Javier Tebas insists losing Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo 'didn't damage' La Liga & suggests Kylian Mbappe's proposed transfer to Real Madrid will help cut gap to Premier League

Mbappe is expected to move to Spain this summer to join Real Madrid on a free transfer, after he informed Paris Saint-Germain that he will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season. Mbappe's presence in La Liga could spark more interest in the Spanish top-flight, much like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's did when the pair were at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

Tebas insists La Liga has not been hurt by Messi and Ronaldo's departures, and feels bringing Mbappe to Madrid will see the competition grow even more.

"[Messi and Ronaldo leaving] didn't cause any damage because we didn't shrink, but with them, we would certainly have grown faster," the La Liga president told A Bola. "The French league with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe didn't grow, Cristiano Ronaldo went to Italy and the Italian league's international revenues didn't increase, ours did even though we lost them both. The reason is that, both sponsors and audiovisual media, what they care most about is that the competition is economically sustainable, that seven years later it continues to be very competitive and that in Spain there are always very good players, this year we have the best of the world that is [Jude[ Bellingham, last season [Robert] Lewandowski was at a great level, Atletico has [Antoine] Griezmann, if Mbappe comes that will help us to be more competitive and grow even faster."

The Premier League is the dominant force in world football as it is the richest league in Europe and boasts the reputation as the most elite division. However, Tebas feels La Liga is on top when it comes to the sporting aspect.

He added: "Adding up the budgets of all first division teams, the Premier League's total budget is 1.8 times larger than La Liga, but we are in a sector where not everything is economics, there is also the sporting part and, in this aspect, our European history in recent years is ahead, we have won 60 per cent of the titles, in the current Champions League there are four Spanish and two English teams, what we have to see in football is the balance between the two aspects, the sporting and the economic, in the first we are better, in the second the Premier League wins."

While many believe confirmation of Mbappe's move to Madrid is merely a matter of time, the forward has not announced where he will end up next season. It has been reported that the Frenchman's representatives have held talks with Manchester City recently, as well as the Spanish giants.