Chelsea may be barred from participating in next season’s UEFA Champions League—even if they finish in the Premier League’s top five—due to UEFA regulations on multi-club ownership.

 

With three games left in the 2024/25 season, the Blues currently sit in fifth place, which, under England’s UEFA coefficient for the year, would normally secure Champions League qualification. Chelsea last appeared in the competition during the 2022/2023 campaign.

 

However, their owners, BlueCo—a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital—also control French Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, who are close to securing a European spot themselves. Strasbourg currently sit sixth in Ligue 1, just one point behind Monaco, the team holding the final Champions League qualification slot.

 

UEFA’s rules strictly prohibit clubs under the same ownership from competing in the same European tournament to avoid conflicts of interest. As a result, if both Chelsea and Strasbourg qualify for UEFA competitions—especially the Champions League—Chelsea could be disqualified unless structural changes are made.

 

According to BBC Sport, BlueCo has been in ongoing discussions with UEFA since January in an attempt to restructure their ownership in a way that would comply with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

 

Chelsea are also in the running to qualify for the Europa League by either finishing sixth or winning the Europa Conference League final, where they are set to face Real Betis.