Historically, most of the world’s major soccer leagues have been dominated by just two or three teams: Elite clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, or Bayern Munich reinforce their competitive advantage by outspending their league rivals for new talent. In recent years, an already uneven playing field has gotten even worse, and the dominance of individual teams in several leagues has drained the drama from the annual title races. This trend stands in stark contrast to American sports, where free agency and salary caps have pushed leagues toward greater equality. Is the dominance of top soccer teams a problem that requires an American-style solution?

Most soccer leagues have a small coterie of elite teams. Scotland has the “Old Firm,” Glasgow’s Celtic and Rangers. In England, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool comprise “The Big Four.” Argentina has Boca Juniors and River Plate. Spain has Barcelona and Real Madrid. Germany really has only one dominant team; Bayern Munich has won nearly half of all Bundesliga titles. The elite clubs have large fan bases, big stadiums, and, in many cases, global followings. Their financial firepower is several times that of the average teams in their leagues, and they exploit these advantages to fund ever more expensive rosters with the intent of guaranteeing success.

In Italy, the elite clubs have gone even further to guarantee success: fixing matches. Disclosures of match fixing in 2006 led to Juventus, Italy’s most successful club, being banished from the top division for one season, and they led to points deductions for several other top clubs, including AC Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio. Juventus and the other clubs used their influence — and money — to select friendly referees for their matches. This was not the first scandal for Juventus. Their team doctor was jailed for systematically doping players with performance-enhancing drugs in the mid-1990s (but that’s a story for another day).

The current trend is toward even more consolidation of league titles. Manchester United and Chelsea have won the last four English Premier League titles between them, and the two clubs are set to resume their rivalry in next Wednesday’s Champions League Final in Moscow. In France, with one game left in the Ligue 1 season, Olympique Lyonnais is in pole position to clinch its seventh title in a row.

For American fans accustomed to the relative parity of the NFL and other sports, the dynastic dispositions of European soccer leagues can seem foreign. The Yankees, the Celtics, and the Canadiens have dominated their particular sports for stretches — but not for the entire history of their leagues. And the dominance of so few teams in European soccer is a far cry from the current, carefully cultivated equality in American professional sports through salary caps, luxury taxes, and revenue sharing. While the Celtics and Yankees have rivaled Lyon’s current run in the past, the idea of a contemporary American team winning six or more straight titles is almost unthinkable. Indeed, the Yankees’ lack of a World Series title since 2000 is likely a sign that revenue sharing is having the desired effect.

America’s Major League Soccer is more like other American sports leagues than foreign soccer leagues. MLS has had repeat winners (D.C. United and Houston have both won back-to-back titles), but six different teams have won the championship in the league’s 13 seasons. MLS has a strict salary cap, and it goes to great lengths to spread players among the different franchises in an equitable way.

European soccer leagues have contemplated revenue sharing in the past, but the major clubs have always managed to veto proposed changes. There is, however, another concept that has been floated by the elite clubs themselves. The idea of a pan-European “Super League,” where the top clubs would break away from their domestic leagues and play against each other every week, is intriguing. Building on the existing Champions League competition — where top clubs compete for the European title as well as for their domestic crowns — a European Super League would create a permanent home for the biggest and wealthiest clubs. The league would bow to the reality that real competition for Manchester United can be found in Madrid or Milan. The move would create a playing field in the domestic leagues that could finally claim to be competitive, while providing regular, world-class competition for the big clubs.

Elite soccer teams around the world win the majority of their games year after year, and it’s impressive that they often win follow-up titles not by infighting and seeking individual glory, but by reloading for the next season and doing everything possible to defend their championship. While this consistency is admirable, the top clubs completely outspend their domestic rivals for talent. The time has come for the top soccer clubs of Europe to break away from domestic leagues and form a European Super League. It would be hard to imagine Lyon winning six straight titles if they had to take on the likes of Manchester United and AC Milan week after week.

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