Overview
The UEFA Champions League is Europe's premier club competition and the most prestigious annual tournament in world club football. It brings together the best teams from every UEFA member federation in a season-long knockout that culminates in a single-match final held at a neutral venue each June. Since 2024-25 the competition has run under an expanded 36-team league phase format, replacing the traditional group stage and producing more high-profile fixtures than ever before.
This season
The 2025-26 Champions League continues the second season of the league-phase model: 36 clubs, each playing eight fixtures against eight different opponents drawn from four seeded pots. The top eight teams progress directly to the Round of 16 while sides ranked 9-24 enter a two-legged knockout play-off. Reigning European champions continue to face a stacked field featuring Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter, with the Final scheduled for 30 May 2026 at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.
Competition format
36 clubs contest an eight-match league phase — no return fixtures. The top eight sides in the single table advance straight to the Round of 16. Teams finishing 9th to 24th play a two-legged knockout round play-off in February; sides finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated altogether, with no drop to the Europa League. From the Round of 16 onwards the competition reverts to a traditional two-legged knockout format up to the Final, which is a single match at a pre-selected neutral venue.
Qualification, promotion & relegation
The Champions League has no promotion/relegation of its own. Entry is decided by domestic league finishing positions — the exact allocation per country is set by UEFA's five-year association coefficient. Domestic champions of the lowest-ranked federations enter at early qualifying rounds; top-ranked leagues send up to four automatic entrants, with a possible fifth place through UEFA's performance-based coefficient rankings introduced in 2024.
Key clubs
- **Real Madrid** — Record 15-time European champions and the tournament's benchmark club.
- **Manchester City** — 2023 treble winners under Pep Guardiola, chasing sustained European hegemony.
- **Bayern Munich** — Six-time winners and Germany's ever-present standard-bearer.
- **Paris Saint-Germain** — French champions building a new post-Mbappé identity under Luis Enrique.
- **Inter Milan** — 2023 and 2025 finalists, tactical exemplar of Simone Inzaghi's 3-5-2.
History
The tournament was launched in 1955 as the European Cup, originally a straight knockout between national champions. Real Madrid won the first five editions and remain the competition's dominant force with 15 titles. The 1992-93 rebrand to UEFA Champions League introduced a group stage and opened entry to non-champions from the biggest leagues — a change that accelerated the sport's commercial expansion. The 2024 league-phase reform was the most significant format change since 1992 and reflects UEFA's response to sustained pressure from Europe's biggest clubs.
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Records and milestones
Real Madrid have won the European Cup / Champions League 15 times — more than double any other club. AC Milan (7), Liverpool (6), Bayern Munich (6) and Barcelona (5) round out the top of the honours list. No English club has ever won it four seasons in a row; Real Madrid have done it three times.
Cristiano Ronaldo's 141 goals lead the all-time scoring list, with Lionel Messi second on 129. Ronaldo also holds the single-season record with 17 goals in 2013-14. Xavi's 151 appearances in a single competition is the highest of any player in the group-stage era.
How the new league phase works
The 2024-25 reformat replaced the old 32-team, eight-group structure with a 36-team single-table league phase. Each club plays eight matches — four home, four away — against opponents drawn from four seeding pots, meaning no team plays the same opponent twice.
After eight rounds, the top eight go straight to the round of 16. Teams ranked 9-24 enter a two-legged knockout play-off to fill the remaining eight round-of-16 places. Teams ranked 25-36 are eliminated with no European continuation, sharpening the stakes for every league-phase match.
How to watch worldwide
TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video split the U.K. rights, with the final on Amazon. Paramount+ holds the U.S. rights through 2030. In most European territories DAZN and beIN Sports are the primary rights holders. Every match streams live in every major market, with a legal option in almost every country.
Our [year two of the Champions League league phase](/news/champions-league-league-phase-year-two) piece covers what the data shows about how the format has actually changed match dynamics.
Frequently asked questions
- How does the new Champions League league phase work?
- 36 clubs each play eight matches against eight different opponents drawn from four pots. The top eight in the combined table advance straight to the Round of 16.
- Do losing teams drop into the Europa League?
- No. Under the new format, teams finishing 25th to 36th in the league phase are eliminated from European competition for the rest of the season.
- Who has won the most Champions League titles?
- Real Madrid, with 15 titles — nearly double the next most successful club (AC Milan on seven).
- When is the 2026 Champions League Final?
- Saturday 30 May 2026 at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary.
- How many Champions League titles have Real Madrid won?
- Fifteen — the most of any club and more than the combined totals of the next two most successful clubs, AC Milan and Liverpool.
- What happens to teams that finish 25th to 36th in the league phase?
- They are eliminated from all UEFA competition for that season, with no drop into the Europa League — a change from the old group-stage format.