Chris Sutton has slammed the abysmal record of English clubs in the Champions League.
Last week BT Sport won the rights to broadcast the competition for another three seasons but the lack of direct English interest in the competition won’t help viewing figures.
Barcelona and Real Madrid, Ronaldo and Messi have plenty of admirers in the UK but they don’t generate the sort of audiences that Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea pull in when they are at in the semi-finals.
Since the 2008 all English Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea English clubs have been on the slide in the biggest competition of all.
Spanish sides and Bayern Munich contest the latter stages with the Germans recently humiliating Arsenal on a 10-2 aggregate.
Discussing the failures of English sides Sutton explained to the Daily Record: “The best league on the planet? Of course it’s not. There’s no evidence to suggest it is. Look at the Champions League.
“Only Leicester City are still in it while a Manchester City side who have spent £500million are out to a side from a so-called inferior league.
“The record of English clubs in Europe has been abysmal in recent years compared to the likes of Spain and Germany.”
In the draw for the quarter-final’s Leicester will meet Atletico Madrid with the tie of the round being between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
