German international and Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels took to social media to make a snide dig at the Premier League’s dreadful week in Europe.
Manchester City and Arsenal both crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively.
While Liverpool and West Ham missed out on a place in the Europa League semi-finals after failing to overturn first-leg deficits against Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen.
As a result, Aston Villa were the only Premier League team to reach the semi-finals of a European competition, beating Lille on penalties in the Europa Conference League.
Hummels couldn’t help but take to social media to make a subtle dig at the Premier League – poking fun at English top flight by using the term ‘farmer’s league’.
Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels took to social media to make the snide dig
Manchester City and Arsenal both crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals
The Germany international made reference to a frequent Premier League jibe against the Bundesliga clubs
Your browser does not support iframes.
‘Farmers league’ is a derogatory term that has been used to undermine the quality of a league and it’s players.
Hummels took to Twitter (now known as X) to write: ‘Good harvesting this week my fellow farmers’, in reference to the English sides’ results.
Typically, there is a perception in European football that the ‘top five leagues’ comprise of the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
However, fans have previously accused Ligue 1 of being a ‘farmers league’ because they feel it is the least elite of the competitions despite having some of biggest stars.
A select group of supporters felt the French league was too one-sided, with Paris Saint-Germain dominating in recent years.
Since the 2012-13 season, PSG have been at the forefront of French football – apart from the 2016-17 when they were pipped to the title by Monaco).
There have been no signs of PSG – who are currently sitting top of the table – slowing down either, especially given the talent they have in their squad.
The Parisian side also have a considerable amount of funding, ensuring they can maintain their position as Ligue 1’s elite side.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has previously poked fun at the term being used to describe Ligue 1, after Lyon beat Man City in 2020
Hummels is not the first star to call the Premier League a farmer’s league. Kylian Mbappe, who plays for PSG in Ligue 1, previously referred to the English top flight at a ‘farmer’s league’.
He took to Twitter (now known as X) to praise Lyon for beating Manchester City in August 2020 – writing: ‘FARMERS LEAGUE’ with a clown emoji and three clapping hands before tagging Lyon.
Hummels’ tweet came shortly after Dortmund beat Atletico Madrid to progress through to the next stage of the Champions League.
