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UEFA rule prevents Liverpool from hosting Real Madrid at Anfield for third consecutive season

Under paragraph 16.03 of the Champions League regulations, Liverpool cannot host Real Madrid at Anfield in the 2025/26 league phase, having already welcomed the Merengue in the two previous seasons.

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UEFA rule prevents Liverpool from hosting Real Madrid at Anfield for third consecutive season
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Liverpool will not be able to host Real Madrid at Anfield during the next league phase of the Champions League, in application of a UEFA rule adopted two years ago. The English club confirmed this in a statement published Wednesday, on the eve of the 2025/26 draw.

Paragraph 16.03 of the competition regulations stipulates that “no individual match between the same two teams can be repeated in the same competition with the same home team for three consecutive seasons.” Having already hosted Real Madrid in the league phase in 2024 (2-0 victory) and then in 2025 (1-0 victory), a third consecutive home reception is therefore ruled out.

This does not mean, however, that a confrontation between the two clubs is impossible in the draw. If the two teams are paired together, the match will automatically be held at Santiago-Bernabéu, with Madrid playing at home.

This constraint applies only to the league phase: if both clubs qualify for the knockout stages, the usual home-and-away format would apply, and Anfield could once again host a match.

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