Champions League Power Rankings (2024/25)

The 2024/25 Champions League is almost upon us. Europe’s elite competition will take a completely different look from previous years as the tournament has been formatted in a new and inventive way.

In previous decades, 32 teams would battle to be seen as the best team in Europe, but that number has now increased to 36. The group stages have also been revamped as every club competes in the same group, with each playing eight fixtures rather than six.

Despite these changes, the usual suspects are likely to be in the mix to lift the iconic trophy at the end of the season. That said, below are each of the 36 clubs in this term’s competition ranked based on how likely they are to win the Champions League.

Ranking Factors

While a ball is yet to be kicked in the continental tournament, the below factors have been taken into consideration when ranking each team’s chances of tasting success in Europe:

• European History – Pedigree in the biggest continental competition often goes in the favour of the biggest clubs, with the know-how needed to lift big trophies
• Performances in the 2023/24 Season – One of the biggest indicators of who will make it to the business end of the competition is the performance levels from the past 12 months
• Current League Form (2024/25) – With a handful of domestic fixtures in the bank, some teams have put themselves in the frame while others have seen their potential ranking take a hit
• Quality of Manager and Players – The best teams with the most inventive bosses are often the ones to go furthest in any tournament

36-31

The clubs not expected to pose a threat

In every campaign, there are always teams that feel like they are simply making up the numbers with little hope of achieving success. This is the unfortunate fate that falls upon these six sides.

BSC Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade often participate in the group stages and can sometimes give the big boys of Europe a bloody nose, but they never make it past the initial stage. As a result, they’re among the least likely challengers.

Stade Brest, Dinamo Zagreb, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava also don’t have many expectations placed upon them. To be rubbing shoulders with some of the clubs in question is deemed enough of a success for some of these sides to be happy with their Champions League season.

30-21

Bologna and Girona feature in the competition for the first time

While still extremely unlikely to be in the mix in the latter stages of the tournament, these clubs are slightly more probable outside shouts than those that have gone before them. Lille secured their place at the top table in European football by defeating Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the qualifying round. Bruno Genesio’s men are alongside Stuttgart and Feyenoord as the clubs just missing out on the top 20.

Bologna are set to take part in the competition for the first time in the club’s history after an incredible campaign, but they are deemed almost as likely to taste glory as Scottish champions Celtic. Girona had a similar fairytale story in La Liga, but it would be on Leicester City 2015/16 levels of extraordinary if the minnows were to lift the trophy.

Pep Lijnders has won the Champions League from the dugout as Jurgen Klopp’s assistant at Liverpool, but the Dutchman will get his first try at steering his own team into the competition with RB Salzburg. Despite signing a couple of youngsters from his former club, he’s not expected to make a significant wave in the tournament.

Shakhtar Donetsk, Sturm Graz and Club Brugge are also expected to bow out of the Champions League in the early stages. If any of these sides were to make the knockout rounds, it would be seen as a huge achievement.

20-11

Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen have an outside chance

Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta competed in the Europa League final in the 2023/24 campaign, but the two clubs have immediately propelled themselves into contention to at least make the last 16 of the top-tier competition in Europe. Xabi Alonso’s men went a full domestic season without tasting defeat, while Gian Piero Gasperini’s Serie A side shocked everyone as they knocked Liverpool out of the second-tier competition on their way to success.

Last season’s losing finalists, Borussia Dortmund, aren’t expected to be quite as impressive as they were last time out, but the Bundesliga club can’t be counted out completely. Historically successful European teams Aston Villa and AC Milan also make it into the top 15 as the former venture into the Champions League for the first time since the competition’s inception.

Further afield, Portuguese teams Benfica and Sporting CP are ranked as the 17th and 18th favourites to go all the way. German club RB Leipzig are becoming regulars in the knockout rounds and their 16th place ranking here holds them in good stead to continue that record. PSV Eindhoven and AS Monaco round off the top 20 as two of the less likely to pose a real threat to the competition’s favourites.

10-1

The previous two winners are the favourites

It comes as no surprise that 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid are the favourites to lift the iconic trophy once more. Los Blancos achieved glory in the most recent version of the competition under the guidance of legendary boss Carlo Ancelotti and have since added Kylian Mbappe to their ranks, perhaps the best player in the world.

The stiffest competition the Spanish giants are likely to face will come from England. Manchester City and Liverpool have lifted the European honour in the last five years and are always among the favourites to go far in the tournament. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal could be a wildcard choice despite the Gunners’ lack of Champions League success. Their pursuit of the Premier League title over the past two seasons has proven the north London outfit can compete with the best clubs around.

Among the chasing pack are Serie A champions Inter Milan and a staple of the European game, Barcelona. Juventus have made an impressive start to the new season under revolutionary boss Thiago Motta and are backed as an outside shout as a result. Paris Saint-Germain’s hopes of continental glory appear to be diminishing with the loss of key stars in recent years, while Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid are always in the mix for the latter stages at least.