It is looking like Newcastle United is almost certain to miss out on Champions League football next season.
It’s still mathematically possible that Newcastle could finish high enough to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition, but it would need a lot of things to go our way between now and the end of the season.
There’s also a scenario where Newcastle could finish as low as seventh and still pick up a spot in the Champions League, but that would require Liverpool and Aston Villa to win their respective European competitions and finish in the top five, so let’s not hold our breath on that one either.
If Newcastle does manage to secure European football next season, it’s likely going to be in the Europa League or, more likely, the Europa Conference League, and after last week’s defeat to Sunderland, even they might feel out of reach right now.
The Magpies really struggled with the extra fixtures again this season, and a year without European football might be a bit of a blessing in terms of keeping our players fit, but it will massively affect the calibre of players we can attract in the summer, the players we have who we can keep hold of, and the amount of money we can spend to replace them.
Newcastle may struggle with the loss of revenue next season
Football finance expert Stefan Borson has told TalkSPORT that he feels that out of Newcastle, Manchester United and Chelsea, it’s the Magpies who would feel it the most were they to miss out on qualifying for the Champions League.
“Newcastle would definitely feel it the most, just because the base they’re coming off is that much smaller. They probably did something like £55 million of UEFA money, so you’re talking about £70m-£75 million out of revenue out of say, £300 million this season.”
Borson went on to say that Chelsea would miss out on approximately £90 million if they were to miss out because they get an extra payment that Newcastle aren’t eligible for.
💷 “Newcastle would definitely feel it the most!”
👹 “It will be painful for Manchester United!”
Stefan Borson reveals the financial cost of missing out on the Champions League! pic.twitter.com/hXKwQX9ugL
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 30, 2026
The financial implications of missing out on CL qualification are huge
Not that we needed any more confirmation just how much of an uphill battle Newcastle face to get anywhere near close to parity with the ‘Big Six’, the fact that the bigger sides get more revenue from UEFA is just another bullet point to add to the list.
It does feel like Champions League qualification for Newcastle is a very sharp double-edged sword. On the one hand, we need constant qualification to be able to convince top players that they’d be well served coming here.
On the flip side, though, we’re simply not ready yet. We are good enough to get into the competition, but our squad isn’t strong enough for us to be successful when competing on four fronts.
The only way we can address that is to bring in Champions League-quality players, but without Champions League qualification, how can we attract them? This paradox keeps me up at night.
