The2024–25 UEFA Champions League was the 70th season of Europe's premier clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA, and the 33rd season since it was rebranded from theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup to theUEFA Champions League.[3] This was the first season under a new format, which had 36 participating teams that played eight games each against different opponents in a league phase, all the teams being ranked in a joint group.[4][5] This increased the total number of matches played in the competition from 125 to 189 (excluding qualifying rounds).
A total of 81 teams from 53 of the 55UEFA member associations participated in the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League (the exceptions beingLiechtenstein, which did not organise a domestic league, andRussia, which was suspended). The association ranking based on theUEFA association coefficients was used to determine the number of participating teams for each association:[7]
The two associations who obtained the mostcoefficient points in the 2023–24 season each had one European Performance Spot into the league phase. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League could not fill the European Performance Spots.
For the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, the associations were allocated places according to their 2023UEFA association coefficients, which took into account their performance in European competitions from 2018–19 to 2022–23.[8] The table reflects Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA.
Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations could have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:
(EPS) – European Performance Spot, the additional berths for associations who finished in the top two of the2023–24 association coefficients
(TH) – Additional berth for UEFA Champions League title holders
(EL) – Additional berth for UEFA Europa League title holders
Association ranking for 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
28 champions from associations 26–28 and 30–55 (except Liechtenstein)[Note LIE]
Second qualifying round (28 teams)
Champions Path (24 teams)
8 champions from associations 15–18 (except Russia)[Note RUS] and 20–24
2 champions from associations 25 and 29 as the teams with highest club coefficients, originally from the first qualifying round
14 winners from the first qualifying round
League Path (4 teams)
4 runners-up from associations 11–14
Third qualifying round (20 teams)
Champions Path (12 teams)
12 winners from the second qualifying round (Champions Path)
League Path (8 teams)
2 runners-up from associations 8–9
1 third-placed team from association 6
1 fourth-placed team from association 5
2 runners-up from associations 10 and 15 as the teams with highest club coefficients, originally from the second qualifying round League Path
2 winners from the second qualifying round (League Path)
Play-off round (14 teams)
Champions Path (10 teams)
3 champions from associations 11–13
1 champion from association 19 as the team with highest club coefficient, originally from the second qualifying round Champions Path
6 winners from the third qualifying round (Champions Path)
League Path (4 teams)
4 winners from the third qualifying round (League Path)
League phase (36 teams)
10 champions from associations 1–10
6 runners-up from associations 1–6
5 third-placed teams from associations 1–5
4 fourth-placed teams from associations 1–4
1 champion from association 14 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the play-off round of the Champions Path
1 runner-up from association 7 as the team with the highest club coefficient, originally from the third qualifying round of the League Path
2 associations (Italy and Germany) with the highest coefficients from the previous season each received an extra berth
5 winners from the play-off round (Champions Path)
2 winners from the play-off round (League Path)
Knockout phase play-offs (16 teams)
16 teams ranked 9–24 from the league phase
Round of 16 (16 teams)
8 teams ranked 1–8 from the league phase
8 winners from the knockout phase play-offs
The information here reflects the suspension of Russia in European football, and so the following changes to the default access list were made:
The champions of associations 23 (Sweden) and 24 (Poland) will enter the second qualifying round instead of the first qualifying round (Champions Path).
As theChampions League title holders (Real Madrid) qualified via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list were made:
Shakhtar Donetsk as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the Champions Path of the qualifying phase or play-off round, will enter the league phase instead of the Champions Path play-off round.
Dinamo Zagreb, as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the Champions Path second qualifying round, will enter the Champions Path play-off round.
Ferencváros andQarabağ, as the two clubs with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the Champions Path first qualifying round, will enter the Champions Path second qualifying round.
As theEuropa League title holders (Atalanta) qualified via their domestic league's standard berth allocation, the following changes to the default access list were made:
Benfica, as the club with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the League Path third qualifying round, will enter the league phase instead of the League Path third qualifying round.
Slavia Prague andRed Bull Salzburg, as the two clubs with the highest club coefficient that would otherwise have entered the League Path second qualifying round, will enter the third qualifying round.
Russia (RUS): On 28 February 2022, Russian football clubs and national teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions due to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[9] The tables reflect Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA competitions.[10]
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[11] Compared to past seasons, one "exclusive week" was introduced in which Thursday was also a matchday.[4][12][13] All matches in other weeks were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays apart from the final.
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 18 June 2024.The first legs were played on 9 and 10 July, and the second legs were played on 16 and 17 July 2024.
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 19 June 2024.The first legs were played on 23 and 24 July, and the second legs were played on 30 and 31 July 2024.
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 22 July 2024.The first legs were played on 6 and 7 August, and the second legs were played on 13 August 2024.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round of their respective paths. The Champions Path losers were transferred to theEuropa League play-off round, while the League Path losers were transferred to theEuropa League league phase.
The draw for the play-off round was held on 5 August 2024.The first legs were played on 20 and 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2024.
Location of teams of the2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase
The league phase draw for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League took place at theGrimaldi Forum inMonaco on 29 August 2024, 18:00CEST.[14][15] The 36 teams were divided into four pots of nine teams each based on theirUEFA club coefficient, except for the Champions League title holders, who were automatically placed as the top seed in pot 1.
The 36 teams were manually drawn and then, the automated software digitally drew their eight different opponents at random, determining which of their matches were at home and which ones away. Each team faced two opponents from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. Teams could not face opponents from their own association, and could only be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same association.[16]
The top eight ranked teams received a bye to the round of 16. The teams ranked from 9th to 24th contested the knockout phase play-offs, with the teams ranked from 9th to 16th seeded for the draw. Teams ranked from 25th to 36th were eliminated from all competitions, with no access to the2024–25 UEFA Europa League.
In theknockout phase, teams played against each other overtwo legs on a home-and-away basis, except for the one-match final. The bracket structure for the knockout phase was partially fixed in advance usingseeding, with teams' positions in the bracket determined by the final standings in the league phase.In the knockout phase, there was no country protection, with teams from the same association able to face each other in any round. Teams could also face opponents they played during the league phase.
The mechanism of the draws for each round was as follows:[7]
In the draw for the knockout phase play-offs, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 9–16 were seeded, and the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 17–24 were unseeded. The draw was split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams hosted the second leg.
In the draw for the round of 16, the eight teams finishing the league phase in positions 1–8 were seeded, and the eight winners of the knockout phase play-offs were unseeded. Again, the draw was split into four sections based on the predetermined bracket, with the seeded teams in each section drawn against one of their two possible unseeded opponents. The seeded teams hosted the second leg.
In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, the exact match pairings were predetermined based on the tournament bracket. A draw was conducted only to determine which team plays the first leg at home. The winner of semi-final 1 was designated as the "home" team for the final (for administrative purposes as it was played at a neutral venue).
The draw for the knockout phase play-offs was held on 31 January 2025, 12:00CET.[20][21]The first legs were played on 11 and 12 February, and the second legs were played on 18 and 19 February 2025.
The draw for the round of 16 was held on 21 February 2025, 12:00CET.[22]The first legs were played on 4 and 5 March, and the second legs were played on 11 and 12 March 2025.
In theAtlético Madrid vReal Madrid second leg,Julián Alvarez's penalty shoot-out goal was controversially ruled a miss byVAR due to an accidental double touch as he slipped while kicking.[23]IFAB clarified in June 2025 that in such cases the kick should be retaken.[24]
The draw for the order of the quarter-final legs was held on 21 February 2025, 12:00CET, after the round of 16 draw.[22]The first legs were played on 8 and 9 April, and the second legs were played on 15 and 16 April 2025.
The draw for the order of the semi-final legs was held on 21 February 2025, 12:00CET, after the round of 16 and quarter-final draws.[22]The first legs were played on 29 and 30 April, and the second legs were played on 6 and 7 May 2025.
The final was played on 31 May 2025 at theAllianz Arena inMunich. The winner of semi-final 1 was designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes.
Paris Saint-Germain forwardOusmane Dembélé (left) was named the Champions League Player of the Season, while his teammate forwardDésiré Doué (right) was named the Young Player of the Season.
The UEFA technical study group selected the following players as the team of the tournament.[27]