On May 2, 2016, Leicester City clinched their first Premier League title, defying 5,000/1 odds. Results from other matches sealed the victory that day, leading to a delayed celebration five days later before their final home game against Everton. Fans at King Power Stadium enjoyed a special performance by opera singer Andrea Bocelli ahead of the 3-1 win, marking one of the most unforgettable moments in football history.

A Swift Return to Peril

Nearly a decade later—exactly 3,642 days—Leicester face potential relegation from the Championship when they host Hull on Tuesday night. A failure to win would confirm their drop to League One, echoing rare historical precedents. Portsmouth, First Division winners in 1950, fell to the Third Division by 1961. Leeds United, champions in 1992, dropped two divisions by 2007. Derby County holds the shortest timeline, winning in 1975 and reaching the Third Division in 1984. Yet, Leicester’s modern-era collapse stands unmatched.

Post-Title Rollercoaster

After their 2016 triumph, Leicester placed 12th in 2017 amid Champions League demands, reaching the quarter-finals. They followed with ninth-place finishes, then fifth twice, including a groundbreaking FA Cup win in 2020/21. In 2021/22, they ended eighth and advanced to the Conference League semi-finals. Despite stars like Harvey Barnes, Youri Tielemans, James Maddison, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Jamie Vardy, relegation struck in 2022/23 on the final day.

Jamie Vardy netted 18 goals as Enzo Maresca led a 97-point Championship title charge in 2023/24. Maresca’s departure to Chelsea followed. Steve Cooper’s sacking came at 16th on November 24, 2024. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s arrival triggered a nosedive, with 15 losses in 16 Premier League games from December 14 to April 7. Relegation arrived with five games left in 2024/25.

Championship Struggles Intensify

Summer saw van Nistelrooy exit and Marti Cifuentes arrive from QPR. Departures included Conor Coady, Wilfred Ndidi, Mads Hermansen, Kasey McAteer, James Justin, and Boubakary Soumare. Permanent free-agent goalkeepers joined, alongside loans of Julian Carranza, Jordan James, and Aaron Ramsey. Leicester sat fourth after three wins in four early games and held position by October 18 with one loss in 10.

The form crumbled post-international break, worsening in 2026 with just two wins in 19 Championship matches. Gary Rowett, a former Leicester player, replaced Cifuentes on February 18 but couldn’t halt the decline. An appeal against a six-point deduction for 2023/24 Profit and Sustainability breaches failed earlier this month—Leicester’s first such penalty. Without it, they trail safety by three points; with it, eight points adrift with three games remaining. A recent Portsmouth defeat leaves them teetering.

Nightmare Statistics

• One win in last 17 Championship games (7 draws, 9 losses).
• Six losses in last eight home Championship matches (1 win, 1 draw).
• Top scorers in bottom half with 54 goals, but second-worst defensively behind Sheffield Wednesday.
• 17 points dropped from winning positions at home—joint-most in top four tiers.
• 28 points dropped from leads overall—second to Sheffield United’s 29.
• Opened scoring in 13 of 21 home games, winning only six.

Leicester were fourth before their October 21 reverse fixture against Hull, six months ago.

Owner’s Influence and Fan Views

Jordan Halford of the Big Strong Leicester Boys podcast reflects on Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s 2018 death: “This wouldn’t have happened if he was still there. But unfortunately, his son is not quite the businessman or the football club owner that he was. Top [Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha] is never even at the club himself.”

Halford adds: “He did an interview earlier this year, where he looked so out of touch saying that we’re going for promotion. Everyone could see that we were going to struggle to stay up, let alone go for promotion. Leicester fans get a lot of criticism for being entitled. We’re not asking to be challenging for trophies like we were under Vichai; we’re just asking to be sustainably run like Brentford and Bournemouth and Brighton. No disrespect, but we’re bigger clubs than all of them. If Vichai was still here, this would never have happened.”

Financial Fallout

League One relegation would slash revenues by 50% from Championship levels—less than a third of last year’s Premier League earnings. From £187m annually in the top flight, projections show over £100m this Championship season ending, dropping to £60m in League One. Leicester would dwarf average League One clubs (£10m revenues).

Premier League parachute payments provide a buffer, unchanged by further demotion but tapering: 55% year one, 45% year two, 20% year three. A swift Championship return would still reduce 2027/28 aid. Wage bills face 30-40% cuts via clauses and squad overhaul. Players like Abdul Fatawu, valued at £35m post-Premier League relegation, could fetch £10m-15m less in League One.

Halford laments: “It’s a disgrace. I’ve said the players were not only an embarrassment to the shirt, but I think they’re an embarrassment to their profession. It’s the highest paid team to get relegated to the third tier. Leicester have only been in the third tier once in 148 years and we’ve never suffered back-to-back relegations before.”

“We’ve won the Premier League and the FA Cup and we’ve played in Europe for two or three seasons. We’re a bit more of a juggernaut now. The training ground cost nearly £100m, the wage bill was more than Everton’s last season and it’s the highest in the Championship. You can’t run a club our size on the revenue that you get in League One. This season is the most embarrassing in the club’s history—and I think this could just be the start. I wouldn’t bet against them getting relegated next season either. I can’t think of a fall from grace in English football like this. Not in my lifetime, anyway.”