Going into the final weekend of the 2025/26 Premier League season, Chelsea can no longer qualify for the Champions League, in an enormous blow for everyone involved at Stamford Bridge
It was confirmed earlier this week that Chelsea will not be involved in next season’s Champions League after a thoroughly disappointing 2025/26 campaign for the Blues.
Two managerial changes, players speaking about their discontent, protests against the owners – you name it, it has probably happened at Stamford Bridge in what has been a chaotic season. Such chaos means Chelsea will not be playing in Europe’s elite club competition next term, but qualifying for a continental tournament is still on the cards for the Blues.
It might be Europa League, it might be the Conference League. We will know more after Sunday’s final day of the Premier League season. One thing is for sure, though, and that’s Chelsea missing out on a big sum of money by missing out on the Champions League.
Each club that qualifies for the Champions League league phase receives an estimated £16.1million. A stark contrast when compared to what a club earns from qualifying for the Europa League league phase (£3.7m). As for the Conference League, each side will get £2.6m for reaching the league phase of the competition.
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What do Chelsea need to do to qualify for Europa League?
Chelsea’s highest possible finish in the league table is now seventh. Thanks to Aston Villa triumphing on Wednesday evening in the Europa League final, a seventh-place finish is now enough for the Blues to qualify for next season’s Europa League.
However, Chelsea are relying on Brighton dropping points at home to Manchester United in order for that to become a reality. If the Seagulls do not beat United down on the south coast, and Chelsea are to win against Sunderland in the north-east, then a top-seven finish should be theirs.
Though, if Brighton are to triumph over Man United on Sunday, the Seagulls will finish above Chelsea. If Chelsea draw at the Stadium of Light and Brighton lose by a number of goals against United, then seventh is a likely finish for the Blues.
There is the small threat of Brentford, though. The Bees are currently level on points with Chelsea but have a worse goal difference (by four). If Brentford were to go to Anfield and secure all three points, and did what they needed to do in terms of the goal difference, then they would finish above the Blues in the final standings.
If Chelsea lose, and results go against them elsewhere, the Blues could finish the season in 13th place. That, however, is very unlikely given the huge goal difference swing required.
Impact on Chelsea’s transfer window
Missing out on the Champions League will not only have financial complications for the Blues, but it could also prove significant when going head-to-head with other clubs for new signings this summer. For example, if Chelsea were to be battling it out with a Champions League-qualified club for a signature in the coming months, the lure of playing amongst Europe’s elite could prove pivotal.
There has also been rumblings of discontent from a few players, namely Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella, over the direction of the club. Hopefully, Chelsea’s appointment of Xabi Alonso at the weekend, with the Spaniard set to take over on July 1, will be enough to appease the frustrated players.
