The UEFA Champions League is an annual football club competition played between the European national league champions and other top clubs of Europe. The final of the 2026 Champions League was played on the 30th of May 2026 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. The match was played between the French club, Paris Saint-Germain, and the English club, Arsenal. PSG won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, retaining the title they won in 2025 and becoming the second club after Real Madrid to win back-to-back titles in the Champions League era.

European Champion Clubs' CupEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup

The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League was the second season under the 36-team league phase format, in which the group stage had been removed and the 36 teams each played eight games against eight different opponents. The top eight teams in the table qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams finishing between ninth and 24th enter a knockout phase play-off round to determine the other eight places in the round of 16. This was the first season to feature six clubs from a single nation, with England earning an extra place through the UEFA coefficient ranking and Tottenham Hotspur entering as Europa League title holders.

The 36 Qualifying Teams

  1. Ajax (Netherlands)
  2. Arsenal (England)
  3. Atalanta (Italy)
  4. Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
  5. Atletico Madrid (Spain)
  6. Barcelona (Spain)
  7. Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
  8. Bayern Munich (Germany)
  9. Benfica (Portugal)
  10. Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
  11. Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
  12. Chelsea (England)
  13. Club Brugge (Belgium)
  14. Copenhagen (Denmark)
  15. Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
  16. Galatasaray (Turkey)
  17. Inter Milan (Italy)
  18. Juventus (Italy)
  19. Kairat (Kazakhstan)
  20. Liverpool (England)
  21. Manchester City (England)
  22. Marseille (France)
  23. Monaco (France)
  24. Napoli (Italy)
  25. Newcastle United (England)
  26. Olympiacos (Greece)
  27. Pafos (Cyprus)
  28. Paris Saint-Germain (France) (defending champions)
  29. PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
  30. Qarabag (Azerbaijan)
  31. Real Madrid (Spain)
  32. Slavia Prague (Czechia)
  33. Sporting CP (Portugal)
  34. Tottenham Hotspur (England)
  35. Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
  36. Villarreal (Spain)

Bodo/Glimt, Kairat, Pafos, and Union Saint-Gilloise each made their debut appearance in the league phase. Kairat, based in Almaty, became the easternmost team ever to qualify for the Champions League proper, while Bodo/Glimt, based within the Arctic Circle, became the northernmost.

League Phase Final Standings

The 36 teams were ranked on a single table after eight matches each. The top eight (highlighted positions 1-8) advanced directly to the round of 16; teams placed 9th-24th entered the knockout phase play-offs; teams placed 25th-36th were eliminated.

2025/26 UEFA Champions League – League Phase Table

Pos Team  Pld    W    D    L    GF   GA    GD Pts
1 Arsenal 8 8 0 0 23 4 +19 24
2 Bayern Munich 8 7 0 1 22 8 +14 21
3 Liverpool 8 6 0 2 20 8 +12 18
4 Tottenham Hotspur 8 5 2 1 17 7 +10 17
5 Barcelona 8 5 1 2 22 14 +8 16
6 Chelsea 8 5 1 2 17 10 +7 16
7 Sporting CP 8 5 1 2 17 11 +6 16
8 Manchester City 8 5 1 2 15 9 +6 16
9 Real Madrid 8 5 0 3 21 12 +9 15
10 Inter Milan 8 5 0 3 15 7 +8 15
11 Paris Saint-Germain 8 4 2 2 21 11 +10 14
12 Newcastle United 8 4 2 2 17 7 +10 14
13 Juventus 8 3 4 1 14 10 +4 13
14 Atletico Madrid 8 4 1 3 17 15 +2 13
15 Atalanta 8 4 1 3 10 10 0 13
16 Bayer Leverkusen 8 3 3 2 13 14 −1 12
17 Borussia Dortmund 8 3 2 3 19 17 +2 11
18 Olympiacos 8 3 2 3 10 14 −4 11
19 Club Brugge 8 3 1 4 15 17 −2 10
20 Galatasaray 8 3 1 4 9 11 −2 10
21 Monaco 8 2 4 2 8 14 −6 10
22 Qarabag 8 3 1 4 13 21 −8 10
23 Bodo/Glimt 8 2 3 3 14 15 −1 9
24 Benfica 8 3 0 5 10 12 −2 9
25 Marseille 8 3 0 5 11 14 −3 9
26 Pafos 8 2 3 3 8 11 −3 9
27 Union Saint-Gilloise 8 3 0 5 8 17 −9 9
28 PSV Eindhoven 8 2 2 4 16 16 0 8
29 Athletic Bilbao 8 2 2 4 9 14 −5 8
30 Napoli 8 2 2 4 9 15 −6 8
31 Copenhagen 8 2 2 4 12 21 −9 8
32 Ajax 8 2 0 6 8 21 −13 6
33 Eintracht Frankfurt 8 1 1 6 10 21 −11 4
34 Slavia Prague 8 0 3 5 5 19 −14 3
35 Villarreal 8 0 1 7 5 18 −13 1
36 Kairat 8 0 1 7 7 22 −15 1

Knockout Phase Play-offs

Teams finishing 9th-24th in the league phase met over two legs to determine the final eight round-of-16 places.

Team 1     Agg.  Team 2
Monaco     4–5 Paris Saint-Germain
Galatasaray     7–5 Juventus
Benfica     1–3 Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund     3–4 Atalanta
Qarabag     3–9 Newcastle United
Club Brugge     4–7 Atletico Madrid
Bodo/Glimt     5–2 Inter Milan
Olympiacos     0–2 Bayer Leverkusen

Round of 16

Team 1     Agg.                    Team 2
Paris Saint-Germain     8–2                    Chelsea
Galatasaray     1–4                    Liverpool
Real Madrid     5–1                    Manchester City
Atalanta     2–10                    Bayern Munich
Newcastle United     3–8                    Barcelona
Atletico Madrid     7–5                    Tottenham Hotspur
Bodo/Glimt     3–5                    Sporting CP
Bayer Leverkusen     1–3                    Arsenal

Quarter-finals

Team 1     Agg.                   Team 2
Paris Saint-Germain     4–0                  Liverpool
Real Madrid     4–6                  Bayern Munich
Barcelona     2–3                  Atletico Madrid
Sporting CP     0–1                  Arsenal

Semi-finals

Team 1      Agg.  Team 2
Paris Saint-Germain      6–5 Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid      1–2 Arsenal

Final

The final was played on 30 May 2026 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. Kai Havertz put Arsenal ahead inside the first six minutes, before Ousmane Dembele equalised from the penalty spot in the second half. The score stayed 1-1 through extra time, and Paris Saint-Germain won the penalty shoot-out 4-3 to retain the trophy, with Gabriel Magalhaes missing Arsenal's decisive spot kick.

               Team 1           Score                  Team 2
     Paris Saint-Germain      1–1 (4–3 pens)                   Arsenal