LONDON — Ten years after authoring the ultimate sporting fairytale, former Premier League champions Leicester is on the brink of a humiliating relegation to the third tier.
If Gary Rowett’s side fail to beat Hull on Tuesday, they will be condemned to League One for only the second time in their history, AFP reported.
Languishing eight points from safety with only three games left, the Foxes appear destined to plunge into the third tier for the first time since 2008-09 following an astonishing decline over the last five years.
It would be a third relegation in four seasons for Leicester, who dropped out of the Premier League in 2023 and 2025.
After Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and company defied 5 000-1 odds by winning the Premier League in 2016, Leicester reached the Champions League quarterfinals the next season and won the FA Cup in 2021.
But Leicester’s golden era is a distant memory as they face the unpalatable prospect of playing the likes of Bromley, Mansfield and Wycombe next season.
Crashing out of the Premier League in limp fashion three years ago should have been a wake-up call for Leicester’s Thai owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and much-maligned sporting director Jon Rudkin.
But Leicester’s hierarchy were painfully slow to address numerous flaws on the pitch, while the club’s ruinous finances have cost them, with a six-point deduction this season for breaching spending rules.
Vardy’s departure at the end of last season severed the last tie with the title-winning squad.
Marti Cifuentes, hired to lead a promotion push, struggled to rebuild an unbalanced and inexperienced squad before his sacking in January.
Interim boss Andy King was unable to turn the tide and relegation fears began to mount after Leicester blew a 3-0 halftime lead in a dismal 4-3 defeat against Southampton.
By the time Rowett was hired in February, the Foxes were two points from safety and the former Leicester defender has mustered only one win from his 11 matches since.
But it is his players that have taken the brunt of the blame, with fans chanting “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and engaging in an altercation with midfielder Harry Winks after last weekend’s loss at Portsmouth.
“A lack of fight is something that’s been labelled at the team over the course of a season. I don’t know whether that’s fair but I think we’ve showed a lack of quality,” Rowett acknowledged.
