Barcelona will again be in Pot 1 for the UEFA Champions League draw in the 2025/26 season. This is the second year in a row for them, and it happened because Roma missed out on qualification on the final day. Last year, Roma would have reached the Champions League if Atalanta had ended the season in fifth place in Serie A.

However, Atalanta finished in the top four, taking a Champions League spot away from Roma. This year, it was Juventus who finished fourth, which again kept Roma out of the Champions League. They will now play in the Europa League instead.

The top-seeded teams in Pot 1 include the Champions League winners and the eight best-performing clubs in Europe over the last five years. Roma are ranked ninth in those rankings, just ahead of Barcelona, who are in tenth place. Since Roma did not qualify, Barcelona took their place in Pot 1.

Chelsea and Manchester City will also be in Pot 1 for this season’s draw. It’s important to note that even though these teams are in Pot 1, they can still face each other in the group stage.

The Champions League group stage draw will take place on Thursday, August 28.

The full list of teams in Pot 1 includes Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Internazionale, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona. In Pot 2, the confirmed teams are Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, and Eintracht Frankfurt. Some teams still need to qualify to secure their spots in Pot 2, including Benfica, Club Brugge, Rangers, and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Pots 3 and 4 are not final yet because they depend on which clubs make it through the qualifying rounds.

However, it is likely that teams such as Ajax Amsterdam, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, and Marseille will be in Pot 3. Meanwhile, Celtic, AS Monaco, Athletic Club, and Newcastle United are expected to be placed in Pot 4.