WE have been branding the Premier League the best competition in the world for so long, it has almost become a matter of fact.

The biggest prizes, highest attendances, most successful clubs. No other league comes anywhere near, right?

Well, three weeks ago I would have agreed in a nanosecond, but this summer’s World Cup might force me to reconsider having seen so many reputations torn up into shreds.

Quite aside from the abject failure of England’s players to perform in South Africa, other supposed gems in the Premier League crown have also dulled considerably.

The likes of Didier Drogba, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Nicolas Anelka and Yakubu have fallen well short of expectations, while those competing in the German and Spanish top flights seem to be going from strength to strength.

Of the 44 players who start the semi-finals, only six – Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Johnny Heitinga, Dirk Kuyt, Nigel de Jong, and Robin van Persie – will have played in England last season. And God alone knows how Torres has managed to keep his place in the Spanish team.

The competition hasn’t really cared for star reputations and it’s worth pointing out that even La Liga’s holy trinity of Lionel Messi, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo have been barracked by their own press for struggling to reproduce their club form over the last few weeks.

But the lack of Premier League stars in the latter stages might just signal that some of the other European leagues are starting to close the gap.

Germany’s success has been on the back of a squad made up entirely of players from their own league, although Jerome Boateng has since moved to Manchester City. Likewise, Spain have only a smattering of players who ply their trade on foreign soils.

With City’s bottomless wallet leading the way, we can probably expect the top Premier League clubs to bring in a fresh wave of talent once the World Cup is over, but at what cost to the national team?

It will be certainly interesting to see how this season’s Champions League pans out. Don’t bet against another year with no English representatives in the semi-finals.