UEFA Champions League 2026/27

The UEFA Champions League sits at the pinnacle of the European club football pyramid. It is the premier competition for clubs on the continent, organized by UEFA. The tournament was originally conceived to identify the best club team in Europe and carries a prestige unmatched by its domestic or continental counterparts.

The competition underwent a significant structural overhaul in the 2024–25 season. It moved away from the traditional group stage format to a 36-team league phase, often referred to as the "Swiss model". Under this system, each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents. The top eight teams advance directly to the Round of 16, while those finishing ninth to twenty-fourth enter a two-legged knockout play-off for the remaining spots. Teams eliminated in the lower positions of the league phase are dropped from European competition entirely, severing the historical link to the Europa League for most sides.

Qualification is determined by UEFA association coefficients. The top five leagues provide four direct spots each. The winners of the previous season's Champions League and Europa League also secure direct entry. Additional places are filled through qualifying rounds. The competition is distinct from the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League in terms of prestige, revenue, and qualification criteria. The prize pool is significantly larger, with the 2025–26 total purse exceeding €2.4 billion. This financial distribution includes a "value pillar" based on club brand and media market, which is not present in the lower-tier European competitions.

Real Madrid holds the record for the most titles with fifteen. AC Milan follows with seven wins, while Liverpool and Bayern Munich have each secured six. Barcelona has won the competition five times. The tournament attracts the highest global viewership and financial stakes among club football events.