New UEFA club rankings released - with surprising team in the top five

UEFA have released their club coefficient rankings including the 2023/24 season

Manchester City have retained their place in top spot, with Real Madrid second

LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: What moment changed the Euros for England? 

Fans have taken to social media to express their confusion after UEFA published their latest club rankings.

Though Pep Guardiola's side were unable to secure back-to-back Champions League triumphs, Manchester City have retained their place at the top of the list with Real Madrid in second.

Bayern Munich sit third on the rankings despite a disappointing campaign domestically that saw them play second fiddle to Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.

Rounding out the top five are Liverpool followed by Roma, who continued to move up the list despite a lacklustre Serie A campaign as Daniele De Rossi took over from Jose Mourinho last season.

The next Premier League side to feature in the coefficient are Chelsea in ninth, followed by Manchester United in 14th, West Ham in 16th and Arsenal in 19th.

With more than a few surprises, social media was awash with fans questioning positions on the list.

One wrote: 'Chelsea ahead of Arsenal and united after no champions league for two years.'

Another added: 'Ain’t no way City is ranked higher than Madrid.'

A third agreed: 'How is Chelsea above FC Barcelona? This is a joke.'

A fourth wrote: 'The top 3 is spot-on imo , simple logic being the last few years whenever I think about the Champions League these 3 only seem to me as genuine title contenders, others are hit & miss.'

The UEFA club coefficients are based on a team's performances in European competitions for the previous five seasons.

Points are awarded to clubs for winning matches in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Fans expressed their confusion at the rankings of some of the clubs featured on the coefficient

Fans expressed their confusion at the rankings of some of the clubs featured on the coefficient

As such, West Ham who followed a Europa League semi-final in 21/22 with winning the Conference League the following year and reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa league last season have accumulated more points than the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona.

The rankings also affect how clubs are seeded in UEFA draws for upcoming European competitions.