European Club Rankings: Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich & Monaco Seal Titles
Premier League? Check. Ligue 1? Check. Bundesliga? Check. La Liga? Check!
Four of Europe's top five leagues finished for the season this past weekend, with Chelsea, AS Monaco, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all celebrating victories in style.
With just one Serie A gameweek, some domestic cup finals, the Europa League final and the Champions League final left on the schedule, the end of the 2016/17 season is in sight.
The rankings are season-long in their measurement of clubs. Previous editions only took recent form into account (spanning four to six weeks), but this version tracks teams throughout 2016/17.
Teams that have lost the fewest games in all competitions naturally rank higher, and Champions League form and presence are used as tiebreakers for those with similar records.
21-25
1 of 13
25. OGC Nice (-1)
OGC Nice ended an entertaining season with a 3-3 draw with Olympique Lyonnais. Now, the task must be to hold on to manager Lucien Favre and replace Mario Balotelli up top.
24. FC Porto (-2)
FC Porto lost to Moreirense on the final day of the Liga NOS season. With the title gone, manager Nuno gave some of the fringe players a go to no avail.
23. Hoffenheim (Stay)
Needing a win to have any hope of usurping Borussia Dortmund and finishing third, Hoffenheim could only draw with Augsburg. Still, what a season for Julian Nagelsmann and Co.
22. Atalanta (+3)
Atalanta ended a drab run of draws with a 1-0 victory away to Empoli. The three-point haul ensured the lowest they can finish is fifth.
21. Arsenal (Stay)
Too little, too late. Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League despite beating Everton on the final day. It also looks like they've lost Laurent Koscielny (suspension) and Gabriel (stretchered off) for Saturday's FA Cup final.
16-20
2 of 13
20. Ajax (Stay)
The Eredivisie regular season finished on May 14. Ajax are simply waiting for Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United.
19. Liverpool (Stay)
Liverpool beat Middlesbrough 3-0 on Sunday to confirm fourth spot in the Premier League table as theirs. Now they have a Champions League play-off to look forward to, but their UEFA coefficient ranking is so poor, they could easily land a team like AS Roma.
18. Manchester United (Stay)
The kids plus Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday, as manager Jose Mourinho rotated heavily ahead of the Europa League final.
17. Sevilla (Stay)
Sevilla finished the season with a booming 5-0 win over Osasuna but face the reality of losing manager Jorge Sampaoli to the Argentina job.
16. Lazio (-1)
Two straight losses see Lazio drop one spot. Coppa Italia glory evaded them, and then they lost 3-1 at home to Inter Milan on Sunday.
11-15
3 of 13
15. Manchester City (+1)
City made it two thumping 5-0 victories from their final three games of the 2016/17 season. Are things coming together for manager Pep Guardiola, or was the weakened, unenthusiastic state of the opposition the major factor here?
14. RB Leipzig (-1)
Another week, another draw for RB Leipzig, who understandably took their foot off the gas a little as the season wound down.
13. Roma (Stay)
Roma's thrilling 5-3 victory over Chievo was in keeping with their season. Rumours abound that Luciano Spalletti will leave at the end of the season, with Sky Sport reporting as much (h/t John Solano of Roma Press), and games like this mean the neutrals hope this won't be so.
12. Benfica (-1)
With the Liga NOS title already in the bag, Benfica gave their fringe players a runout against Boavista and drew 2-2 on Saturday.
11. Tottenham (+1)
Tottenham Hotspur scored 13 goals in two games to finish their season in rather ridiculous fashion. Back-to-back hat-tricks from Harry Kane lifted him above Romelu Lukaku in the goalscoring standings and saw him win the Premier League Golden Boot.
10. Borussia Dortmund
4 of 13
Last Week: 10th
Movement: None
Borussia Dortmund beat Werder Bremen 4-3 on Saturday to ensure they finished third in the Bundesliga. Automatic qualification to the Champions League group stage is their prize.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 89th-minute goal sealed both the team's victory and the league's top-scorer award, taking him to 31 for the season and allowing him to pip Robert Lewandowski by one.
9. Napoli
5 of 13
Last Week: Ninth
Movement: None
Almost as fascinating as Napoli vs. Roma for second place in Serie A is Dries Mertens vs. Edin Dzeko for top scorer.
Dzeko (28) scored once against Chievo, then Mertens (27) responded with two and struck the woodwork against Fiorentina. Their individual duel is set to go to the final weekend of the season, just like their respective teams' fight for second place.
8. Paris Saint-Germain
6 of 13
Last Week: Eighth
Movement: None
A draw against SM Caen on Saturday meant Paris Saint-Germain fell short of Monaco by a whopping eight points this season. Given they were neck and neck for so long, that's incredibly disappointing.
Unai Emery's men must now negotiate a Coupe de France final against Angers, though that shouldn't be too much of a task; the past three times they've played, PSG have won by at least two goals.
7. Atletico Madrid
7 of 13
Last Week: Seventh
Movement: None
Atletico Madrid finished the 2016/17 season with a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao, and now an intriguing summer period commences.
We know manager Diego Simeone is staying for at least another year (he's stated that multiple times), but what of Atleti's other star asset, Antoine Griezmann?
Persistent rumours that he will join Manchester United have not died away, and with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas revealing Alexandre Lacazette has verbally agreed to join Los Colchoneros this summer, per Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News HQ, does that hint at a changing of the guard up top?
6. Bayern Munich
8 of 13
Last Week: Sixth
Movement: None
Bayern Munich said goodbye to two legends of the game on Saturday. Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso have both retired, leaving the club with two massive holes to fill in the summer.
They were both withdrawn during the final 10 minutes of Saturday's 4-1 win over Freiburg, allowing the Allianz Arena to show its appreciation, and then both were promptly showered with Bavarian beer after the final whistle had gone.
5. Chelsea
9 of 13
Last Week: Fifth
Movement: None
An emotional Sunday at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea rejoice in lifting the Premier League trophy but also witness the departure of club legend John Terry. He received a guard of honour upon leaving the field in the 26th minute—a nice touch, agreed to by Sunderland.
The game itself exploded into life rather late, with Michy Batshuayi stepping off the bench to net his third and fourth goals in his past three games. Life after Diego Costa—who could leave in the summer, per Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph—might not be so bad if this is what the Belgian is capable of.
4. Monaco
10 of 13
Last Week: Fourth
Movement: None
Monaco sealed the Ligue 1 title in pleasing style: a 2-0 home victory over Saint-Etienne on Wednesday, meaning they could celebrate with the fans.
A sweet combination of old and new scored the goals, with rising star Kylian Mbappe putting them on course early, then Valere Germain—who has a 12-year association with the club—adding the garnish in second-half stoppage time.
3. Barcelona
11 of 13
Last Week: Third
Movement: None
A dysfunctional season for Barcelona has nearly come to its close. Their 4-2 win over Eibar on the final day of La Liga was earned the hard way—after going two down on their own patch—and that is perhaps symptomatic of the up-and-down nature of their play in 2016/17.
They have just the Copa del Rey final to negotiate before a summer of introspection begins under a new manager. The club has announced it will reveal the new man in charge on May 29—who will replace Luis Enrique?
2. Juventus
12 of 13
Last Week: Second
Movement: None
Juventus warmed up for the Champions League final on June 3 with a Coppa Italia final victory over Lazio and a 3-0 win over Crotone that secured the Serie A title. As weeks go, that's not bad.
In typical Bianconeri fashion, they didn't concede a goal in either game despite rotating the team, and there's just one match left in Max Allegri's side's quest for a treble.
1. Real Madrid
13 of 13
Last Week: First
Movement: None
Those tuning in to Real Madrid's bout with Malaga on Sunday in hope of an upset were left disappointed almost from the off. It took Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo just two minutes to combine for the opener, and from there, the game was put of their opponent's reach.
A 33rd Primera Division title soon followed—their first since 2011/12—and the players will have close to two weeks to work off those hangovers and prepare for the biggest match in Europe's fixture calendar: the Champions League final.
Ahead of that game, manager Zinedine Zidane has some questions to answer, most notably what to do in midfield if Gareth Bale returns to fitness. Isco has been so good lately; surely he can't be dropped for the Cardiff showpiece?
All statistics via WhoScored.com
