Twenty-nine clubs have already booked their places in the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League league phase, with the final seven spots to be decided in qualifying action next week. A total of 36 teams will contest the league phase.

How qualification works

The majority of league-phase berths are allocated automatically to the highest-finishing clubs in Europe's top-ranked domestic competitions. Teams from lower-ranked nations must fight through up to four rounds of qualifying. Five of the seven remaining spots are reserved for the champions path — league winners from smaller football nations — while the other two go to league-path qualifiers.

England and Spain each received one Elite Performance Spot (EPS) this season, rewarding their clubs' collective strength in UEFA competitions. That gave both nations five representatives in the league phase, one more than their standard allocation.

The big five leagues

Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Aston Villa qualified via the Premier League's top-five finish, while Liverpool earned England's EPS place. In Spain, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal, and Atletico Madrid qualified directly, with Real Betis claiming the EPS berth.

Germany's four slots go to Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Stuttgart. Italy are represented by Inter Milan, Napoli, Roma, and Como — the latter earning a historic first appearance at this level.

France contribute three automatic places. Lens and Lille secured the second and third spots in Ligue 1. Paris St-Germain won the Ligue 1 title but took the berth reserved for the defending Champions League holders rather than a standard domestic slot.

The replacement spots

Because Paris St-Germain, as Champions League holders, occupied the title-holders' place rather than their Ligue 1 spot, UEFA awarded that vacant domestic slot to Shakhtar Donetsk — winners of the Ukrainian top-flight — on the basis of club coefficient rankings.

Aston Villa, this season's Europa League winners, had already qualified for the Champions League by finishing inside the Premier League's top five. Their Europa League title-holder's place was therefore passed to Sporting, who move up from the league-path qualifying round directly into the league phase.

Other confirmed qualifiers

PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord represent the Netherlands. Porto carry the flag for Portugal, Club Brugge for Belgium, Slavia Prague for the Czech Republic, and Galatasaray for Turkey.

Seven places still to be decided

The remaining spots will be filled by the winners of five champions-path ties and two league-path ties. Those play-offs are: Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens, Celtic vs LASK, Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking, Slovan Bratislava vs Celje, and Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs Sabah (champions path); plus Fenerbahce vs Lyon and NEC Nijmegen vs Bodo/Glimt (league path).

Full list of confirmed 2026-27 Champions League teams

Premier League: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool (EPS).

Serie A: Inter Milan, Napoli, Roma, Como.

La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis (EPS).

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Stuttgart.

Ligue 1: Paris St-Germain, Lens, Lille.

Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord.

Liga Portugal: Porto.

Belgian Pro League: Club Brugge.

Czech First League: Slavia Prague.

Super Lig: Galatasaray.

Replacement spots: Shakhtar Donetsk (Champions League title-holder replacement), Sporting (Europa League title-holder replacement).