The 2023/24 season is drawing to a close and one thing we can say for certain is that there will not be a new name etched onto the trophy this spring. At the time of writing, there are just two games left for most sides, with Arsenal leading the way, ahead of Manchester City (who have a game in hand) and then Liverpool. Realistically only the top two can land the championship this year, though Liverpool have a mathematical chance.
That we have said there will not be a new winner this term tells us that all three of those sides have won the Premier League title in the past. But who else has won the biggest domestic prize in English football since the competition was rebranded in the 1992/93 season?
How Many Clubs Have Ever Won the Premier League?
Almost twice as many men have set foot on the moon as there are clubs that have won the Premier League title. So, we’re talking about a pretty select group here – in both cases to be fair. 12 people have walked on the moon, whilst a magnificent seven different sides have won the Premier League. Let’s now take a look at those seven, starting with the first to do so, who also happen to be the competition’s most successful club.
Manchester United – 13 Premier League Titles
Man United are, by some distance, the most successful side in the relatively short history of this competition. Amazing though it may seem to supporters who have left their teens behind, other fans who are, perhaps, 16 to 18 or younger, will only really know United as a club that have been historically successful. Their last title came back in 2012/13, 11 years ago, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last season at the club. Since then they have finished as runner-up on two occasions but have seen other clubs eat into their lead in terms of titles won in the PL era.
As alluded to, United were the first side to be crowned Premier League champs in the inaugural season of the competition in 1992/93. They had finished second 12 months earlier but that win really kicked off an era of domination for Ferguson and his team.
They defended their crown in 1993/94, were second the following season, then won another two titles back-to-back, before just missing out again in the 1997/98 campaign when they were second. They then completed a hat-trick of titles, the first of which (in 1998/99) was part of a famous treble that also included the FA Cup and Champions League.
In the period of time just mentioned they won seven PL crowns in just nine years, never finishing worse than second. By these insane standards the start of the new millennium was a lacklustre few years as they won just one title (2002/03) in five seasons. However, Fergie showed his brilliant talent for rebuilding sides once again and United were soon in the ascendency once again, seeing off the new challenge of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea.
Between 2006/07 and 2008/09 they completed another hat-trick of titles, claiming a fourth PL win in five years in 2010/11 and then a fifth in seven with the club’s most recent success in 2012/13.
- 13 Premier League Wins
- First Win in 1992/93
- Last Win in 2012/13
- Seven Times Runners-up
Manchester City – 7 Premier League Titles
Man City may well make it eight in a couple of weeks but for now they trail their city rivals by six PL titles. City won their first PL crown when Ferguson was still at United but since the former Aberdeen boss retired they have really dominated English football. City’s first PL crown came in 2012 and was one of the most dramatic ends to a PL campaign ever. Roberto Mancini’s City were slugging it out with Man United but with time running out on the final day of the campaign, their cause looked buried.
Needing to win, they trailed QPR 2-1 at home with normal time finished. However, Edin Dzeko made it 2-2 in the 93rd minute, before Sergio Aguero scored perhaps the Premier League’s most famous goal to secure City’s first PL title. That title opened the floodgates, and whilst United got the better of them the following season, City have very much had the upper hand since.
- 7 PL Wins for Man City
- 3 x Runners-up
- Title Wins in – 2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23
Mancini managed City to their first title, with Manuel Pellegrini in the dugout in the 2013/14 campaign. Pep has added a further five and if City take glory in 2023/24 they will have completed an unprecedented PL four-in-a-row.
Chelsea – 5 Premier League Titles
Chelsea boast five PL crowns to their name, having also finished second on four occasions. They have not topped the pile since doing so in 2016/17 though and all of their wins came under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, who bought the club in 2003.
Success came quickly for the Russian, with Chelsea landing their first PL crown, and just their second top-flight title, in 2004/05 and then defending that the following season. They also won the championship in 2009/10 and 2014/15, before that fifth success in 2017.
Arsenal – 3 Premier League Titles
The Gunners may yet upset the odds and claim a fourth PL crown in 2024 but for now they have won three titles, all under Arsene Wenger. Their first success came in 1997/98, before another win in 2001/02. They did the league and cup double in both of those seasons but the best was yet to come.
In 2003/04 the Gunners won the title again and went the whole season unbeaten in the league. Their “Invincible” campaign is the only time this has been achieved in the PL era and the only time ever in a 20-team English top flight. Also of note is that only Man United have finished second in the PL table as many times as Arsenal, with the Gunners possibly set to create a new record in 2024.
Liverpool – 1 Premier League Title
Liverpool’s glory years were before the Premier League began and the Reds have only won the PL once, in 2019/20. They have been runners-up on five occasions.
Leicester City – 1 Premier League Title
Leicester’s victory in the 2015/16 season was perhaps the most incredible league win we have ever seen. Almost relegated a year earlier, the Foxes defied odds of 5,000/1 to write a fairy tale story that even now, almost a decade on, seems hard to believe. Their next-best finish is fifth.
Blackburn Rovers – 1 Premier League Title
Rovers have not played in the PL since 2011/12 and have dropped into the third tier since then, though they play in the Championship now. However, in the competition’s early years, powered by the funds of owner and local lad Jack Walker, they were briefly Man United’s biggest competitors. In the 1994/95 campaign they came out on top, winning their only PL crown, though they also finished second a season earlier.