News
SÁB 22.02.2025
The fans of Real Madrid, Real Betis and Real Sociedad were all able to celebrate their teams’ passage in European competition this week. In the Champions League playoff round, the reigning champions saw off Manchester City 3-1 at home and 6-3 on aggregate thanks to a Kylian Mbappé hat-trick at the Bernabéu. In the Europa League playoffs, Real Sociedad also enjoyed a big win as they thrashed Midtjylland 5-2 to make it a 7-3 aggregate victory. And, despite losing 1-0 at home in the Conference League playoffs, Real Betis’ big win last week meant Los Verdiblancos still progressed past Gent 3-1 on aggregate.
Those playoff round victories mean that six of the seven LALIGA EA SPORTS clubs who entered UEFA competitions in 2024/25 are still alive and will remain in continental action until at least March. FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid are also still dreaming of lifting the Champions League, while Athletic Club hope to reach the Europa League final that’ll be held in their stadium. Only Girona FC, who embarked on their maiden European campaign, have already played their final UEFA fixture of the season.
An extra Champions League place to the Premier League and LALIGA EA SPORTS?
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 (20.892) than Spanish clubs (18.820).
That’s especially important 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. If Spanish clubs’ average UEFA points total for this season remains inside the top two, fifth place in LALIGA EA SPORTS would also become a 2025/26 Champions League berth.
There is still a long way to go, but there is optimism in Spain that this can be achieved, especially given that the league’s closest challenger is Serie A (18.062). Italian teams endured a nightmare playoff round, as AC Milan, Juventus and Atalanta were all eliminated from the Champions League. With these three teams unable to earn any more UEFA ranking points this term, that will negatively impact the Italian association’s average score.
What’s the maximum number of LALIGA EA SPORTS clubs who could make next year’s Champions League?
The top four teams in the 2024/25 LALIGA EA SPORTS season will all definitely have a place in next year’s Champions League, and those positions are currently held by FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club, who’d be returning to this competition after an absence of more than a decade. If fifth place also becomes a Champions League spot, that would currently benefit Villarreal CF, semi-finalists as recently as 2021/22.
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, given the situation outlined in the previous section, there is a good chance of LALIGA EA SPORTS having five clubs in next season’s Champions League.
So, what that would mean for the other European qualification spots in LALIGA EA SPORTS? If this scenario does come to fruition, a total of eight Spanish clubs would play in UEFA competition in 2025/26. Sixth place would become a Europa League spot and seventh place a Conference League ticket, while the winner of the Copa del Rey would also enter the Europa League. And, if the cup winner already has their European ticket secured, then eighth position in LALIGA EA SPORTS suddenly becomes a European berth.
Considering eighth place is currently occupied by Real Betis on 32 points and considering RC Celta in 14th are on 29 points and just three behind, it means two-thirds of LALIGA EA SPORTS can still dream about qualifying for Europe.
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