Every Team That Qualified for the 2025/26 UCL and the New Format

The UEFA Champions League is entering unfamiliar territory in 2025/26 and fans are in for something truly different. The old group stage is gone. In its place? A single-league format with 36 of Europe’s finest battling it out in a season that promises more matches, more drama, and way fewer second chances.

Let’s break down the new format and highlight all the teams who have already booked their spot in what could be the most unpredictable Champions League season yet.

What’s changing in the Champions League?

This season, UEFA ditches the traditional group system and adopts a new league-style phase involving 36 clubs. Instead of being grouped into sets of four, every team now plays eight games each against a different opponent. That’s four matches at home and four away.

But it’s not just about more games. It’s also about more pressure.

• The top eight teams at the end of the league phase automatically qualify for the Round of 16.
  
• Teams finishing 9th to 24th enter a playoff round — two-legged knockouts to fight for the remaining spots in the last 16.
  
• Those who finish 25th or below? They’re out — no more Europa League parachutes.

Where did the extra four teams come from?

To make the jump from 32 to 36 teams, UEFA introduced four new qualification routes:

• One spot goes to the team that finishes third in the league ranked fifth in Europe (currently, that’s France).
  
• One spot goes to a domestic champion who makes it through the qualifying rounds (the “Champions Path”).
  
• The remaining two spots are awarded to clubs from countries that performed best across all UEFA competitions the previous season. These are called European Performance Spots (EPS).

All the Teams Qualified for the 2025/26 Champions League

Here’s a country-by-country breakdown of the teams who have already qualified for the new-look competition:

England (6 teams)

• Liverpool
  
• Arsenal
  
• Nottingham Forest
  
• Chelsea
  
• Manchester City (EPS)
  
• Tottenham Hotspur
  

Spain (5 teams)

• Barcelona
  
• Real Madrid
  
• Atlético Madrid
  
• Athletic Club
  
• Villarreal (EPS)
  

Germany (4 teams)

• Bayern Munich
  
• Bayer Leverkusen
  
• Mainz
  
• Eintracht Frankfurt
  

Italy (4 teams)

• Inter Milan
  
• Napoli
  
• Atalanta
  
• Bologna
  

France (3 teams)

• Paris Saint-Germain
  
• Marseille
  
• Monaco
  

Netherlands (2 teams)

• Ajax
  
• PSV Eindhoven
  

Portugal (1 team)

• Sporting CP
  

Belgium (1 team)

• Genk
  

Czech Republic (1 team)

• Slavia Prague
  

Turkey (1 team)

• Galatasaray
  

This is just the beginning. More teams will join via the qualification rounds in the coming months especially domestic champions from smaller leagues.

Why this new format matters

UEFA says the revamp will lead to a fairer and more intense competition. By facing eight different opponents, clubs are tested more broadly than in the old system. There’s also no safety net clubs can’t drop into the Europa League anymore. It’s either progress or go home.

And for fans? More big-name clashes, fewer predictable groups, and a season-long battle where every match feels like a final.