The show had been surprisingly underwhelming, but there was nothing unexpected about the result. On an emblematic night in so many ways, the SantiagoBernabeu had rocked and Europe's rulers had done it again. By the end, the scoreboard read: Real Madrid 1, Manchester City 0.The next morning, though, the Daily Mail wasn't so much interested in that scoreboard as it was in another: "Spain 17," began the headline, "England 1."This was the Champions League semi-finals, but Real Madrid had done more than simply progress to the tournament's finale. Over previous months and even years, a realisation had steadily been setting in, but this saw it definitively established: La Liga was king.No buts.Real's victory meant Spanish teams had won 94 percent of their last 18 European ties against their English counterparts. But it wasn't just England. Going into that week's action, Spanish sides had won 45 of their previous 48 knockout ties with any foreign opposition.Then Real knocked out City, and Atletico Madrid did the same to Bayern Munich. In the Europa League, Sevilla added to the astonishing numbers by beatingShakhtar Donetsk, while only Liverpool's victory over Villarreal prevented two all-Spanish finals.Manuel Pellegrini had been right, then."I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League," started the former City manager ahead of his side's clash with Real. "For various reasons: the fans, the organisation. But the best football is played in Spain."Pellegrini then watched his side become a part of the indisputable evidence. And yet, now, change might be coming.Paul Pogba's approaching move to Manchester United, as reported by Sky Sports, signals the beginning of a challenge to La Liga's supremacy.That might sound obvious or it might sound bizarre, so let's first bash out the basics: Pogba going to United doesn't immediately make them contenders in the Champions League. After all, Jose Mourinho's men won't even be in the competition in the coming season, and their soon-to-be new star won't come with any guarantees, either.Indeed, if there are doubts about Pogba, their existence is understandable. For a player whose transfer fee is set to become a world record, the Frenchman is not yet a finished product. He's not yet a world beater or a banker for a particular level of performance.But none of that matters here.In this case, it's not about what Pogba will do on the field for United but instead what he says about United and the Premier League.For years now, the Old Trafford outfit and its domestic rivals have existed in the shadows of Real Madrid and Barcelona despite varying wealth, reputations and their presence in the world's most popular league. That has been evident on the pitch, of course, but just as telling is how visible it's been in the transfer market, too. For some time now, England's elite have been forced to settle for second best. The game's hottest emerging talents have gone straight to Spain's behemoths, and the Premier League's stars have wasted little time in doing the same when the opportunity has arisen, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Baleheading to Real Madrid andLuis Suarezgoing to Barcelona.Still, amid this pattern, a search for complex answers for the causes of the nation's struggles in European competition has persisted in England. But the answer has been obvious."I think back then [during my career] the best players in the world, there were some in this country," said Rio Ferdinand to BT Sport last season (h/t the Daily Mail). "At the moment there aren't any."But with Pogba, United and the Premier Leaguewill have one. Or at least, they'll have a player who's expected to become one. And they will have gotten him straight from Juventus, beating Real and Barcelona to him, not waiting for those clubs' castoffs.There's a power shift unfolding here.In mid-July, it was significant when Madrid-based AS ran a pair of articles that focused on why Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane wanted Pogba and why president Florentino Perez didn't.The potential value of the Frenchman to Real was obvious, but the reported reluctance of Perez hinted that even the superstar-obsessed president knew United had a step on his club in this instance. At Old Trafford, they were prepared to go further down the line, part with more cash and do more to make a statement, because they could.And when the deal inevitably goes through, that's what will have happened: United will have outbid and outmanoeuvred Madridand by extension, if you like, Barcelonain the transfer market. For once, the Premier League will have won a battle with La Liga for one of the game's most in-demand figures.The timing of that is significant, too. This move immediately follows the commencement of a colossal TV rights deal that will bring in more than 8 billion to the Premier League over three seasons. Such a tidal wave of cash has already brought about an influx of high-profile managers, with Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte having arrived in England to join the likes of Jurgen Klopp and the reinstalledMourinho.Unsurprisingly, the country's heavyweights have also been busy adding high-quality talent with little care for the outlay. United have signed Eric Bailly for 30 million andHenrikh Mkhitaryan for 26.3 million. City have snapped upIlkay Gundogan for 21 million. Chelsea have forked out 33 million forMichy Batshuayi and 29 million for N'Golo Kante.Yet that sort of spending isn't anything new. Until now, what had eluded the Premier League were the genuine blockbuster deals, the sort that alter landscapes.That's what Pogba's signing will be, and it will represent the start of a challenge to La Liga's supremacy.Admittedly, that challenge will need time to find momentum. One deal on its own won't topple Real and Barcelona.In the Spanish capital, a core of Ronaldo, Bale, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Keylor Navas, Casemiro, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal remains frighteningly good.Across the country in Catalonia, it's the same with a Barcelona squad headlined by Lionel Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Javier Mascherano, not to mention a host of new, impressive faces.Those sides aren't going anywhere for now, but there are two key points here.The first is that, in possessing such staggering squads, Real and Barcelona have reached a point where possible gains are now minimal. They've essentially maxed themselves out, barely able to go anywhere from here in terms of depth of talent.It means that any continued dominance in the short- to medium-term future will be based on an already established gap between themselves and the rest, rather than a continually growing one. It will then be up to others to make up the ground, and that's the second point: United signing Pogba suggests that might soon be far more achievable than it has been until now.In snapping a trend, Pogba suddenly represents a significant shift in European football. For years, the flow of truly elite talent has only gone in one direction, but in the very first summer of the Premier League's immense cash influx, that has changed. A challenge to La Liga has begun.
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