The season
The 2025/26 competition used the format we call “the league phase”. One table of thirty-six; each club plays eight different opponents. 36 clubs from 16 countries took part, and Paris Saint-Germain won it, beating Arsenal in the final.
By our squad ratings, Liverpool had the strongest squad in the field, with a best eleven averaging 88. Paris Saint-Germain were the second strongest squad: among the favourites, if not the clear one. Their opponents in the final, Arsenal, rated 87.
England sent the most clubs, 6. 8 of the 16 nations in the field had a single representative.
The highest-rated player in the competition, by our estimates, was K. Mbappé of Real Madrid, a ST rated 92.
Thirty-six clubs play eight different opponents each, four at home and four away, in a single league table. The top eight go straight to the round of sixteen, the clubs from ninth to twenty-fourth play a two-legged knockout play-off, and the bottom twelve are out. There was no away-goals rule: ties level on aggregate went to extra time and penalties.
The strongest squads
Our rating for each club is the average of its best eleven players that season, on the scale the game uses.
- 1LiverpoolEngland88
- 2Paris Saint-GermainFrance88
- 3Real MadridSpain88
- 4ArsenalEngland87
- 5FC BarcelonaSpain87
- 6FC Bayern MunichGermany87
- 7Manchester CityEngland87
- 8Inter MilanItaly86
The best players in the field
- 1K. MbappéReal Madrid · ST92
- 2M. SalahLiverpool · RM92
- 3 RodriManchester City · CDM91
- 4E. HaalandManchester City · ST91
- 5J. BellinghamReal Madrid · CAM91
- 6O. DembéléParis Saint-Germain · ST91
- 7V. van DijkLiverpool · CB91
- 8 PedriFC Barcelona · CM90
- 9 RaphinhaFC Barcelona · LM90
- 10 VitinhaParis Saint-Germain · CM90
The field
36 clubs took part, by country:
- England: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur
- Spain: Athletic Bilbao, Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal
- Germany: Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern Munich
- Italy: Atalanta BC, Inter Milan, Juventus, SSC Napoli
- France: AS Monaco, Olympique de Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain
- Belgium: Club Brugge, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise
- Netherlands: AFC Ajax, PSV Eindhoven
- Portugal: SL Benfica, Sporting CP
- Azerbaijan: Qarabağ
- Cyprus: Pafos
- Czech Republic: SK Slavia Prague
- Denmark: FC Copenhagen
- Greece: Olympiacos
- Kazakhstan: FC Kairat
- Norway: FK Bodø/Glimt
- Turkey: Galatasaray
Replay 2025/26 in Magic Nights
In Magic Nights you can take charge of any of these 36 clubs, with the squad they had that season, and play the competition in this exact format. Win it with the favourites, or try the hardest job in the game: lifting the trophy with a club from the bottom half of the field.