Kieran Tierney

Kieran Tierney denies Premier League is better than La Liga – ‘If people watched La Liga more…’

Real Sociedad defender Kieran Tierney has struggled with injury since arriving in Spain, missing two to three months, with a thigh problem, but is enjoying his time in La Liga nonetheless. The Arsenal loanee also claims that the atmospheres and quality of La Liga are comparable to what he was used to in the Premier League.

Tierney has been linked with a return to Arsenal this winter due to their struggles at left-back, but Tierney confirmed himself that he would be remaining in the Basque Country until at least the end of the season.

In a long-form interview with Noticias de Gipuzkoa, Tierney was naturally asked for comparisons between La Liga and the Premier League. It was put to him that even in Spain some say the English league is much better than their own.

“I don’t think so in such a strong way. Everyone knows that the Premier League has much more money. All clubs competing in that competition can buy footballers for €30m. That’s the big difference. But when it comes to quality, I don’t agree so much, I think La Liga has extraordinary footballers.”

Often in the past the atmosphere at La Liga matches has been highlighted as one of the areas where La Liga fails to compete with the Premier League, but Tierney disagreed there too.

“The atmosphere here is amazing. In England there are also very good atmospheres. I don’t want to speak badly of the Premier League because it is a great league, the fans are great… But if people watched La Liga more they would realise that it is an incredible competition, and so are the fans. If you go to play against Osasuna, you see their fans cheering like crazy. Or in Cadiz. And when we play at home, the fans behind the goals don’t stop singing… It’s great.”

In particular, he had words of praise for the Real Sociedad fans, calling them ‘very special’.

“Awesome. Sometimes, when I’m on the street, I meet people and they always greet me really nicely and give me a lot of encouragement. Always with a lot of respect, they never overwhelm you. I will never forget that when I was injured and I was leaving with my head down and very upset, I heard the fans singing “Kieran Tierney”. It confirmed to me what I already knew, that it is a very special fanbase.”

Tierney appears to have settled well in spite of his injury, and lives just 20 minutes on foot from the centre of Donostia-San Sebastian with his girlfriend. The 26-year-old seemed to be enjoying the culture in Gipuzkoa too, choosing ribs as his favourite Spanish dish. Donostia-San Sebastian is famed for its food culture, and famously has more Michelin star restaurants per capita than any other city save Tokyo.

Tags Arsenal Kieran Tierney La Liga Real Sociedad
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