Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has suggested England's Premier League is still the most competitive in European football and claimed that Spain's top division lacks the strength in depth to challenge him as a coach.
Even though no English teams made it through to the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League, Mourinho has stressed that the quality throughout the Premier League means it remains the most demanding competition to win.
Chelsea secured the Premier League title in Mourinho's second season back at Stamford Bridge, staying atop the table from start to finish.
While coach at Real Madrid from 2010-2013, for a year at least, Mourinho broke Barcelona's stranglehold on the La Liga title in 2012. However he failed to bring the Spanish giants the Champions League title they desperately coveted before reuniting with Chelsea, where he'd previously captured two Prem titles in three full seasons at the club.
"I was in Spain, but I didn't enjoy," he told talkSPORT. "I didn't enjoy it because I won a title with a record in Spain with 100 points and 121 goals, but we played only three or four matches all season.
"I lost a title with 92 points, but again we played only four or five matches in the season.
"You feel the pressure that you have to win every match because if you don't you are not champions. You have to win and win and win. But it is a big, big gap between the giants and the others.
"I think the difference between the two leagues [Premier League and La Liga] is huge. Would they [Barcelona or Real Madrid] win the Premier League? Maybe yes. Maybe not."
Mourinho went on to reflect that he felt far too comfortable in a majority of his matches during his spells in charge of FC Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, with the threat of upset results in the Premier League appealing to his competitive nature.
The Chelsea boss used his side's 4-2 FA Cup defeat against League One side Bradford in January to highlight his argument that there is no room for complacency when taking on teams at any level of the English game.
"In matches in other countries you can win matches when you are resting," Mourinho added. "In Spain and in Italy, I won lots of matches resting. Where you can think, 'what next.' Where you can think which European game is coming, where you can rest players.
"This season I rested a few players against Bradford and I lost against Bradford. And that is English football. You are winning 2-0 and if you concede a goal you know you are going to have hell for the last few minutes and you might draw 2-2 and lose two points.
"This is the reality of the Premier League. You have no time. It's not just about the number of matches, it's the intensity. And it's not just physical intensity, you feel the intensity mentally."