Competitive Mobility Project

Germany

Union Berlin

2025/26: 11th in the Bundesliga · 2026/27: Bundesliga

How high can Union Berlin realistically go?

Based on finishing 11th in the Bundesliga in 2025/26

About 4 in 10

Of the 60 times a club finished 8th to 12th in the Bundesliga between 2004/05 and 2015/16, 27 reached the top four within ten seasons.

27 of 60 (45%); likely range 25%–62%, 22 different clubs.

Reached the top six within ten seasonsabout 7 in 10
43 of 60; range 55%–85%
Stayed up for all of the next five seasonsabout 6 in 10
51 of 85; range 45%–73%

Union Berlin itself: 7 of the last 10 seasons in the Bundesliga; 1 top-four finish.

How do we know?

We took every season since 2004/05 in which a club finished in the same part of the same league, and followed each club forward. The figure is the share that reached each goal. Ten-year goals use finishes from 2004/05 to 2015/16, five-year goals from 2004/05 to 2020/21, so every case has had the full time to play out; results run to the end of 2025/26.

It describes what happened to clubs in this position, not a forecast for one club. A club with much more money or history than is usual for its position has better chances than the figure suggests, which is why the club's own record is shown underneath.

The likely range is a 95% interval worked out by resampling clubs rather than seasons, because the same club often appears several times. It is wide where only a few clubs have been in a position, and two leagues whose ranges overlap may not really differ. Reserve teams such as Barcelona B or Real Madrid Castilla are left out of these counts, because they cannot be promoted into their first team's division.

Counts: reached the top four within ten seasons: 27 of 60; reached the top six within ten seasons: 43 of 60; stayed up for all of the next five seasons: 51 of 85.

The story so far

Union Berlin has played 20 seasons in the divisions covered here since 2001/02: 7 in the Bundesliga and 13 in 2. Bundesliga. It has been in the Bundesliga since 2019/20 (7 seasons), after 10 seasons in 2. Bundesliga. Its best finish was 4th in the Bundesliga, in 2022/23. Its biggest climb took five seasons: from 8th in 2. Bundesliga in 2017/18 to 4th in the Bundesliga in 2022/23. It has been promoted 3 times and relegated once.

Final position each seasonRinged dots are titles
2025/262021/222017/182013/142009/102005/062001/021997/981993/941stBundesliga2. Bundesliga
How to read this chart

Every club in the divisions covered is placed on one ladder each season: the champions are 1st, and the top club of the second division comes straight after the bottom club of the first. Shaded bands are the divisions. Hover over or tap a dot for the season.

20seasons since 1992/93
7seasons in the Bundesliga
0league titles
1top-four finishes
3promotions
1relegations

Against the money

Not available for Germany: wage bills are not published club by club in one place there, so this is shown for England and France only.

Clubs with a similar path

Clubs whose finishing positions over the last 15 seasons were closest to Union Berlin's, with recent seasons counting more.

In Germany

1. FC KölnGermany · 14th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26SC FreiburgGermany · 7th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26Mainz 05Germany · 10th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26VfL BochumGermany · 9th in 2. Bundesliga, 2025/26

Elsewhere in Europe

LensFrance · 2nd in Ligue 1, 2025/26OsasunaSpain · 17th in LaLiga, 2025/26Leeds UnitedEngland · 14th in the Premier League, 2025/26

Compare Union Berlin with another club

Sources