Thanks to the great performances of Spanish clubs in Europe this season, at least five LaLiga EA Sports clubs will enter the 2025/26 Champions League.
All three of this season’s Uefa competitions will have a Spanish representative in the semifinals.
FC Barcelona have made it all the way to the semifinals of the Champions League, while Athletic Club have reached the final four of the Europa League, with the final taking place in Bilbao, and Real Betis are one of the last four clubs remaining in the Conference League.
The progression of all these Spanish clubs, with several important victories along the way, has boosted Spain’s coefficient in the official Uefa rankings of national associations. For the 2024/25 season, only English clubs boast a higher average points score per club (26.319) than Spanish clubs (23.034).
FIFTH PLACE BECOMES A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BERTH
It has now been confirmed that LaLiga EA Sports’ clubs are guaranteed to finish inside the top two of this ranking, as the clubs of Italy’s Serie A, who are in third, can no longer mathematically catch the Spanish total.
As such, an extra Champions League ticket has been awarded to LaLiga EA Sports, because the top two associations are rewarded with an additional place in the next edition of the Champions League. Last year, it was Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A who benefited from this, with fifth-placed sides Borussia Dortmund and Bologna entering the top Uefa competition.
Now, as things stand, Spain would send the top five finishers of the 2024/25 LaLiga EA Sports campaign to Europe’s elite club competition, which right now would be FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Athletic Club and Villarreal CF.
There is a chance six Spanish clubs could enter next season’s Champions League
The maximum number of clubs from one country who can enter a given Champions League season used to be capped at five, but that’s no longer the case.
In fact, the maximum is now seven Champions League entries from one country, which would be the top four in the domestic league, the fifth team in the domestic league (if a bonus berth is obtained), the winner of the Champions League (assuming they finished outside the top five) and the winner of the Europa League (assuming they finished outside the top five).
Of course, it’s very unlikely for all of the above to happen, but there is a decent chance of LaLiga EA Sports having six clubs in next season’s Champions League.
That would happen if Athletic Club win the Europa League but finish outside of the top four. In this scenario, the Basques would have secured their Champions League ticket through winning the Europa League, and would enter along with the five other clubs who finish highest in LaLiga EA Sports.
So, for example, if Villarreal CF moved into fourth and Athletic Club fell to fifth but won the Europa League, then sixth place – currently held by Real Betis – would also grant a Champions League ticket.
THE RACE FOR EUROPE OPENS UP
At least eight Spanish teams in total will qualify for Europe next season. Assuming that Athletic Club hold on to fourth place and that the newly earned additional Champions League ticket goes to the fifth-positioned club, that means sixth and seventh would grant access to the Europa League and eighth would be a Conference League spot.
Eighth place is currently occupied by RCD Mallorca on 43 points, but there are several clubs below who could yet catch them. Even Valencia CF, in 13th place on 37 points, aren’t too far behind. It means two-thirds of LaLiga EA Sports can still dream about qualifying for Europe.