Since the Premier League was formed for the 1992-93 season, it has grown into the world’s most popular league – but who has won it most?
The 2019-20 Premier League season is the 27th since 22 clubs broke away from the Football League to set up their own competition at the end of the 1991-92 campaign.
It has proven to be a commercial success, turning into a money-making behemoth that attracts record television revenue and, in many ways, is the envy of the sport across the world.
Now dominated by a familiar ‘Big Six’ – Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham – it has not always been that way.
How many teams have won the Premier League?
In total, only six clubs have won the Premier League title: Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City.
Among the traditional ‘Big Six’, only Liverpool and Tottenham have failed to win a single league title during the Premier League era.
Full list of Premier League winners
| Club | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 13 | 1992-93, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13 |
| Chelsea | 5 | 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2014-15, 2016-17 |
| Manchester City | 4 | 2011-12, 2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19 |
| Arsenal | 3 | 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1 | 1994-95 |
| Leicester City | 1 | 2015-16 |
When the Premier League was formed, the landscape was very different, with Leeds United the last winners of the old First Division. They now find themselves one of 29 clubs who have tasted top-flight football in the Premier League only to be playing outside of the division now.
Indeed, the 1992-93 season heralded the true rebirth of Manchester United under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, as they picked up their first title in 26 years, with the remainder of the top five comprising of Aston Villa, Norwich, Blackburn and QPR.
It would be the first of 13 Premier League crowns – a record tally.
United would go on to win four of the first five Premier League titles, with their sequence interrupted by big-spending Blackburn Rovers in the 1994-95 season.
The Red Devils’ long-time rivals Liverpool may be one of the most successful teams in England with 18 league titles, but have been mocked by United fans for not managing to win the Premier League. That looks set to change in 2019-20 though, with Jurgen Klopp’s team on course to be crowned Premier League champions for the first time.
Arsenal became the third different club to lift the Premier League trophy, with Arsene Wenger’s revolution leading them to success in the 1997-98 campaign, beginning a lengthy rivalry with the Red Devils as they sparred over the next seven years for supremacy.
Roman Abramovich’s takeover at Chelsea in 2003 sparked a fresh era of previously unprecedented spending as the Russian poured money into the Stamford Bridge side and was rewarded with the 2004-05 title.
Manchester City were the next club along to break the established order as they, too, enjoyed the benefits of a takeover, with the Etihad club picking up their first Premier League title in 2011-12.
The only constant in terms of success were United until Ferguson retired after winning the title in 2013, after which they dropped away.
The void has been filled with nouveau riche Chelsea and Manchester City, who have taken four of the last five titles between them, with a fairy tale success from Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester the interloper in that run.
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