Just a decade after their miraculous Premier League title win, Leicester City's dramatic decline has culminated in relegation to League One, marking one of English football's most startling collapses.
Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Hull City mathematically confirmed the Foxes' drop to the third tier, a staggering fall for a club that lifted the FA Cup just three years ago and competed in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2017.
"Ten years ago, Leicester were days away from winning the Premier League. Next season, they will play in League One."
The journey from 5,000-1 title winners to League One strugglers has been punctuated by tragedy, managerial instability, and financial challenges. The 2018 helicopter crash that claimed owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's life marked a turning point for the club, with the pandemic further impacting the financial stability of his King Power duty-free business.
Despite reaching the Conference League semi-finals in 2022 and finishing eighth in the Premier League that same season, warning signs emerged when then-manager Brendan Rodgers shifted focus from disrupting the established order to simply securing Premier League survival.
Leicester's decline accelerated amid questionable recruitment and constant managerial changes. Since Rodgers' dismissal in April 2023 with the club in the relegation zone, the Foxes have cycled through seven managers in three years, including Dean Smith, Enzo Maresca, Steve Cooper, and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Current manager Marti Cifuentes inherited a damaged squad with limited resources, unable to reverse the downward trajectory. The club that once boasted international stars like Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, and Youri Tielemans now faces the prospect of competing against teams like Bromley, who have spent 132 of their 134 years in non-league football.
From Champions League nights against Atletico Madrid to preparing for League One fixtures, Leicester's decade-long journey serves as a cautionary tale about how quickly football fortunes can change.