Just for the fun of it and because there's not been to much to discuss over the last couple of days, here's Sportal's end of season 2011/2012 European Top 20 list: http://www.sportal.de/sportal/generated/article/fussball/2012/05/30/22661200000.html Starting in January every year Sportal puts out this list on a monthly basis until the end of the season. Of course there's always much room for debate, but they put a lot of thought into it and it's usually a very good start for a discussion. Here's the list for those who don't read German or can't be bothered to click the link: 20. Malaga 19. Schalke 04 18. Zenit St. Petersburg 17. Paris Saint-Germain 16. Montpellier HSC 15. Newcastle United 14. Valencia 13. Tottenham Hotspur 12. Napoli 11. Atletico Madrid 10. Arsenal 9. Milan 8. Manchester United 7. Juventus 6. Manchester City 5. Bayern München 4. Borussia Dortmund 3. Barcelona 2. Chelsea 1. Real Madrid Three teams who barely missed the top 20 are also mentioned, with reasons why they didn't make the cut: Benfica, Athletic Bilbao and Liverpool. Personally, I like the list, but Chelsea should not be in the top five (despite their achievements) and Juventus and Dortmund should not be in the top 10 (not without any international achievements to speak of).
For a more precise definition please note: This list does not list teams by strength over the course of the season, but as of right now, at the end of the season.