2024/25 season 

The biggest and smallest stadiums in the Champions League

©TM/IMAGO

The Champions League returned last week and there’s already been some notable clashes in the brand new format. In matchday one, Bayern Munich scored a record nine goals against Dinamo Zagreb, Liverpool won against AC Milan at the San Siro while Real Madrid kickstarted their title defence with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart.

The brand new league phase has replaced the group stages with the number of participating clubs extended by four to 36 teams. The Champions League features some of the most successful clubs in the competitions history, while other teams are involved for the first time in their history like Girona and Bologna. Players will run out at iconic stadiums but which have the highest and lowest capacities? Let’s find out.

The biggest capacity stadiums in Champions League

Champions League holders Real Madrid have the biggest stadium in the competition with the 81,044 capacity Santiago Bernabéu. The stadium has recently undergone major renovation works and when it’s fully complete the capacity is expected to be in excess of 84,000. San Siro ranks second with a capacity of 75,923 and it’s the only stadium that is home to two clubs in the competition – Inter and AC Milan. Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano takes third place with Barcelona’s temporary stadium ranking tenth while the famous Camp Nou undergoes renovation. As the graphic below illustrates, two German clubs – Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund – complete the top five.

The lowest capacity stadiums in Champions League

Girona’s Montilivi stadium is the lowest capacity ground in European football’s most prestigious club competition this season. The Catalonia club have enjoyed a dramatic rise in recent seasons and only played in the Spanish top-flight for the first time in 2017 but their ground only holds 14,624. The second smallest stadium in the Champions League belongs to Brest with the French side, like Girona, also in the competition for the first time in their history. Only three other teams’ stadiums hold less than 20,000 supporters – Sturm Graz, Sparta Prague and Monaco.