Leicester City's downfall: From EPL throne to third flight in 10 years
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Reading Time: 3min | Wed. 22.04.26. | 18:01
Despite having by far the most expensive squad in the Championship, the Foxes have been relegated to League One two games before the end of the season
In April 2016, the football world began to realize it was witnessing one of the greatest miracles football had ever seen. Even the biggest skeptics were slowly but surely accepting the fact that Leicester City would become the champions of England.
The crew full of - at that point - relatively unknown names such as Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante, Shinji Okazaki, Leonardo Ulloa, Jamie Vardy, etc. and with only some established players like Kasper Schmeichel, Robert Huth, Christian Fuchs, and Gokhan Inler, managed to bring football giants like the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and the rest of the EPL to their knees and win their maiden title led by the charismatic old hand Claudio Ranieri, writing one of the most beautiful fairytales football has ever seen.
Claudio Ranieri and his men lift the Premier League trophy, May 2016 (©Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)Ten years later, Leicester City are preparing for their new reality - life in League One, the third division of the English football pyramid.
Last night, the Foxes officially lost all chances to survive in the Championship, drawing 2-2 at home to Hull City.
10 years ago today, Leicester City were top of the Premier League on 74 points.
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 21, 2026
11 days later, they would be crowned Champions of England following Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Spurs in the infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’.
Today, they've been relegated to the third division of… pic.twitter.com/rSFTcyc4Jo
Two years ago, they broke the infamous PSR rules and were deducted six points at the beginning of the current campaign. Those six points might have saved them.
Nevertheless, Leicester's downfall didn't begin instantly after winning the EPL title.
In 2018, their beloved owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, tragically died in a helicopter accident. It took some time, but his son and successor in the leading position, Aiyawatt, proved unworthy and unsuccessful.
Still, just six years ago, they finished fifth in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League. The season after, they won the FA Cup, and in the 2021/2022 campaign, they reached the Europa League semi-finals.
The following seasons were like a rollercoaster for the Foxes, as they were relegated, promoted, and then relegated again. And then, the current abysmal campaign came.
Marti Cifuentes, who started the season on the bench after succeeding Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was relegated from the EPL, was sacked in January. Gary Rowett replaced him with only one goal - survival in the Championship.
Even back then, despite all the struggles, no one seemed to believe that the Foxes could go down. Unfortunately, the worst has happened.
In 20 league games this year, they won only 14 points, and had it not been for the sorry Sheffield Wednesday, who are on the brink of collapse, they would have hit rock bottom.
This relegation will represent a massive financial shock for the club, while a number of their established and very well-paid players, like Harry Winks, Jordan Ayew, Stephy Mavididi, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Patson Daka, Oliver Skipp, Jannik Vestergaard, and others, will either leave or have to accept a significant salary reduction.
The fans are fuming, and no one can blame them. Leicester's fairytale has become a nightmare