Every eligible club aims to qualify for the UEFA Champions League each season due to its prestige and the enormous financial rewards that come with it. Currently, a Champions League place is awarded to the top four finishers in the English Premier League. Still, there could be up to seven Premier League teams in next season’s Champions League if results fall a certain way.
The Champions League is one of the most watched football competitions globally. It is immensely popular with supporters of the competing teams and neutral fans who love watching the excitement of the beautiful game. It contributes to the economy through fans paying for flights, hotels, and taking advantage of Florida sportsbook promos. Teams that qualify for Europe’s elite-level competition find it easier to attract top talent, and they can pay for those squad additions with the vast prize money awarded.
This season, all 36 clubs in the League Phase received €18.62 million for participating, with an additional €2.1 million per win and €700,000 per draw. Each position in the table is worth €275,000, meaning the team topping the table receives €9.9 million plus an extra €2 million for finishing in the top eight. When you look at those numbers, it is easy to see why the race to qualify for the UEFA Champions League is frantic.
How Does The Extra Champions League Place Work?
The top four finishers in the Premier League table automatically qualify for the following season’s Champions League. Based on their coefficient ranking, UEFA is granting an additional spot in the 2025-26 competition to the two best-performing countries. England was at the top of the coefficient ranking table at the time of writing, putting the Premier League on track for a fifth place in the Champions League. However, depending on how the rest of the season pans out, we could see up to seven Premier League outfits competing in the 2025-26 Champions League.
Countries earn coefficient points for winning and drawing games in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. The points are added together and then divided by the number of teams competing in Europe from that country. Bonus points are awarded to clubs playing in the Champions League.
England was already at the top of the coefficient standings before the knockout stages of UEFA’s three competitions. Although Liverpool crashed out, Aston Villa and Arsenal progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur’s progress was on a knife-edge, with United drawing 1-1 with Real Sociedad and Spurs trailing 0-1 to AZ Alkmaar. However, United won the second leg 4-1, and Spurs won 3-1 to progress to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Chelsea won yet another game in the Conference League and are through to the quarter-finals. Chelsea are the odds-on favorite to win the competition.
Should England finish at the top of the coefficient table once this season’s European competitions have crowned their worthy champions, the fifth-place finisher in the Premier League would qualify for the Champions League. Currently, that is Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, but only five points separate City from Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa, AFC Bournmouth, and Fulham, the latter occupying tenth place.
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How Could the Premier League Have Seven Teams in Next Season’s Champions League?
The winners of the Champions League automatically get a place in the following season’s competition. That means if England tops UEFA’s coefficient table and Arsenal or Aston Villa wins the Champions League and then finishes in the Premier League’s top five, the team who finishes sixth in the Premier League table will earn a place in next season’s competition.
That would be a tall order because Aston Villa drew PSG, while Arsenal faces Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. However, one or both English teams progressing to the semi-finals is not out of the realm of possibility.
UEFA also gives a Champions League slot to the winners of the Europa League. Recent rule changes mean that any team that wins the Europa League but does not qualify for the Champions League via their domestic league position goes into the next season’s Champions League. This means if Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur triumph in the Europa League, they will compete in the 2025-26 Champions League despite currently finding themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Taking all of that into account, if results go as shown above, the Premier League will have as many as seven teams qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
What is the Most Likely Scenario?
Every football fan knows that anything can happen in this game, so having every required result go the English clubs’ way is unlikely. Aston Villa will almost certainly not win the Champions League because they lack the squad depth of the remaining teams. Furthermore, the Villains probably will not finish high enough in their domestic league.
Arsenal, currently in second place in the Premier League, could conquer the Champions League if they edge past competition favorites Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. Arsenal is either brilliant and looks unstoppable or mediocre, with very little between those extremes. Defeating Real Madrid is a tall order, but if the Gunners do, they will fancy their chance of winning the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
As for the Europa League, Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur should at least reach the final. Spain’s Athletic Bilbao and Italy’s Lazio are the only decent teams left, so this competition is ripe for winning. If either wins the Europa League, they will play in the Champions League next season.
Finally, Chelsea will fancy their chances of winning the Conference League. Although doing so does not award a Champions League place, it does earn valuable points for the UEFA Coefficient rankings.
In all, the Premier League could have seven teams in next season’s Champions League, althought it is unlikely. The most likely scenario is for England to top the UEFA Coefficient rankings, earning a fifth spot in next year’s competition, and one of the English clubs to win the Europa League, meaning six Premier League teams in next season’s Champions League. It’s an exciting time to be a Premier League fan!
