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Last week saw the draw for The Champions League quarter finals, and it made for compelling viewing. For the first time in the competitions illustrious history, four teams from one country navigated their way safely into the last eight. And as you may have heard one or two people whispering, those four teams were English. Liverpool and Arsenal are battling it out against each other for a semi final spot, whilst Manchester United and Chelsea were grateful for the relatively easy draw. For those with long enough memories to recall Manchester United’s magical win against Bayern Munich in ’99, you will also recall there being a distinct lack of English representation in Europe’s premier competition for the previous fifteen or so years (although this does include a five year ban following the Heysel disaster). So, what are the reasons behind this re-emergence? Why have English clubs been so successful in the last four years?

It is a sorry state of affairs to say that the driving force is not home bred English talent or tactical nous, but foreign investment and Rupert Murdoch’s handouts. It is a well known fact that the Premiership is the richest league in the world, but what is unknown by many people are the amounts involved in participating, and even winning The Premier League. The victorious team receives around £50 million in total including gate receipts and television money, whilst other major European leagues receive significantly less. This figure is particularly telling as the majority comes from television revenues from major broadcasters such as BSkyB, ITV, BBC and more recently Setanta. These massive sums are helping bankroll English clubs all the way to the top, attracting all types of players from the most coveted young starlets to the established pro. For example, Chelsea’s astronomical wage bill tops £110 million, the highest wage bill in world football, persuading Shevchenko, Ballack and Drogba to strut their stuff on the highest possible club stage at Stamford Bridge. On top of this, foriegn investors such as Malcom Glazer, Tom Hicks, and the ever ominous Roman Abramovich pile the cash into their respective side projects to attract the world’s top stars, attempting to win the £60 million-plus reward of being victourious in the Champions League. All this is whilst putting a nail in the coffin for young English talent and widening the gap with the rest of the league. Other leagues agree, with Barcelona Director of football Txiki Begiristain claiming English clubs “have invested a lot of money in football but you can see also they are doing a great job”.

This trend is set to continue thanks to the emergence of Setanta driving TV revenues sky high. With even more foreign investors taking out massive loans to finance their Champions League assault, English clubs look set to be the dominant force in European competitions for some time to come.