The pot division for the draw for the group stage of the Champions League is largely taking shape after the denouement of the European competitions. As national champion of the Netherlands, Ajax is once again assured of a ticket and will be in a much better position next season than a year ago, when the team from Amsterdam was sentenced to pot 3. And this year? If Real Madrid win the Champions League on Saturday, Ajax will end up in pot 1. If Liverpool win the final against Real, pot 2 remains for the national champion of the Netherlands.
There are 32 participants in the group stage and 4 pots: so 8 clubs per pot. Basically, pot 1 consists of the champions of the top six countries in the UEFA ranking, plus the winner of the Europa League and the winner of the Champions League. If the winner of one of those tournaments is a champion of a top six country, a spot will become available for the champion of the country in seventh place (the Netherlands): Ajax. In other words: if Real Madrid as champion of Spain also takes the Champions League on Saturday, then Ajax will move on to pot 1. That pot will in any case contain Manchester City, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Provisional Champions League pot classification
| CLUB IN POT 1 | POSTED AS | COEFFICIENT |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | No. 1 England | 125,000 |
| Real Madrid | No. 1 Spain | 122,000+ | AC Milan | No. 1 Italy | 67,000 |
| Bayern Munich | No. 1 Germany | 138,000 |
| Paris Saint Germain | No. 1 France | 112,000 |
| FC Porto | No. 1 Portugal | 80,000 |
| Liverpool/Ajax* | Winner CL/No. 1 Netherlands | 134,000+/94,000 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Europa League Winner | 61,000 |
| CLUBS IN POT 2 | POSTED AS | COEFFICIENT |
|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | No. 3 England | 123,000 |
| Barcelona | No. 2 Spain | 114,000 |
| Juventus | No. 4 Italy | 107,000 |
| Atletico Madrid | No. 2 Spain | 105,000 |
| Seville | No. 2 Spain | 105,000 |
| RB Leipzig | No. 4 Germany | 83,000 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | No. 4 England | 83,000 |
| Ajax*/Liverpool | No. 1 Netherlands/No. 2 England | 82,000/134,000+ |
| CLUBS IN POT 3 | POSTED AS | COEFFICIENT |
|---|---|---|
| Borussia Dortmund | No. 3 Germany | 78,000 |
| Red Bull Salzburg | No. 1 Austria | 71,000 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | No. 1 Ukraine | 71,000 |
| Internazionale | No. 2 Italy | 67,000 |
| Napoli | No. 3 Italy | 66,000 |
| Sporting Portugal | No. 2 Portugal | 55,500 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | No. 3 Germany | 53,000 |
| † | † | † |
| CLUBS IN POT 4 | POSTED AS | COEFFICIENT |
|---|---|---|
| Olympique Marseille | No. 2 France | 44,000 |
| Club Brugge | No. 1 Belgium | 35,500 |
| Celtic | No. 1 Scotland | 33,000 |
| † | † | † |
| † | † | † |
| † | † | † |
| † | † | † |
| † | † | † |
† Ajax will be in pot 1 if Real Madrid win the Champions League on Saturday, otherwise in pot 2.
From pot 2 onwards, the ranking is determined on the basis of the club coefficient: the higher a club is in the ranking, the higher the place in the pot classification. Ajax has worked enormously on its coefficient in recent years and with a score of 82,000 is assured of pot 2 if the Champions League is won by Liverpool on Saturday. The other seven clubs in that pot are already fixed: Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham Hotspur. If Real Madrid win the Champions League, Liverpool will enter pot 2 and Ajax will move to pot 1.
Ajax has now – unlike last year – collected just enough coefficient points for pot 2 and that cannot be separated from the double victory against Borussia Dortmund this season. BVB with a coefficient of 78,000 is exactly 4 points short that Ajax added in the mutual diptych and has to make do with a place in the third pot. Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Internazionale, Napoli, Sporting Portugal and Bayer Leverkusen are also already certain of pot 3. The coefficient of the last three clubs that are already certain, Olympique Marseille, Club Brugge and Rangers, is so low that for them a spot in the least favorable pot 4 rest.
There are still six group stage tickets to be distributed in the preliminary rounds that will be completed in the summer. If PSV, one of the participants in those preliminary rounds, advances from the third preliminary round to the coveted group stage, the Eindhoven team will certainly reach the final pot with a coefficient of 33,000. PSV competes with clubs such as Benfica, AS Monaco, Rangers, Dinamo Kyiv, FC Midtjylland and Union Saint-Gilles for one of the two tickets for non-champions. There are also four champion tickets to be earned through the qualifying round route; Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star Belgrade, Olympiacos and FC Copenhagen are among the favorites there.