The Worst Title Defences Ever—Ranked

For these teams, the task of defending their crown was one challenge too many.

Napoli were two different teams in 2022-23 and 2023-24. / Getty/Alessandro Sabattini

There’s nothing better than being crowned champions of your domestic league.

It’s the bread and butter for any side, and success means you’ve been the best team over a prolonged period of time—whereas in tournament football, we all know any team can, in theory, win on any given day.

Some would say, however, that winning titles is actually the easy bit, as the real difficulty comes when you try to defend your crown the following season—the pressure is on, the teams around you have likely improved in an effort to catch up and complacency can creep in if you’re not careful.

That got us thinking: What are the most catastrophic, chaotic and downright calamitous title defences ever witnessed in Europe’s top five leagues? Read on to discover who botched it worst over the past 50 years ...

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12. Nantes (2001–02)

Nantes seem to always collapse after winning titles. / Getty/Bongarts

2000–01: 68 Points (1st)
2001–02: 43 Points (11th)
Difference: 25 Points

Nantes kicked off the new millennium in style, winning their last Ligue 1 title to date.

All it took was 68 points and 12 goals from Olivier Monterrubio to get the job done in 2000-01, yet the following season was a bit of a disaster.

A grand total of 43 points and an 11th place finish in 2001-02 was indicative of what Nantes’ future held.

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11. Manchester United (2013–14)

Moyes was given the boot before the end of his first season at Man Utd. / CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images

2012–13: 89 Points (1st)
2013–14: 64 Points (7th)
Difference: 25 Points

Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement season in 2013 couldn’t have gone any better as he secured his 13th Premier League title. Manchester United totted up 89 points, setting up the chosen one David Moyes with all the tools needed for future success.

Instead, it all went wrong.

The Red Devils fell off a cliff, kept losing silly games and developed a penchant for conceding dreadful goals. Consequently, Moyes lost his job before the end of 2013-14, and Ryan Giggs was left to steer the ship home to 64 points and a 7th place finish.

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10. Blackburn (1995–96)

Blackburn won the Premier League in 1994-95. / Colorsport/IMAGO

1994–95: 89 Points (1st)
1995–96: 61 Points (7th)
Difference: 28 Points

The fearsome “SAS” duo carried Blackburn to their first and only Premier League title in the 1994-95 season, with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton’s 49 combined goals enough to bag 89 points.

But the momentum didn’t carry over into the following campaign, amid a succession of injuries for Sutton. He didn’t score a single league goal, and Shearer’s goals could only fire Rovers to 7th on 61 points—a huge 28 point dip.

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9. Lille (2021–22)

Lille couldn't defend their title in 2022. / Getty

2020–21: 83 Points (1st)
2021–22: 55 Points (10th)
Difference: 28 Points

After three straight wins for big-spending Paris Saint-Germain, Lille spoiled the party in 2020–21 by winning their fourth Ligue 1 title—and their first in a decade—fired to glory by the goals of Canadian youngster Jonathan David and Turkish veteran Burak Yılmaz, of all people.

The following campaign, while David kept up his good form, Yılmaz managed just four Ligue 1 goals, Lille faltered, and PSG romped to the title.

Normal service had been resumed.

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8. Real Madrid (1997–98)

Recognise any of these young faces? / Getty/Clive Mason

1996–97: 92 Points (1st)
1997–98: 63 Points (4th)
Difference: 29 Points

Fabio Capello’s first spell at the Santiago Bernabéu bagged a whopping 92 points and the 1996-97 La Liga crown.

The following season wasn’t so kind for the Italian as just five wins in Real’s final 17 games saw their campaign fall apart and rivals Barcelona crowned champions.

Still, 63 points seemed a whole lot brighter after Predrag Mijatović’s goal won Real Madrid the Champions League.

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7. Montpellier (2012–13)

Giroud guided Montpellier to the Ligue 1 title in 2011-12. / Getty/Pascal Guyot

2011–12: 82 Points (1st)
2012–13: 52 Points (9th)
Difference: 30 Points

The Olivier Giroud title, as it’s fondly remembered, saw Montpellier shock the footballing world in 2012.

The Frenchman scored 21 Ligue 1 goals as PSG were pipped to the title by the narrowest of margins.

His exploits led to a summer move to Arsenal, and almost inevitably it wasn‘t possible for Montpellier to replicate their heroics, with La Paillade finishing 30 points and eight places worse off in 2012-13.

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6. Liverpool (2020–21)

Liverpool faltered in 2020-21. / Getty/Paul Ellis

2019–20: 99 Points (1st)
2020–21: 69 Points (10th)
Difference: 30 Points

Liverpool fans were furious that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were largely unable to watch—or properly celebrate—the club’s first-ever Premier League title in 2019–20.

But the following year, they were probably thankful they still couldn’t see the team in the flesh, as Jürgen Klopp’s side slumped to a 69-point finish—30 fewer than they had managed the season before.

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5. AC Milan (1996–97)

AC Milan utterly collapsed in 1996-97. / Getty/Bongarts

1995–96: 73 Points (1st)
1996–97: 43 Points (11th)
Difference: 30 Points

Fabio Capello had a rather good time of it in the mid '90s, as his title winning campaign at Real Madrid followed a successful final season at AC Milan.

Roberto Baggio and George Weah were the star turns as I Rossoneri snaffled 73 points and the Serie A crown, before his departure led to a rather dramatic decline.

Milan finished the 1996-97 campaign on just 43 points, dropping into the bottom half of the table.

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4. Leeds United (1992–93)

Eric Cantona left for Man Utd after guiding Leeds to the title in 1992-93. / Getty/Ben Radford

1991–92: 82 Points (1st)
1992–93: 51 Points (11th)
Difference: 31 Points

The final campaign of the old Division One era saw Leeds United crowned champions with 82 points.

What followed was the beginning of the Premier League era and Manchester United’s dominance of the English top flight. A certain Eric Cantona was the catalyst for change, and his departure from Leeds saw the points tally in Yorkshire significantly plummet.

Fifty-one points later and Leeds had put up one of the worst title defences of all time.

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3. Leicester City (2016–17)

Jamie Vardy did not have a party in 2016-17. / Getty/Michael Regan

2015–16: 81 Points (1st)
2016–17: 44 Points (12th)
Difference: 37 Points

Leicester’s title winning 2015-16 season remains the greatest underdog story in professional sport, and is an accomplishment that will likely never be surpassed.

N'Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy were the stars of the show as the Foxes miraculously bagged 81 points to down some of English football’s biggest clubs.

There was no surprise to see them come crashing back down to earth the following year, though their 44 point haul did represent a pretty hefty decline.

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2. Napoli (2023–24)

Napoli’s 2023-24 campaign was a mess. / Getty/Valerio Pennicino

2022–23: 90 Points (1st)
2023–24: 53 Points (11th)
Difference: 37 Points

Guided by the likes of Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Piotr Zieliński and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Napoli won their first Serie A title since the 1989–90 season in 2022–23, finishing 16 points ahead of second-placed Lazio.

That same core of players—minus Kim Min-jae, who left for Bayern Munich—suffered an almighty collapse when attempting to defend their crown, with the loss of head coach Luciano Spalletti proving too much to overcome.

In a turbulent season that saw them go through three managers, Gli Azzurri won just five games after the New Year and ultimately finished the campaign in 11th.

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1. Chelsea (2015–16)

The Special One lost his touch in 2015. / Getty/Jordan Mansfield

2014–15: 87 Points (1st)
2015–16: 50 Points (10th)
Difference: 37 points

José Mourinho’s return to Chelsea lived up to the billing during 2014-15, culminating in the Special One’s third Premier League title win. But as brilliant as his Blues side were during that season, they were equally as bad during the first half of 2015-16.

Chelsea inexplicably lost their way and folded like a pack of cards as Mourinho—as we’ve since become accustomed to—began to lose the dressing room and belief of all those around him.

Languishing just above the relegation zone, Chelsea had no choice but to fire Mourinho—leaving replacement and interim specialist Guus Hiddink to pick up the pieces.

He did his best, but a dismal 50-point finish was all he and the Blues could muster.

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