Editing Premier League (section)

====Previous seasons====
An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] won the [[2004–05 UEFA Champions League|Champions League the season before]], but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the [[2004–05 FA Premier League|Premier League]]. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4613695.stm |title=Liverpool get in Champions League |website=BBC Sport |date=10 June 2005 |access-date=11 December 2007 |archive-date=12 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412074435/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4613695.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The governing body subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that if the Champions League winners finished outside the top four in its domestic league, it would qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team. At that time, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=698237.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index |title=EXCO approves new coefficient system |publisher=UEFA |date=20 May 2008 |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-date=21 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521053931/http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind%3D64/newsid%3D698237.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index |url-status=dead }}</ref> This occurred in 2012, when Chelsea – who had [[2012 UEFA Champions League final|won the Champions League]] that summer, but finished sixth in the league – qualified for the [[2012–13 UEFA Champions League|2012–13 Champions League]] in place of [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]], who went into the [[2012–13 UEFA Europa League|Europa League]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/20/sport/football/football-chelsea-champions-league/index.html |title=Jubilant Chelsea parade Champions League trophy |publisher=CNN International |date=21 May 2012 |access-date=11 January 2013 |archive-date=3 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303001742/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/20/sport/football/football-chelsea-champions-league/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

From [[2015–16 UEFA Champions League|2015–16]], the Europa League champions qualify for the Champions League, increasing the maximum number of participants per country to five.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/executive-committee/news/newsid=1956131.html|title=Added bonus for UEFA Europa League winners|website=UEFA.org|publisher=Union of European Football Associations|date=24 May 2013|access-date=11 January 2020|archive-date=22 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922053008/http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/executive-committee/news/newsid=1956131.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This took effect in England in [[2016–17 Premier League|2016–17]], when Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League and won the [[2016–17 UEFA Europa League|Europa League]], giving England five Champions League entrants for [[2017–18 UEFA Champions League|2017–18]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Europa League win earns Manchester United a Champions League spot |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/0239-0e970bbed2d3-a98a31fc7d8f-1000--europa-league-win-earns-manchester-united-a-champions-league/ |publisher=UEFA |date=24 May 2017 |access-date=11 January 2020 |archive-date=10 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410160749/https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2467193.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In these instances, any Europa League berth vacated is not handed down to the next-best Premier League finisher outside of a qualifying place. If both Champions League and Europa League winners are of the same association and both finish outside the top four, then the fourth-placed team is transferred to the Europa League.