Why Club Brugge and Belgian football are on the rise

The 2025-26 Champions League has just begun and the two Belgium teams in the competition have already made their mark.

On Tuesday, Union Saint-Gilloise enjoyed a dream Champions League debut as they stunned PSV Eindhoven with a 3-1 away win.

A youthful Club Brugge side then grabbed a commanding 4-1 victory over Monaco on Thursday - scoring three goals in the space of 10 first-half minutes to set them on their way.

The two Belgian sides have had recent resurgences.

Club Brugge have raced up Uefa's club coefficient rankings over the past five seasons - going from 44th to 20th.

Union have made an even bigger jump, rising 38 places to 45th as they have reaped the benefits of a 2018 takeover by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom.

As recently as four years ago, Union were playing in the Belgian second tier.

They then narrowly missed out on the Pro League title for three years running, but last term they won the trophy for the first time in 90 years to guarantee Champions League football.

Club Brugge, meanwhile, have proved they are not to be underestimated on Europe's biggest stage.

Last season they beat both Aston Villa and Sporting, and drew against Juventus and Celtic in the league phase before their campaign came to an end when they fell to Villa in the last 16.

And the club - European Cup runners-up in 1978 - came agonisingly close to reaching the Europa Conference League final in 2024 when they were narrowly beaten by Fiorentina in the semis.

Already this season, Club Brugge have beaten Red Bull Salzburg and thrashed Rangers 9-1 over two qualifying legs to reach the Champions League proper.

Their success has helped Belgian football, moving the association up to eighth in Europe in Uefa's co-efficient rankings after dropping to 13th just a couple of seasons ago.

Over the past 10 seasons, six Belgian clubs have reached the knockout rounds of a European competition on at least one occasion - the same as their neighbours the Netherlands.

Smart transfer business and youthful squads

Club Brugge reached the round of 16 in the Champions League last season

Club Brugge's success has been driven by smart business in the transfer window.

In the summer, they sold two academy graduates for 20m euros (£17.4m) each, with Maxim de Cuyper heading to Brighton and Chemsdine Talbi signing for Sunderland.

Defensive midfielder Ardon Jashiri also moved on, joining AC Milan for 36m euros (£31m) just one season after arriving at Club Brugge for a 6m euro (£5m).

De Cuyper and Talbi weren't the only players to swap the Belgian Pro League for the Premier League this summer.

Goalkeeper Senne Lammens made an £18.1m move to Manchester United, while Wolves completed the £24m signing of striker Tolu Arokodare from Genk.

Club Brugge have focused on signing young players with high potential sell-on value, while they are also keen to give players from the reserve team - Club NXT - the chance to step up.

Against Monaco, the average age in their squad was 23 - which is especially young when you consider 37-year-old former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet started between the posts.

On the scoresheet were 19-year-old Mamadou Diakhon and 20-year-old Nicolo Tresoldi, who signed for 9m euros (£7.8m) and 6m euros (£5m) respectively this summer.

"When you consider the players they have sold this summer - Jashiri to Milan, Cuyper to Brighton, Talbi to Sunderland - big players in that team have gone," football expert Nicky Bandini said on Match of the Day.

"They have re-loaded with some teenagers, and the team is still performing like that."

Union have also been shrewd when it comes to selling on players.

As well as Talbi, Sunderland bought Noah Sadiki from Union for 17m euro (£14.8m), while the Belgian side received a club record fee of 22.8m euro (£19.3m) from Benfica for forward Franjo Ivanovic - 12 months after signing him for 13m euro (£11m).