This will get them even more upset about Newcastle United Champions League qualification – Hilarious | OneFootball

As you may have heard, Newcastle United will play Champions League football next season.

As you may have also heard, a fair few people not happy about that fact.

Newcastle United fans celebrating, as they look forward now to Champions League football in the upcoming 2025/26 season.

A deranged coalition of journalists, pundits and fans of rival clubs, declaring it is just not fair.

What is extra amusing of course, taking it to a whole other level, is that the fans of Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City, have cheered their teams on to help Newcastle United get into the Champions League.

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United team making history due to their Premier League rivals.

United becoming the very first ever beneficiaries of a Premier League club celebrating getting Champions League football due to the efforts of rival PL clubs collectively the season before in Europe.

The awarding of a bonus extra place in the Champions League due to the performances of your domestic league’s teams in Europe the year previous, Newcastle United the first ever Premier League club to benefit!

Yes, the final day drama ending with Eddie Howe’s side qualifying for the Champions League in fifth. A position that only gave Europa League previously.

For the 2024/25 Champions League competition it was clubs from the Bundesliga (Borussia Dortmund) and Serie A (Bologna) who benefited from the additional Champions League places, thanks to results in Europe in 2023/24.

Now in 2025/26 it is going to be Newcastle United and Villarreal (who finished fifth in La Liga) who will be benefiting.

The thing is, this is not the first time that Newcastle United have made Champions League history when qualifying.

When NUFC took part in the 1997/98 Champions League competition, it was after they had become the first Premier League team to benefit from the fact that the rules had changed. The second placed team in the 1996/97 PL table qualifying, as well as the title winners. All of the previous years, including when United also finished second in the Premier League, it was UEFA Cup and not Champions League you got.

Going even further back, I am guessing that it is safe to say (correct me in the comments below please, if not true) that when Newcastle United qualified in the 1967/68 season due to a tenth place finish in the English top tier, no English team had previously qualified via such a lowly league position. Certainly not previously an English club qualifying from such a lowly position and going on to WIN the Fairs Cup!

Can Newcastle United make even more Champions League/European history next season?

Who knows, but I can’t wait to set off on this latest Champions League journey, we live in privileged times as Newcastle United fans with miracle worker Eddie Howe leading our club.