Newly wealthy Newcastle United were transformed during their first full season under the ownership of a Saudi-backed consortium and now they're heading to the UEFA Champions League.
Eddie Howe's side secured a spot in the group stage of the 2023/24 edition after a 0-0 draw against Leicester City in their penultimate match of the campaign. The result guaranteed a top four finish and a berth into Europe's elite cup competition.
The revitalised club had an impressive 2022/23 season, losing just one game before the mid-season break for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and then returning afterwards to extend their unbeaten league run to 17 matches before defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.
The 2023/24 campaign has proved tricker so far, with a 1-0 win over Brentford snapping a run of three consecutive defeats. Now Howe's men face the mouthwatering prospect of a Group F programme against AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund.
When were Newcastle United last in the Champions League?
Newcastle have not been in the Champions League proper since 2002/03, when they reached the second group stage (a stage of the competition that no longer exists). They came third in that group, behind Barcelona and Inter Milan.
Newcastle looked on course to once again reach the group stage of the Champions League in 2003/04. Their third-place finish in the Premier League earned them a path through qualifying (at the time), but they never made it to the group stage.
Nolberto Solano had given them a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their third qualifying round tie away at Serbian side Partizan, but Alan Shearer, Kieron Dyer, Jonathan Woodgate and Aaron Hughes all missed penalties to send them out following a 1-0 defeat after extra time in the return leg at St. James' Park.
Newcastle history in UEFA Champions League
| Season | Stage reached | Matches played (incl. qualifiers) | Record (W-L-D) | Teams faced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/98 | Group stage | 8 | 3-3-2 | Zagreb, Dynamo Kyiv, PSV, Barcelona |
| 2002/03 | 2nd group stage | 14 | 7-6-1 | Zeljeznicar, Juventus, Dynamo Kyiv, Feyenoord, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2003/04 | 3rd qualifying round | 2 | 1-1-0 | Partizan Belgrade |
How many times have Newcastle United been in Europe?
Starting with winning the now-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1968/69, Newcastle have competed in European competition during 16 different seasons.
They had taken part in the Champions League twice before crashing out to Partizan, reaching the second group stage in the old format of the competition in 2002/03.
They won a qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb to reach the competition proper in 1997/98, but did not make the knockout phase, although that campaign will be remembered for an opening group-stage game when they beat Barcelona 3-2 at home with a 28-minute hat-trick from flamboyant Colombian striker Faustino Asprilla (video below).
The furthest Newcastle have gone in the second-tier UEFA Europa League was in 2004, when they were knocked out by Marseille in the semifinals after dropping into the competition from the Champions League following that defeat to Partizan.
In their most recent European campaign, Newcastle were knocked out of the Europa League in the quarterfinals by Benfica in 2013/14.
Newcastle United record in Europe
The Toon Army enhanced their overall record by only losing two of their 14 matches during that run to the Europa League final eight in 2014.
Newcastle have won more than twice the number of games they have lost in Europe and are poised to take their positive goal difference to more than 100 when they next appear in a group stage.
| Competition | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Win % |
| Champions League | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 45.83 |
| Europa League | 72 | 43 | 17 | 12 | 123 | 60 | 59.72 |
| Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 50 |
| Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 37 | 21 | 54.17 |
| Intertoto Cup | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 13 | 58.33 |
| Total | 134 | 74 | 29 | 31 | 221 | 129 | 55.22 |
