 1 team and the winner of the semi-final of the Ligue 2 play-off in a two-legged confrontation.
Defending Champions
Paris Saint-Germain are the three-time defending champions and will start their campaign against Le Harve. Kylian Mbappe, who was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season, has departed to play for the Spanish Royals, Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain has announced the first signing of the summer window, with goalkeeper Matvey Safonov arriving from Krasnodar. The 25-year-old signed up for the three-time reigning Ligue 1 champions until 2029.
Promoted and Demoted Teams
The 2024–25 Ligue 1 season will feature eighteen clubs. Auxerre, Angers (both returning to the top level after one year out), and Saint-Étienne (returning to the top flight after two years away) were promoted after placing first and second in the 2023–24 Ligue 2. Metz, Lorient, and Clermont Foot were relegated to the 2024–25 Ligue 2.
Italy’s Serie A
Italy’s Serie A has been certified as Europe’s second-strongest league, according to the UEFA Association coefficient rating for the 2023–24 season among Europe’s top 5 leagues. The new season will start on August 17, and with the new extended Champions League draw not taking place until August 30, week four fixture times will not be released until after that date. It has also been confirmed that there will be a round of Serie A matches played on Boxing Day for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
Defending Champions
Inter Milan recently celebrated their 20th Serie A title in the 2023–24 season and were considered favorites all year long, dominating with a record of 29-7-2 and a +67 goal differential. Inter have a well-balanced squad, boasting key players such as Lautaro Martinez and Nicolò Barella. Their defense, anchored by Federico Dimarco, Matteo Darmian, and Alessandro Bastoni, has been solid, but the aging backline could use reinforcement.
The experienced Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul is a long-term target for Inter. His versatility and ability to play in various midfield roles make him an ideal candidate to replace Çalhanoğlu should he leave.
Promoted and Demoted Teams
Spezia, Cremonese, and Sampdoria were demoted from the first division. They were succeeded by Frosinone, Genoa, and Cagliari. Frosinone returned to the top flight after a four-year break, while Genoa and Cagliari returned after one year out.
Conclusion
As all five of Europe’s top 5 leagues will start in mid-August and, of course, we will have the extended version of the Uefa Champions League, the transfer market is buzzing with high-profile deals and strategic moves. Clubs are looking to strengthen their squads, with star additions making headlines. The exciting transfers are setting the stage for a competitive and unpredictable season ahead. Let us know in the comments which league you are most excited to watch!
