BVB exit from the Champions League: all goals for the season lost?

As of: February 26, 2026 • 12:31 p.m

The early exit from the Champions League affects Borussia Dortmund economically and sportingly. The game at Bayern offers a last chance for a conciliatory end to the season.

BVB squandered a 2-0 lead from the first leg at Atalanta Bergamo, and with blatant mistakes Dortmund almost pushed themselves out of the competition. Gregor Kobel’s bad pass initiated Bergamo’s attack in injury time, which Ramy Bensebaini stopped with a foul – the 4-1 penalty in injury time sealed a deserved elimination.

But BVB’s mistake went beyond stoppage time. “You have to say, the way we started the game, we didn’t accept it.”said sports director Sebastian Kehl: “We made too many mistakes and helped a lot with the goals.” But the road to elimination began well before the second leg in Bergamo.

In the Champions League table lost eleven places in three games

The team did well for a long time with coach Niko Kovac’s orientation based on the principle “not pretty, but successful”. In this way, BVB lived up to its expectations in the Champions League at the beginning of the season and, with ten points from the first five games, found itself in sixth place in the table between clubs like Arsenal, Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.

Then the team weakened: At home, BVB only managed a 2-2 draw against FK Bodö/Glimt and then lost at Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan. The direct qualification for the round of 16 was just as lost as a position that would have meant at least a home advantage in the second leg in the second round – it was only enough for 17th place.

In 2024, Dortmund was in the final and lost there against Real Madrid. Last season, BVB was only eliminated in the quarter-finals against FC Barcelona – now it ends in the second round before the round of 16.

Defeat against Bayern would be Preliminary decision in the championship

Because BVB was eliminated in the DFB Cup in the round of 16 against Bayer Leverkusen, only the Bundesliga remains this season. Dortmund hosts Bayern Munich on Saturday. “Of course we will now prepare for Bayern Munich, we also know how important it is in the Bundesliga. That’s why we will try to beat Bayern Munich.”said Kehl.

But the next setback is looming. With a win the gap would be reduced to five points, but with a defeat a preliminary decision in the championship would have been made by eleven points. This would at least be an opportunity for BVB to address fundamental questions for its future direction. But at least there will be a little less money available; the exit from the Champions League will have economic consequences.

Throat over Champions League exit: “The income was planned”

“Of course that doesn’t mean anything good.”said Kehl: “Progress was planned, the income was planned accordingly.” Eleven million euros are missing due to missing the round of 16.

But the hole is larger than eleven million, especially compared to the previous season. Because the club is missing out on the chance to secure additional money, for example from the quarter-finals (12.5 million) or the semi-finals (15 million), plus income from the home games.

Around 30 million less than in the previous season

According to UEFA, BVB earned 102 million euros in the Champions League in 2024/25. At that time, Dortmund was eliminated in the quarter-finals against FC Barcelona.

For the current season, the club management will have to make do with around 30 million euros less. The combination of TV money, point bonuses and entry fee from UEFA will bring Dortmund around 70 million euros in the 2025/26 season. A stream of income in the DFB Cup also dried up due to the exit in the round of 16.

Most important task: qualifying for the Champions League again

The biggest cost this money is used for is the players. In the second half of 2025 alone, BVB reported personnel costs of 129.3 million euros. Kehl made it clear that the departure would not pose any substantial problems for the club. “We will work through this and be able to deal with it”he said. The elimination will not throw Borussia Dortmund off track financially; the club is considered one of the highest-grossing ever. In August 2025, BVB reported record sales of 526 million euros. However, the sporting performance will certainly limit the scope.

The most important economic factor now remains the renewed qualification for the Champions League via the Bundesliga, which requires at least fourth place. As second in the table, Dortmund is already eleven points ahead of fifth place. This money has great significance in the long term. In the ten seasons 2015/16 to 2024/25, Dortmund earned almost 700 million euros in European competitions.