Man United and Newcastle’s European exits could be costly for the Premier League

Ryan Grace

Both English sides missed out on the opportunity to join Arsenal and Manchester City in the Last 16.

Manchester United and Newcastle both lost at home by a one goal margin this week to crash out of the Champions League.

United crashed out of the competition with their worst Champions League campaign in the club’s history.

Their 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night left them bottom of their group on four points after six games, and no less than 15 goals conceded.

Newcastle’s demise is a bit more forgivable.

They finished bottom of the ‘Group of Death’ with three teams (Dortmund, AC Milan, and PSG) who all have much more experience in Europe’s elite tournament.

But whatever way you cut it, both club’s early exit could have a huge effect on the Premier League this season…

An official Champions League matchball in the arms of Luke Shaw of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester United and FC Bayern Munchen (Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)

Premier League could suffer because of European performances

It’s all got to do with UEFA’s coefficient table.

From the 2024/25 season, the format of the Champions League will change to include an extra four clubs, taking the total number of teams competing to 36.

In preparation for this, UEFA will award two of the extra four places to the countries who have collectively performed best in Europe during the previous season.

In a nutshell, every English club’s performance in Europe this season counts towards the fifth Premier League spot becoming a Champions League place.

Newcastle player Miguel Almiron reacts dejectedly after the UEFA Champions League match between Newcastle United FC and AC Milan (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

England falling behind in the coefficient table

Points are awarded for team’s performances in the group stages and knockout stages of UEFA’s European compeitions.

So, Manchester City and Arsenal topping their groups and progressing deep into the competition would go in favour of the Premier League.

Newcastle and Manchester United finishing bottom of their respective groups goes against it.

At the time of writing, England are now third in the table behind Germany and Italy with Spain just behind.

The likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham, and ironically Manchester United and Newcastle will all be hoping the English teams left in Europe can pick up the slack in the months to come.

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