How can the Bundesliga earn a fifth UEFA Champions League spot?
Two leagues in Europe can now earn an extra UEFA Champions League qualifying spot for the following season. The Bundesliga had five teams in the competition as a result in 2024/25. Could Germany repeat the feat in 2026/27?
The battle for a spot in the top four - and with it the chance to play Champions League football - is usually one of the most thrilling storylines in the course of a Bundesliga season, and this year will likely be no exception.
Although Bayern Munich are top of the table, ahead Borussia Dortmund, just nine points currently separate third-placed Hoffenheim from Union Berlin in ninth. The competition for the European places is definitely starting to heat up.
However, could it be the top five and not just the top four who make it into Europe's top club competition - as was the case in 2024/25 - for the 2026/27 campaign?
Just how can the Bundesliga claim an extra spot again?
Well, as part of its revamped format, Champions League organisers UEFA have, since 2024, awarded an extra qualification spot to the two best-performing leagues in the current season according to its own coefficient rankings. There is a complicated points system behind that, but the more wins and further a league's teams go in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, the higher that league climbs in the rankings.
The Bundesliga currently sits third in the standings, putting the league well placed at present for the extra Champions League spot. Given the current editions of the three European competitions haven't yet reached their knockout rounds, a lot can still change between now and the finals next May.
Top 10 UEFA association club coefficients for 2025/26 (as of 23 January 2026)
- England - 14.152
- Poland - 13.625
- Germany - 12.428
- Spain - 12.187
- Italy - 12.035
- Portugal - 11.600
- Cyprus - 11.406
- France - 11.000
- Greece - 10.500
- Denmark - 9.625
The Bundesliga has sent five representatives into Europe's elite club competition on a couple of previous occasions. Dortmund's run to the 2023/24 Champions League final helped the Bundesliga clinch an extra spot for being in the top two places on the UEFA Coefficient ranking, while Eintracht Frankfurt's 2021/22 Europa League victory saw them earn Champions League qualification for 2022/23 in addition to the four sides that qualified via the league.
It's worth noting, though, that the prospect of a German side lifting the Champions League each year could in fact throw up the potential for a sixth Bundesliga qualifier.
That would happen if the side in question finished fifth or lower in the league. They would qualify as holders, the top four as normal, and then the next best-placed German team as well.
However, if the side winning the Champions League finish in the top four in the league, their berth as Champions League holders will be passed to another country.
Find out how European qualifying works in more detail here
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