Does Europa League winner qualify for Champions League? Bonus prize for winners of UEFA competition

The 2023/24 Europa League final saw Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run come to an end after Atalanta beat Xabi Alonso's side 3-0.

Ademola Lookman bagged a hat-trick which saw the Italian side lift their first trophy in over 60 years and their first European piece of silverware.

Whichever team wins the Europa League qualifies for the Champions League the following season.

Leverkusen have already qualified but Atalanta are sat fifth in Serie A with two games remaining. Italy will receive an additional place in the Champions League next year as they and Germany have the highest UEFA coefficients.

Now that Atalanta have won the Europa League, if they finish fifth it raises the question of who gets the Europa League winner's qualification spot for the Champions League next season. 

The Sporting News takes a look at who it may be.

MORE: Europa League prize money breakdown for 2023

Does Europa League winner qualify for Champions League?

The winner of the Europa League final will automatically qualify for the prestigious UEFA Champions League group stage in the following season.

And the Europa League winner is also placed in Pot 1 of the group stage draw, potentially giving them easier opponents. This is how Sevilla (Europa League winners in 2022/23) qualified for the Champions League this season despite finishing 12th in La Liga.

Advancing to the Champions League group stage not only helps with player recruitment, but it also comes with guaranteed base revenue for the 32 clubs and the possibility of adding to it by collecting results throughout the competition.

MORE: Who has won the most Champions League trophies?

Who will get the Europa League winner's Champions League spot?

As previously mentioned, Leverkusen are already qualified for the Champions League next season. If Atalanta finishes fifth in the league, who will get the Europa League winner's place?

Benfica are the team that could benefit from all this. For them to automatically qualify for the UCL group stages, they will need Atalanta to finish 3rd or 4th in Serie A.

However, a fifth-place finish is more likely and if that were to happen, Benfica would take up the Europa League titleholder place but would enter the qualification stages in the summer.

Why Benfica? Because out of the qualified or already eliminated teams that could enter the competition, they have the highest club coefficient.

If Roma, who currently sit sixth, manage to take Atalanta's fifth-place finish, then they would take Serie A's fifth Champions League spot and Atalanta would take the Europa League winners spot and Benfica would not enter the UCL.

UEFA Champions League coefficient latest 2023/24

UEFA's coefficient rankings will determine which country earns a fifth Champions League qualifying spot next season. The top two will gain one of the extra places.

The standings are worked out by taking the country's coefficient points and dividing them by the number of their teams in UEFA competitions to gain an average figure.

This table will be updated again once the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League are concluded.

2023/24 UEFA club coefficients rankings

*Figures correct as of May 1

*The top two will gain an extra UEFA Champions League place for 2024/25

How much prize money does Europa League winner get?

Although the prize money in the Europa League is far less than that of the Champions League, it can still be a useful resource for those who can go deep into the tournament.

Teams can earn close to £20 million ($25m) if they manage to triumph in all their group games on their way to winning the whole competition.

The third-place finishers in the Champions League group stage, who are afforded the opportunity of playing for a spot in the Europa League knockouts can also earn a good amount in the knockout stages alone.

As the winning side also automatically qualify for the Champions League group stage, this guarantees them an additional £13.72 million ($17.17m).