Leicester fairytale turns sour as relegation to third tier looms

SportsLeicester fairytale turns sour as relegation to third tier loomsBy AFP -Apr 21, 2026Ten years after authoring the ultimate sporting fairytale, former Premier League champions Leicester are 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. 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 quarter-finals 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. ‘A lack of quality’ Interim boss Andy King was unable to turn the tide and relegation fears began to mount after Leicester blew a 3-0 half-time lead in a dismal 4-3 defeat against Southampton. By the time Rowett was hired in February, the Foxes were two points from safety an...