LaLiga season so far with Rob Palmer
Spain’s top division has played host to some of the best footballers and best teams to grace the game, but LaLiga is currently struggling against the financial strength of the English Premier League
The allure of Spain may not be as bright before, nonetheless, it possesses some of the world’s top talents.
The Sports Gazette spoke to ESPN and Sky Sports commentator Rob Palmer to get his take on the current LaLiga landscape and the season so far.
About Rob Palmer
Rob Palmer has been appearing on Sky Sports since 1995, best known for his La Liga commentary. He has covered El Clásico every season since 1996, most recently on ESPN.
Having commentated on LaLiga for over 27 years, Palmer still believes there is plenty to be excited about.
LaLiga overlooked in Europe
When speaking about the competitiveness in Europe’s top leagues, Palmer said:
“In France, Paris Saint-Germain have won Ligue 1 nine times out of the last 11. Man City have won the Premier League three times in a row and are hot favourites to win it again. I also looked at Germany where Bayern Munich have won the Bundesliga the last 11 years.
“No team have retained the league title in Spain since 2019. Real Madrid won in 2020 and 2022, Barcelona in 2019 and 2023 and Atletico Madrid in 2021.
“So if your definition of a competitive league is that a different club is fighting to win it each year, it could be argued La Liga is more competitive than the Premier League.”
Is the Premier League really “the best league in the world”?
Is La Liga too modest in its marketing?
A few words @SUR_English pic.twitter.com/TfOvBjmgfs— Rob Palmer (@robbopalmer) November 14, 2023
Real Madrid’s revolving door of talent
Real Madrid, as always, possess plenty of star power. When discussing prospects now and for the future, Palmer said:
“Real Madrid are undergoing a transition from the days of Modrić, Kroos and Casemiro.
“But they’ve now arguably got the best midfield for the next 10 years with Bellingham, Tchouaméni, Camavinga and Valverde.
Jude Bellingham has lit up LaLiga with dazzling performances this season, including two goals in a 2-1 El Clásico win.
Despite his fast start, Palmer feels there’s still more to come from the 2023 Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy winner.
“He’s got outstanding statistics and this incredible ability to get into the right place at the right time,” Palmer said.
“Vinícius Júnior has taken him on board as the star of the team and they love him there.
“I think it’s daft to say when he scored so many goals and created so many goals in his opening four or five months at Real Madrid, but the best is yet to come.”
14⚽️ – Jude Bellingham
13⚽️ – Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo di Stefano & PrudenJude Bellingham now has the most goals by any Real Madrid player in their first 15 games!#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/djh5PQhqoR
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 27, 2023
One player who will soon be in a Real Madrid shirt is Brazilian wonderkid, Endrick. The 17-year-old has put pen to paper in a deal to join Los Blancos next July, and Palmer sees a bright future ahead for him.
“His progress in Brazil so far has been so remarkable,” said Palmer.
Endrick celebra convocação para a Seleção Brasileirahttps://t.co/hHuWZPHqyK pic.twitter.com/ghWXJGibwb
— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) November 13, 2023
“They (Real Madrid) brought Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo over from Brazil at young ages, and they both took a couple of seasons to establish themselves.
“But this is what Real Madrid do these days. Rather than signing the Galacticos, they’ve gone out and looked at the best 15, 16-year-old players around the world, tracked their progress and brought them in. They’re not spending hundreds of million pounds anymore, they’re buying the next generation instead.”
Barcelona and Messi magic
Barcelona are the current champions of LaLiga, but currently occupy fourth place. Managed by Barcelona legend Xavi, the old influence of the Catalan giants still seems to be present, with Palmer keen to speak about the best Barcelona player of this generation, Lionel Messi.
Palmer has commentated on Messi’s greatest moments in LaLiga, with one of his compilations amassing over 1.8 million views on YouTube.
Summarising what it was like to cover the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, Palmer said:
“When you commentate on him (Messi), you had to be like the defender. You had to completely concentrate on what he was doing.
“He does things on a football field that other human being can do. He’s still doing it for Argentina and now promoting the game in the United States with Inter Miami, taking their league to another level.
“Messi’s still scoring free kicks and still doing what he can do to the best of his ability and still entertaining. The guy is phenomenal.”
Title outsiders
When speaking about the dark horses for LaLiga this season, Palmer said:
“Atletico Madrid, for me, are the quiet favourites to win the league. They’ve got a bunch of players between the ages of 25 and 32 in their peak years and Diego Simeone, who I think, is probably the best manager in Europe.
“They’ve got a brand new stadium which is fantastic, the club is healthy and they’ve got raucous fans as well.”
The big story from LaLiga this season has been Girona. Normally there is a three-way race for the Spanish title, but this season, Girona have joined the race.
“All their players have either played for Spain at youth level, or played at Real Madrid or played at Barcelona,” said Palmer.
“They’ve got Míchel as their manager who’s come in and said ‘come and play for me and we’ll realise your potential’.
“Girona are a great team to commentate on and when you get an assignment to watch them, you’re quite happy.”
Favourite LaLiga goal
Finally, when asked what his favourite LaLiga goal he’s commentated on, Palmer said:
“For me, it’s the original Ronaldo’s goal against Compostela back in 95-96.
“I just started commentating on Spanish football for Sky Sports then and he (Ronaldo) got the ball in the halfway line, beats every single player, then clips it past the goalkeeper. The camera turned to Bobby Robson who looked like he’d never seen anything like it before in his life.
“I’ve probably commentated about 6,000 games since then, but that’s my favourite goal.”
