How Leicester went from Premier League champions to League One in a decade
From the extraordinary high of the 5,000-1 title triumph that shocked the world to the devastating loss of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in a helicopter crash two years later, the Foxes have experienced every emotion in the past decade. In 2016-17 they played Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. A decade later, the Foxes will be in a league with a Bromley team who have spent 132 of their 134 years in existence playing non-league football.
After finishing eighth in the Premier League in 2022 and reaching the Conference League semi-finals, then manager Brendan Rodgers warned the club needed to alter their expectations. Covid had a big impact on King Power - the duty-free retailer owned by Vichai - as airline travel halted. The ripples were still being felt and, after an eight-game winless start to 2022-23, Rodgers said Leicester needed to focus on reaching 40 points.
It was a stark contrast to previous declarations from the former Liverpool boss, who spoke frequently about disrupting the established order in the Premier League. Leicester came close to doing it, missing out on the Champions League on the final day of successive seasons in 2020 and 2021. Under Rodgers they also won the FA Cup - beating Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea - but the decline quickly took hold amid a lack of quality investment.
So while Leicester tried to stay still, they ended up tumbling backwards. They still boasted a team including internationals such as Jamie Vardy, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans but Rodgers was dismissed in April 2023 with the club in the bottom three. Former Aston Villa and Norwich boss Dean Smith came in but was unable to save them.
In the thee years since Rodgers left, Leicester have had seven managers, with sources questioning the decision-making as the Foxes have lurched from style to style with no identity. They went from Smith to Enzo Maresca, who at least took them to the Championship title in 2024, to Steve Cooper - after a failed move for Graham Potter - to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who won just five of his 27 games. Marti Cifuentes was appointed in July - Van Nistelrooy finally sacked once Leicester entered a new financial year - and was expected to pick up the pieces with the same damaged squad.