Dubai: It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that the English Premier League is the most competitive and exciting domestic football competition in Europe.

Yet when it comes to unalloyed talent, the Spanish La Liga is widely considered to be the best league in the world given the presence of superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale and Andres Iniesta.

Real Madrid’s Ronaldo and Messi’s Barcelona, lest one forget, were upstaged by the unheralded artisans of Atletico Madrid last season, Diego Simeone’s dogged and well-drilled side deservedly claiming their first La Liga title since 1996.

Real and Barcelona’s predictable summer response to Atletico’s audacity in ending their domestic hegemony, which before last season had only been interrupted by Valencia in 2004 in the last 10 years?

The two Spanish aristocrats simply loosened their purse-strings and lavished millions of euros on some of the world’s greatest players to fortify their already gilded squads.

At European champions Real Madrid, the galactico era of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Luis Figo in the early part of the last decade has been thrillingly revived — or perhaps that should be, embellished — by the wily Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti.

He snapped up one of the global game’s most precocious talents in the World Cup’s Golden Boot winner, Colombia’s James Rodriguez, supplementing his prodigious skill and scoring power with the craft and precision passing of Germany’s midfield schemer, Toni Kroos.

Catalan clear-out

Barcelona, meanwhile, responded to the trophyless tenure last season of beleaguered former boss Gerardo Martino by adding the guile and cunning of Liverpool’s Luis Suarez to a formidable forward line comprising Messi and the mercurial Brazilian Neymar.

Rodruiguez and Kroos have been joined at the Bernabeu by Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas, while Barcelona have added much-needed defensive rigour in the form of Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen and, at the time of going to press, were poised to sign Brazilian right-back Douglas.

The classy Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic was another Nou Camp arrival earlier this summer.

Although they do not possess the same extraordinary spending power as their more illustrious rivals, Atletico have not rested on their laurels and have sought to assuage the loss of last season’s top scorer Diego Costa with two shrewd purchases.

The powerful Croat Mario Mandzukic from Bayern Munich could be Costa Mark Two, while the exciting young French winger Antoine Griezmann will add an extra dimension to Simeone’s attack with his pace and trickery.

Atletico have further strengthened their attack, which was also weakened by former Spain striker David Villa’s move to New York City FC, by sealing Mexico’s most expensive ever signing, Raul Jimenez.

But who did the best business in this summer spending splurge, and how will Rodriguez, Suarez and Mandzukic cope alongside the established luminaries of Messi, Ronaldo et al?

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, author of biographies of Messi and the former boss of Barcelona, Pep Guardiola, mused on these and other key issues surrounding football’s Latino league of lustre.

Firstly, and somewhat surprisingly, Balague thinks Kroos was the most astute buy of the close season rather than the more high-profile and expensive additions of Rodriguez and Suarez.

What’s more, in a deal that has been overshadowed by the hype and hoopla caused by the big-money buys, he also predicts great things for Sevilla’s Barcelona loanee, the 20-year-old striker Gerard Deulofeu.

He said: “Kroos looks to me to be the best bargain to date, but then that wasn’t surprising because of the short time left on his contract. But the one that really fascinates me is Gerard Deulofeu.

“At Everton, he showed what he could do with the ball, but it’s his lack of work-rate without it that has persuaded [Barcelona boss] Luis Enrique — who has had him for this pre-season, and has not played him once — that he is not yet ready to make the step into Barcelona’s first-team squad.

“Sevilla, where he will be next season on loan, will benefit from his decision, while Deulofeu is now at something of a crossroads in his career. The ball is very much in his court.”

Barcelona fans will have to wait with feverish anticipation until late October to see how Suarez adapts to his new surroundings following his four-month ban incurred for biting the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

But can he dovetail with the omnipotent Messi, unlike Barca’s previous costly forward recruits Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexis Sanchez, who never fully convinced at the Nou Camp?

“It’s interesting that you talk about how high-profile buys in the past have struggled to dovetail with Messi,” Balague, who works for Britain’s Sky Sports and a number of leading newspapers in the UK and Spain, replied.

“Firstly, I think Alexis Sanchez has done really well, while Ibrahimovic is probably the only one you can say it hasn’t worked, but whose fault was that? For me, Guardiola made a mistake in buying him in the first place. The truth is Ibrahimovic was actually imposed on him, which was not ever going to be the best of starts.

“It didn’t take long for Guardiola to realise that he couldn’t mix Messi with Ibrahimovic. However, the suggestion that Messi cannot play with good players is only ever made by people that don’t know much about football. It’s also a backhanded swipe at players like Xavi [Hernandez], [Andres] Iniesta, Pedro [Rodriguez], who were not just good, but great players.”

Balague added: “I’m convinced that Luis Suarez will add the goals that Barcelona need. I’m convinced, however, that Barcelona’s problems this season won’t come from up front, but rather how to balance that attack with a defensive structure that will seek to apply pressure high up the pitch and try to return to the essence of the way Guardiola set up his sides.”

On paper, Barcelona and Real boast arguably the two most potent forward lines in Europe, but which does Balague think will prove to be the most effective?

He said: “Personally, I prefer Barcelona’s because for me they have that little extra touch of magic. At Real Madrid, we are looking at pure strength and pace and I love to see magic. That said, Barcelona have yet to put it into practice, while the efficiency and power Real Madrid’s front line is unequalled anywhere in the world at the moment.”

It’s somewhat of a surprise in view of Real’s striking riches, however, to learn that Balague feels the European champions Achilles heel could be a shortage of goals.

He said: “If it isn’t Bale or Ronaldo [who score], they can struggle, so everyone is going to have to up their level a bit. They also haven’t really found a position for James Rodriguez yet, so they’re going to have to work on that. He’s played as a false number nine and wasn’t really comfortable with it, similarly on the midfield left-hand side of a 4-3-3.

“They might well try him in a 4-2-3-1, behind [Karim] Benzema along with Cristiano and Bale on both wings, but we’ll have to wait and see how that develops.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona remain suspect in defence, according to Balague, despite reinforcing their backline with Mathieu from Valencia and Arsenal’s Vermaelen.

But are the pair the commanding central duo the Catalans needed to replace the retired warhorse and ex-captain Carles Puyol and join Gerard Pique in the rearguard?

Balague said: “Mathieu measures 1.90m, 6ft 3 inches in old money, and Vermaelen 1.82, just under 6ft, but it isn’t their height I worry about. I think that at 39 million euros for the two of them, Barcelona would have done better to buy a younger star player with a future that would fit into the Barcelona way. They tried for Marquinhos from PSG, but nothing came of it, and now I don’t really understand why they have plumped for two defenders who, in my mind, are not of sufficient quality to play in a team like Barcelona.

“Barcelona not only need defenders, they need players at the back that can play the ball and are fast. Vermaelan is not particularly fast and, while Mathieu may fit in, at 20 million euros for a 30-year-old, he is too expensive.”

Barcelona are also under the new management of former player and “B” team coach Luis Enrique, who replaced Martino after leading Celta Vigo to a creditable ninth-place finish in the league.

Balague says Enrique will provide the Catalonian aesthetes with a new “directness, more physicality and provide a side that can cause more damage in set pieces”.

He added: “He will be looking for pressure high up the pitch, pace down the flanks, and, to that end, might even opt for a three at the back line-up with five effectively in midfield. Whatever he decides, tactically it’s going to be a fascinating year at Barcelona.”

Meanwhile, current champions Atletico will be no one-season wonders, Balague insists.

He said: “I believe Atletico Madrid have got what it takes to compete. I think they might take advantage of a slow start from both Real Madrid and Barcelona and could well be cruising at the same pace as they did last season, only now they have more depth to their squad. That means that I think they will be there or thereabouts certainly until maybe the last month or so of the season.”

Outside of the big three, Balague does not envisage any other realistic challengers for the league title.

However, owner Peter Lim’s €50 million cash injection into Valencia, who have a new manager in Nuno, make them the biggest threat to the established order, he says.

Balague said: “I think this season could see them battling for fourth spot along with Sevilla, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao.”

So, who will prevail in this latest edition of football’s very own Star Wars and reign in Spain next year?

Balague said: “I think Real Madrid might just have enough to take it [the title]. Although they have to adapt a new galactico to the team, for me they are the side that has more variations that any other team in Europe, especially with the addition of midfielder Kroos, who can control games as well as counter attack, which is what they love doing so much.”

So, as ever, much to chew on in La Liga, where football feasts are in plentiful supply.

Luis Suarez, like the rest of us, must be licking his lips at the thought.