Sevilla winning La Liga would be as good as Leicester's Premier League triumph

When Wes Morgan and Claudio Ranieri lifted the Premier League trophy in 2016, sceptics were quick to burst the bubble of optimism in football by insisting the Cinderella story would never happen again.

While the rest of us wanted to tell said sceptics to shut up and demand anything is possible in football, the more and more money that's ploughed into Europe's elite clubs makes it difficult to disagree that they've kinda got a point.

But could Sevilla be about to match Leicester's fairytale and prove to us anything is still possible?

Having opened their La Liga campaign with just two wins in six league outings, European qualification didn't even look on the cards, nevermind a title challenge - and we all know the Europa League just isn't the same without Sevilla in it.

Since then Julen Lopetegui's side have been absolutely phenomenal, and 12 wins from their previous 15 La Liga outings have moved them to within three points of league leaders Real Madrid.

Now, we already know what you're thinking; how on earth is this anything even remotely like Leicester's story?

After all, Sevilla have been mixing it with La Liga's big-hitters for years now - with this season set to mark their 20th consecutive campaign with a top ten finish - not to mention their stellar displays in the Europa League over the past two decades.

Leicester just about scraped Premier League survival the season prior to them defying the odds in being crowned Premier League champions, so how can the two possibly be compared?

While we're not going to sit here and blurt out the usual lazy 'La Liga is a rubbish two-horse race' rhetoric, it's impossible to argue with the statistics: since 1985, exactly double the amount of teams (ten) have won the Premier League as have won La Liga (five) - it's a much more closed shop in Spain's top flight.

So, it's harder to win La Liga, anything else? Well, plenty as it goes.

Despite being in and around the upper echelons of La Liga for what seems like an eternity, Sevilla haven't been crowned Spanish champions for 75 years. While Leicester had never been champions of England prior to 2016, 75 years is pretty much the same as forever.

One of the most aesthetically pleasing aspects of the Foxes' triumph was the sight of Ranieri - a perennial nearly man - finally clutching a top-flight league title after years of failed attempts. Sevilla boss Lopetegui is in a very similar position.

Despite spells at the helm of Porto and Real Madrid, the Spaniard has never tasted top-flight league success as a manager, with Europa League glory during his time at Sevilla the best he's managed - and let's face it, more people have won the Europa League with Sevilla than haven't by this point.

Another glorious facet of Leicester's triumph was the squad they'd assembled that conquered the elite of English football.

The Foxes' squad was a smorgasbord of players, with other clubs' castoffs, players who'd worked their way through the lower leagues, veterans of the game and unknown quantities from foreign shores.

In a similar sort of vein, Sevilla's squad has a host of players with a point to prove, like Luuk de Jong who's failed to really make an impact anywhere outside of the Netherlands despite numerous attempts, and Papu Gomez who was forced out of Atalanta following a very public fall out with head coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

Meanwhile, the thought of veterans Ivan Rakitic and Jesus Navas - the latter of the two being a Sevilla academy graduate - returning to their former club and helping them clinch their first La Liga title in 75 years is almost enough to bring a tear to the eye.

And lastly, how could we forget about the Super League?

It would be stupid to suggest that everyone in Europe wasn't willing Leicester on as they looked to clinch the Premier League title in 2016, but what could be better than little ol' Sevilla usurping the three Spanish giants who signed up to the devisive, selfish, abhorrent Super League?

The breakaway competition did something never achieved before in uniting every European football fan via a mutual hatred of the idea, and Sevilla's desire for La Liga success doesn't just belong to Sevilla - it belongs to all of us.

Yes Leicester's fairytale was incredible, but Sevilla's has the potential to be just as magical.