Who are the biggest teams to be relegated from the Premier League? Read for the biggest Premier League teams to be relegated, including Aston Villa and Newcastle.
With Tottenham and West Ham scrapping it out on the final day of the 2025/26 season to avoid the drop, it got us thinking: the biggest team to be relegated from the Premier League… it’s obviously a subjective debate. This isn’t simply about the team that had the longest Premier League betting odds for the drop, nor is it a judgement on which team spent the least time in the EFL before returning to the top flight.
There’s plenty of discussion to be had around which teams make the list, but here is our selection of the biggest sides to drop into England’s second tier.
Leeds United
Given that Leeds were only three seasons removed from a Champions League semi-final, there’s a strong case to be made that they are the biggest Premier League team to be relegated. From being a couple of wins away from being crowned champions of Europe, Leeds found themselves in financial strife, after chairman Peter Ridsdale had taken out loans on the expectation Leeds would qualify for the Champions League.
Missing out on qualification in successive seasons left the club in a difficult position. Key players, including Rio Ferdinand and Jonathan Woodgate, were sold. Managers came and went amid fallouts with Ridsdale. In 2003/2004, Leeds were relegated.
A further relegation followed later that decade, followed by three seasons in League One. The Elland Road outfit didn’t return to the Premier League until 2020/2021, almost two decades after their initial relegation.
Throughout serious financial troubles and struggles on the pitch, Leeds fans have remained loyal and vocal. The club have been passionately supported, which helped earn promotion back into the Premier League in 2020 and 2025.
West Ham
After finishing seventh in 2001/2002, West Ham suffered a surprising relegation in 2002/2003. The Hammers had a highly talented squad, featuring David James, Joe Cole, Lee Bowyer, Michael Carrick, Paolo Di Canio, Jermain Defoe, Frédéric Kanouté, and Les Ferdinand.
An abysmal first half of the season left West Ham up against it, but they made a stellar effort. The Hammers lost only one of their final 11 league matches, setting up a decisive final-day fixture. Facing Birmingham City, West Ham simply needed a better result than Bolton Wanderers. A 2-2 draw with Birmingham was not enough, however, and West Ham were relegated on goal difference.
Relegation triggered an exodus at Upton Park. Glen Johnson, Cole, Di Canio, Ferdinand, Trevor Sinclair, and Kanouté were among the players to leave over the summer. Defoe, James, and Ian Pearce departed during the 2003/2004 campaign.
West Ham lost in the playoffs in 2003/2004, but returned to the Premier League after winning the playoffs in the following season. The East London club remained in the top flight until 2011. They bounced right back up in 2012, and they stayed a Premier League outfit before being relegated in 2025/26.
Newcastle United
Less than two years after Mike Ashley had taken complete control of Newcastle United, the Magpies suffered relegation to the Championship. Kevin Keegan left having found the circumstances unworkable, Joe Kinnear’s tenure was brief due to ill health, and Alan Shearer was left with a sinking ship.
With 50,000 Geordies turning out each week, even in the darkest days of the Ashley era, Newcastle were overwhelming Championship betting favourites and returned to the top flight at the first time of asking. Notably, though, they suffered another relegation in 2015/2016, which was perhaps even more surprising given the quality in the squad, including Fabricio Coloccini, Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko, and Papiss Cissé.
New ownership has brought silverware and fresh hope to Tyneside. With their immense fanbase, there’s no question Newcastle are among the biggest clubs in the country, which makes it all the more remarkable that they suffered two relegations in such a short period of time.
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest have suffered three Premier League relegations. After finishing third in 1994/1995 and reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-final in the following season, the relegation in 1996/97 might have been the most surprising.
Relegation in the first-ever Premiership campaign came after finishing eighth in the previous two seasons, and the third – and most recent – relegation was directly after earning promotion. Two-time European champions and contenders for the title in the 1980s and 1995, Forest were a massive club at the time of their first and second relegations.
The team that went down in 1993 featured Stuart Pearce and Roy Keane. There were big names throughout the 1997 squad, too.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa were relegated from the Premier League in 2015/2016 after narrowly avoiding the drop in 2014/2015. It wasn’t necessarily the biggest relegation in Premier League history, as the Villains had endured a prolonged demise after three consecutive seasons of European football between 2008/2009 and 2010/2011. Still, Villa were – and are – a big club with a large, loyal fan base.
It took the Villains three seasons to earn promotion from the Championship. The team that returned to the Premier League in 2019/2020, led by Jack Grealish, had a very different look, but only avoided the drop by a single point.
Since reestablishing themselves as a Premier League outfit, Villa have competed in the Champions League, won the Europa League, and gradually improved their squad under the stewardship of Unai Emery.
