Why Club Brugge and Belgian football are on the rise

The two Belgium teams competing in the 2025-26 Champions League have already made their mark.

Union Saint-Gilloise defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-1 to claim their first Champions League match on Tuesday.

After ten first-half goals in the space of ten, a young Club Brugge side won 4-1 against Monaco on Thursday to claim a commanding victory.

Recent resurgences have occurred between the two Belgian sides.

Over the past five seasons, Club Brugge have moved up from 44th to 20th in Uefa’s club coefficient rankings.

Union, who were benefited by a 2018 takeover by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom, have increased by 38 places to 45.

Union was playing in the Belgian second tier up until four years ago.

Then, for the first time in 90 years, they won the trophy to secure Champions League football, but they only managed to win it once more in the third year.

Meanwhile, Club Brugge have shown that they are not undervalued on the biggest stage in Europe.

Before their campaign came to an end when they fell to Villa in the last 16, they defeated both Aston Villa and Sporting, and they played against Juventus and Celtic in the league phase.

And the team, who won the 1978 European Cup, came agonisingly close to reaching the Europa Conference League final when Fiorentina clinched their semi-final defeat.

Red Bull Salzburg and Rangers have already defeated Club Brugge in two qualifying matches to reach the Champions League proper, winning 9-1 in the process.

Belgian football’s success has helped them move up in Uefa’s co-efficient rankings to eighth place in Europe after just a few seasons of 13th place due to their success.

Smart business in the transfer window has contributed to Club Brugge’s success.

Maxim de Cuyper and Chemsdine Talbi both signed for Sunderland in the summer, and they sold two academy graduates for 20 million euros (£17.4 million) each.

Ardon Jashiri, a defensive midfielder, left for 36 million euros (£31 million), just one season after joining Club Brugge for 6 million euros (5 million).

This summer, De Cuyper and Talbi were just two of the players who switched from the Belgian Pro League to the Premier League.

Goalkeeper Senne Lammens moved to Manchester United for £18. M, while Wolves completed the signing of Genk striker Tolu Arokodare for £24 million.

Club Brugge is interested in signing young players with high potential sell-on value, as well as offering Club NXT players the opportunity to step up.

The average age in their squad for Monaco was 23 when they faced Monaco, which is a young age given that former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, 37, started between the posts.

Mamadou Diakhon, 19, and Nicolo Tresoldi, 20, both signed for 9 million euros ($7.8 million) and 6 million euros ($5 million), respectively, this summer.

Football expert Nicky Bandini commented on Match of the Day that “big players in that team have gone” when he talked about the players they sold this summer: Jashiri to Milan, Cuyper to Brighton, Talbi to Sunderland.

The team is still performing as they have re-loaded with some teenagers.

Union has also been cunning when selling players.