Last updated on January 12th, 2023
There are quite a few football competitions that are rather popular in the world.
2 of the more common ones you may have heard of include the Premier League and the Champions League.
So what are these competitions and how do they differ?
Here’s what you need to know:
Contents
The difference between Premier League and Champions League
The Premier League includes the top 20 teams in English football, while the Champions League involves the top 32 clubs from the various European leagues. The format of the Premier League is a double round-robin competition, while the Champions League has a group stage and a knockout round, before ending in the Champions League final.
Here is an in-depth comparison between these 2 competitions:
Number of teams involved
Meanwhile, the Champions League contains the top 32 teams in European football.
However, this only measures the number of teams in the main competition. There will be quite a few teams that were involved in the qualifying rounds which do not make the cut.
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Origin of teams
The Premier League only contains teams that are from England. These are the top 20 teams in the entire English football system.
However, due to historical reasons, it may be possible that some Welsh teams can play in the Premier League too!
Meanwhile, the Champions League consists of the top teams that come from the different UEFA countries. Currently, there are 55 member countries that are in UEFA.
To qualify for the UEFA Champions League, your team has to originate from a member country of UEFA. Otherwise, you will have to play in the continental competition where your country is from.
This gives a wide variety of teams that feature in the Champions League. One such team is FC Sheriff Tiraspol, which originates from Moldova.
This club gained prominence in the world after beating Real Madrid at home!
Frequency and duration of competition
Both competitions occur on a yearly basis, as part of the club football calendar.
The Champions League usually runs the span of around 11 months, usually between June to May. This is because each group stage matchday is played every alternate week.
Due to the congested fixture schedule for European clubs, each matchday is usually a few weeks apart.
The Champions League final is usually played after the end of all the European leagues.
In this way, the Champions League is like a curtain closer for the entire year’s football season.
Meanwhile, the Premier League starts in August and ends in May. It is slightly shorter compared to the Champions League.
The Premier League matches are played almost every week, apart from international friendlies and weekends reserved for cup competitions.
For the Champions League, the matches are played during the midweek, and the matches are not usually played consecutively. This could be why the duration of the Champions League takes one extra month compared to the Premier League.
Format of competition
The Premier League follows a double round-robin league format. Each team will play against the other 19 clubs in the league.
For the Champions League, it contains a group stage, and then a knockout round.
The top 2 teams from each group will progress onto the knockout round of the Champions League.
If you’re wondering what happens if the top teams have the same points in the group stages, you can check out this article to find out more.
The knockout round is similar to most cup competitions, such as the FA Cup and the Copa del Rey.
The Champions League contains 2 legs for each knockout round. This means that the teams will play both at home and away.
This is because the knockout rounds of the Champions League are played at the home stadium of both clubs. This ensures that there is no ‘unfair’ advantage of only one team playing in their home ground.
In this way, there is an equal chance for both teams to perform well in front of their fans!
Number of matches
For the Champions League, the number of matches you play depends on how far you go into the competition.
Here are the number of matches you’ll play in total if you reach the final from the Group Stages:
| Round | Number of Matches |
|---|---|
| Group Stages | 6 |
| Round of 16 | 2 |
| Quarter Finals | 2 |
| Semi Finals | 2 |
| Final | 1 |
As such, the maximum number of matches that you can play is 13. If your team gets knocked out in the earlier stages, they will play fewer matches.
Squad size
For the Champions League, the squad size is similar.
The first list (List A) has a maximum of 25 players, where 8 of them have to be homegrown players. Meanwhile, the second list (List B) consists of players who are born on or after 1 Jan 1995 as well as other requirements.
There can be an unlimited number of players who are registered on List B.
Qualification for competition
To qualify to be in the Premier League, you will need to be in the top 20 football teams in the English football pyramid. If you are starting at the bottom of the pyramid, you will need to get promoted to the different tiers, and ultimately reach the Premier League.
One of the most gruelling competitions is the EFL Championship, which is the second tier of English football. There are 24 teams that are competing for 3 spots in the Premier League.
The teams that are in 3rd to 6th place will compete in the Championship playoffs. This is one of the most intense competitions, especially since there is a Premier League spot at stake!
For the Champions League, there are teams that automatically qualify for the tournament. This can be based either on their league position, or their performance in the UEFA competitions.
If you win either the Champions League or the Europa League, your team will automatically qualify for the tournament.
Loan player rules
One of the more notable ones was when Philippe Coutinho played for Bayern Munich, against his parent club (Barcelona).
He came off the bench to score 2 goals and produce 1 assist against Barcelona!
You can read more about the loan players rules in the different leagues with my guide.
Rewards for winning the competition
Here are the rewards you’ll receive when you win either competition:
| Premier League | Champions League | |
|---|---|---|
| Prize Money | Higher | Lower |
| Qualification for next season’s Champions League | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification for Super Cup | Community Shield | UEFA Super Cup |
When comparing the 2020/21 prize money that the winners received in the Premier League and the Champions League, the Premier League winners received much more (£153.9 million vs £16 million).
This could probably be due to the huge amount of TV money that the Premier League generates.
Furthermore, the winners of both the Premier League and the Champions League will be guaranteed automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League group stages.
In terms of the Super Cup competitions that they play, the Premier League winners will play against the FA Cup winners in the FA Community Shield.
Meanwhile, the Champions League winners will play against the Europa League winners in the UEFA Super Cup.
Verdict
Here is a summary of the comparison between these 2 competitions:
| Premier League | Champions League | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of teams | 20 | 32 |
| Origin of teams | England | Europe |
| Frequency | Annually | Annually |
| Duration | 10 months | 11 months |
| Format | Double round-robin | Group stage + knockout rounds |
| Number of matches | 38 | Maximum of 13 |
| Squad size | 25 (17 homegrown) | 25 (17 homegrown) |
| Qualification | Top 20 teams in England | League position and Champions League / Europa League winners |
| Loan player rules | Cannot play against parent club | Can play against parent club |
| Prize Money | Higher | Lower |
| Qualification for next season’s Champions League | Yes | Yes |
| Qualification for Super Cup | Community Shield | UEFA Super Cup |
Is the Premier League or Champions League more prestigious?
The Premier League is one of the most popular football leagues in the world, although it has stiff competition from the other top European leagues. Meanwhile, Europe is known to be the best football continent in the world, hence winning the Champions League may be seen as more prestigious.
The Premier League is one of the top leagues in the world, and many players would dream of winning it. However, when compared to the Champions League, I’m sure that most players would rather win the Champions League.
The Champions League has much higher quality teams that compete against each other. This makes the matches much more exciting with many top players playing against each other.
In fact, you may even consider the Champions League to be on the same level of prestige as the World Cup!
That being said, both competitions have their own level of prestige, and it really depends on your own opinion regarding this.
Has any team won Premier League and Champions League in the same season?
Currently, only Manchester United has won both the Premier League and the Champions League within the same season on two occasions: the 1998/99 season and the 2007/08 season.
| Year | Premier League and Champions League Winners |
|---|---|
| 1998/99 | Manchester United |
| 2007/08 | Manchester United |
Not many teams have been able to achieve this feat so far!
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Conclusion
The Premier League and the Champions League are 2 of the top footballing competitions in the European football season.
While the Premier League is one of the more popular leagues, the Champions League may be considered as a much tougher competition due to the quality of all the teams!
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