Competitive Mobility Project

Germany

VfB Stuttgart

2025/26: 4th in the Bundesliga · 2026/27: Bundesliga

How high can VfB Stuttgart realistically go?

Based on finishing 4th in the Bundesliga in 2025/26

About 1 in 5

Of the 36 times a club finished 2nd to 4th in the Bundesliga between 2004/05 and 2015/16, 7 won the league within ten seasons.

7 of 36 (19%); likely range 0%–44%, 11 different clubs.

Finished in the top four again the next seasonabout 5 in 10
33 of 63; range 33%–65%

VfB Stuttgart itself: 8 of the last 10 seasons in the Bundesliga; 2 top-four finishes.

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: won the league within ten seasons: 7 of 36; finished in the top four again the next season: 33 of 63.

The story so far

VfB Stuttgart has played 34 seasons in the divisions covered here since 1992/93: 32 in the Bundesliga and 2 in 2. Bundesliga. It has been in the Bundesliga since 2020/21 (6 seasons), after 1 season in 2. Bundesliga. It won the Bundesliga once (2006/07). It has been promoted twice and relegated twice.

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.

34seasons since 1992/93
32seasons in the Bundesliga
1league titles
8top-four finishes
2promotions
2relegations

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 VfB Stuttgart's, with recent seasons counting more.

In Germany

FC AugsburgGermany · 9th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26Werder BremenGermany · 15th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26TSG HoffenheimGermany · 5th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26Eintracht FrankfurtGermany · 8th in the Bundesliga, 2025/26

Elsewhere in Europe

Aston VillaEngland · 4th in the Premier League, 2025/26GetafeSpain · 7th in LaLiga, 2025/26BolognaItaly · 8th in Serie A, 2025/26

Compare VfB Stuttgart with another club

Sources