The Champions League 2026-27 is expected to be another cracking one, with Europe’s best once again gunning for the silverware. As in every season, this campaign will feature debutants aiming to create their underdog stories, while regular competitors strive to leave their mark on the competition. However, it will also bring the return of clubs that have spent years away from the continent's premier stage, despite an increase to 36 teams and with extra European Performance Spots available, making their comeback an important storyline in its own right.
This edition will see several familiar names earning their place back in the tournament after lengthy absences. As a result, they will be competing in the League Phase format of the Champions League for the very first time. Their returns also add variety to the competition as well. There will be five such clubs that fall into this category that we will discuss here. For these teams, the aim now will be to be sustained competition regulars rather than be single-season wonders.
AEK Athens
AEK Athens was once a Champions League regular in the European Cup days, in the 1990s and also in the early 2000s. They also became the first Greek club to reach the quarterfinal stage of the competition, achieving it in the 1968-69 season. However, their recent memories in the Champions League have been quite obscure, last gracing the platform in the 2018-19 season, where they finished bottom of the group by losing all their games and scoring just twice in a single match. Now, after six years in the wilderness, AEK once again plays in Europe’s premier club competition.
They completed their return by producing one of the most emphatic results of the play-off round. The Greek giants won their domestic league last season, which gave them a direct place in the playoffs, where they faced Bulgarian side Levski Sofia. The first leg in Sofia ended goalless, leaving the tie delicately poised ahead of the return fixture in Athens.
AEK, however, left little doubt about their superiority at home. Luka Jović opened the scoring after only seven minutes before Barnabás Varga struck twice to put AEK firmly in control before the half-hour mark. Răzvan Marin then added a penalty to complete a 4-0 victory and send the Greek club into the League Phase. The qualification is significant not only because of AEK's return to European football's elite but also because it gives Greece a representative in the Champions League proper.
AEK have subsequently been handed a demanding League Phase schedule, including home meetings with Real Madrid, Roma, Galatasaray and LASK, while they will travel to Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk and Como. However, they will be up for the challenge and will want to make life different for the opposition, especially at home.
Fenerbahçe
Fenerbahçe have also ended a long wait to return to the Champions League proper, although their route was considerably more demanding. The Turkish giants entered the competition in the qualifying rounds after finishing second in the Süper Lig. They navigated their way through the early stages before facing French club Lyon in the play-offs. The tie was tough as expected, with Fenerbahçe going down at home in the first half but showing great spirit in securing a 1-1 draw.
It left them needing a result in France, and they responded spectacularly. They stunned the host by scoring twice inside the opening half-hour to establish a 2-0 advantage. Lyon managed to pull one goal back and had two goals flagged marginally offside, but Fenerbahçe held on to win 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
This huge result marked their return to the Champions League stage after a long 16-year wait. It also means Turkey will have two representatives in the competition alongside Galatasaray for the first time since the 2007-08 season. Their reward is the League Phase campaign, where they will bud heads with big names in the competition like Liverpool and Atlético Madrid while also facing firm challenges from AS Roma, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague and newcomers LASK.
The club's return is therefore about more than ending a long European wait. Fenerbahçe now have the opportunity to test themselves against some of the strongest teams in the continent and show their calibre after signing players with plenty of Champions League experience.
Real Betis
Not all clubs had to go through the crushing qualifiers to make it to the main stage of the Champions League. Others simply make the well-deserved return to the competition by producing a historic domestic campaign. Real Betis of Spain have been in the mix for European football after building an excellent project under the Premier League-winning coach Manuel Pellegrini.
The side from Seville have now outgrown themselves by achieving a magnificent feat of competing on European club football’s biggest stage. After four appearances in the Europa League since their manager took charge in 2020 and reaching the final of the Conference League, it is time for the biggest one for the side.
Betis secured fifth place in La Liga during the 2025-26 season and benefited from Spain's European Performance Spot. Spain finished among the top two associations in UEFA's 2025-26 association club coefficient rankings, earning an additional Champions League place for its highest-ranked club that had not already qualified. Pellegrini’s side will now rub shoulders against some of the best in Europe for the first time since 2006, ending a 20-year drought. Their League Phase debut will see them face some of the competition's biggest names like Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and other opponents.
AS Roma
Making a late-season revival, AS Roma finished in the top four of the Serie A to clinch Champions League football next season. The success comes in the very first campaign of promising manager Gian Piero Gasperini since he took the role last summer after making his name at Atalanta. He has now guided the club back among the elite after they were absent from the top-tier competition for five years.
Roma were always present at the Champions League stage since the turn of the century, making an eye-catching run to the semifinal back in the 2017-18 season before they hit a dry spell. Now, the club from the Italian capital is back in the big times with a historic campaign to look at.
The Giallorossi fought through a competitive race for Champions League qualification and eventually secured third place on the final day of Serie A last season ahead of prominent names like Juventus and AC Milan, both missing out. Their return also creates some fascinating fixtures. Roma will face ex-boss Jose Mourinho when his Real Madrid team visits the Olimpico, while they also cross paths with Manchester United and back-to-back title holders Paris Saint-Germain in a crunching schedule. The challenge for Gasperini will be to translate Roma's domestic revival into European competitiveness. With eight League Phase matches instead of the traditional group-stage schedule, there is little room for complacency for the side.
Manchester United
Perhaps the most high-profile returning club in the Champions League 2026-27 League Phase is Manchester United. After missing the Champions League in each of the previous two seasons, United are back among Europe's elite following a dramatic turnaround in the second half of the 2025-26 campaign. The club's revival came after a difficult period under Rúben Amorim, with club legend Michael Carrick taking charge and helping transform United's fortunes.
They eventually secured third place in the Premier League, bringing Champions League football back to Old Trafford. Their place back among the European elites was secured after a win against rivals Liverpool in May, adding a sweet layer to their comeback story.
The Red Devils’ Champions League qualification subsequently secured Carrick a permanent managerial position. The 2026-27 campaign will therefore represent a fresh European chapter for both manager and club. United will play some gigantic ties with Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, Roma and Villarreal. For a club accustomed to Champions League football, a two-season absence represented a significant departure from the norm. Their return consequently carries considerable importance, particularly with a new manager attempting to establish a new era at Old Trafford.