The 2016/17 has come and gone, trophies have been won and champions crowned across Europe. However, top teams in Europe have been ranked but teams from England are missing in the top fie while only Chelsea and Manchester City are in the top 10.
Real Madrid being the champions of Spain and Europe already have their spot by default but what lies the faith of the almighty English teams in European ranking?
According to a European club ranking list by sports data company Gracenote, only two English clubs – Premier League champions Chelsea (7th) and Manchester City (8th) – place among the top 10 sides on the continent.
Chelsea overtook Pep Guardiola’s side as the highest Premier League side despite not being in Europe this season.
Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid side, who also won La Liga, replaced rivals Barcelona at the top of Gracenote’s Euro Club Index.
FA Cup winners Arsenal (11th) dropped out of the top 10, but remain above north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur (13th).
Leicester City, the last remaining English club in the Champions League before being knocked out of the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid, were 48th, and Europa League champions Manchester United 16th.
The rankings are produced from results over the past four seasons, but the most recent campaign carries a weight of around two-thirds.
Mauricio Pochettino guided his Spurs side to second in the Premier League this season as the White Hart Lane outfit finished above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years.
But it is the Gunners who occupy a higher spot in the list despite finishing fifth and missing out on a Champions League spot for the first time in manager Arsene Wenger’s 21-year reign.
“There is very little difference between Arsenal and Tottenham in terms of rating points on the ranking,” said head of analysis at Gracenote Simon Gleave.
“Arsenal’s consistency over the past seasons means that they have remained above Tottenham.
“But another season like this one and Spurs will overtake.”
Liverpool (19th) also rank lower than Arsenal and 16th-placed Manchester United, despite Jurgen Klopp’s side finishing higher in English football’s top flight last term.
Gleave says the Reds’ ranking reflects their domestic inconsistency over the past four seasons especially against “smaller” clubs.
“Basically, under Klopp, Liverpool performs at the level of a Premier League champion in matches against the big clubs, but at the level of West Bromwich Albion against the rest,” he added.
Bournemouth were the most improved Premier League club, rising from 122nd to 97th in the list, while Sunderland dropped from 104th to 185th.
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