With only 32,000 inhabitants, the 10 smallest cities in the top European leagues make it to the Champions League

Even small cities can do big things in the world. A clear example of this is Lens and several other European cities with clubs in the top 5 European leagues. In the top 10, compiled by Transfermarkt, we find representatives from every country.

Burnley

Burnley has been a traditional English club that has managed to hold its own in the Premier League. This may have ceased to be true for a while, but last season coach Vincent Kompany’s team showed such a ride in the Championship that they easily returned to the top English competition.

In a city of 78,000 people, that’s such a big deal. However, things are not looking too rosy for Burnley at the moment, as they are second to last with only 4 points.

Villarreal

It is Villarreal, despite having a population of 51,000, that plays a much more dignified role in La Liga. Moreover, it regularly reaches the European cups, even dominating the Europa League in the 2020/21 season.

It’s playing in that competition this season as well. However, the players in yellow jerseys are not doing too well in La Liga, as they are currently in 13th place with 12 points.

Monaco

Monaco is a world unto itself. The French team is the third smallest city in this ranking by Transfermarkt, but also the most valuable team – 344 million euros.

We could describe this club as a very well-run business that is definitely not in the red. Monaco focus on nurturing talent and saw their peak in the 2018/19 season when they sold a number of players led by Kylian Mbappé.

After that sell-off came a logical decline, but the results were still very good. Last season, however, there was again a large exodus of players. And although Monaco are doing very well at the moment, in the long run it must be frustrating for the fans there, who are very few to be seen at their home stadium.

Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim have done well, especially during the Julian Nagelsmann era. After that, the German side had one more season and began a gradual decline from glory.

But for a city of 36,000, these are still great results. In this case, however, we are talking about a slightly different operation, similar to Monaco. Here, too, we find a very rich man behind the scenes.

Lens

But if something is really clicking in France lately, it’s definitely the Lens team, who finished last season’s Ligue 1 season with 84 points. Just one point behind PSG.

The start of this season found them in very poor form, losing 4 out of 5 league games. But then came the Champions League and a draw with Sevilla. Since then, the French team hasn’t lost and even beat Arsenal.

It must be a fabulous era for the French city of 32,000, and it may not be over.

Source: Transfermarkt, Lens