Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho believes that his side and Barcelona are the two best clubs in the world, and that any team in football would struggle to finish ahead of the Spanish giants.
At the age of 49, Mourinho is already one of the most successful coaches in football history, having won several club trophies during his stints in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.
The Portuguese coach stated in December that he plans to return to the Premier League in due course, but he has now declared that La Liga boasts the biggest pool of talent in the game.
"What I used to say is that every club in the world goes to the Spanish league would finish third," Mourinho told ESPN.
"Man City goes there, Manchester United goes there, Chelsea goes there. Who else? They finish third because the two best teams in the world are in the same league, so of course to the others, it is a big difference."
The rivalry between the two Liga giants is shared by the two club's brightest starts, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with one of them expected to claim the 2012 Ballon d'Or award.
And Mourinho is in no doubt that Ronaldo should be the one to scoop the prestigious award after helping Madrid to win their first league crown since 2008.
"For me, the best player of a season must be one that won," he noted. "What [Ronaldo] did helped the team to win something big, and I do not think in the history of the Ballon D'Or, one players own it without winning a big thing.
"Without winning the Champions League, without winning the Spanish League, how can Messi be the Ballon d'Or?"
Despite Madrid's interest in Tottenham starlet Luka Modric, Los Blancos are yet to sign any player in the transfer window, but Mourinho trusts his squad completely.
"The team is really full of talent, and we have lots of solutions and we can play in different ways, in different systems, in different philosophies," he said.
"So what I have in my hands in terms of human capital, human resources is very, very hard."
Madrid will tackle MLS side LA Galaxy on Thursday evening as part of their pre-season tour of the United States.
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