In the Historical Records series, we’ll share a bit about the great achievements of the world’s biggest leagues. Today, we’ll start with the championship that is currently the most glamorous and followed globally: the Premier League, which kicked off its 2024/25 season with a bang this past weekend.
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Index
Premier League
Founded in 1992, following the dissolution of the Football League (the top division of the English Championship from 1888 to 1992) and due to pressure from English clubs to receive more revenue from television rights, the FA Premier League was established.
At that time, the English League was far from being the most coveted in the world. However, with the English passion for football, good investment from clubs with the money received from new television deals, and the relentless pursuit of internationalizing its product, today the Premier League is the most important league in the world, both in footballing and economic terms.
It quickly became a global phenomenon, and since 1992, it has captivated football fans with incredible records to share.
Let’s dive into the records:
Most Titles
Manchester United – 13 Titles
The Red Devils are the most successful team in Premier League history. From the first season in 1992-1993 until their last title in the 2012-2013 season, they were the team to beat.
During this period, they had incredible teams and legendary players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Scholes, Ferdinand, Rooney, Van der Sar, Beckham, Giggs, Park Ji Sung, Carlitos Tevez, Vidic, Evra, Gary Neville, Carrick, and many others.
This era was dominated by the iconic Sir Alex Ferguson, who season after season, perfected the Red Devils’ squad, making them nearly unbeatable in the first 20 years of the Premier League, with 13 titles.
Photo: Manchester United
Longest Title Streak
Manchester City – 4 Consecutive Titles
With the title in the 2023/24 season, the now-powerful City became the only club to win the Premier League four times in a row – 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24. All under the legendary Pep Guardiola’s command.
Guardiola has a unique vision of the game, and after successful stints at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, he is now in his longest tenure with the Citizens.
Since the Spanish coach’s arrival in the 2016-2017 season, City, which was already a very strong team with legendary players like Kun Agüero, Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho, Gündogan, Touré, De Bruyne, David Silva, and many others, has been molded into Pep’s unique positional style.
With each passing season, the club only improved, and if not for a second-place finish in the 2019/20 season, where Liverpool dominated, City could have won seven consecutive titles in just nine seasons under Guardiola, making them one of the strongest and most assertive teams in football history.
So, reader, do you think this record will be extended this season? After a solid 2-0 win against Chelsea in the opener, it seems likely that City will be at the top of the table throughout the competition.
Image: Manchester City
Most Points, Goals Scored, and Wins in a Single Season
Manchester City – 2017/2018
As mentioned above, since Guardiola’s arrival, he has imposed his vision of the game, and in his second season with City, he won the English Championship in an undeniably masterful way.
In the 38 matches played, City recorded 32 wins, 4 draws, and only 2 losses, accumulating a massive 100 points, along with 106 goals scored, averaging nearly 3 goals per game.
The team, led by the Spaniard, seemed to play in perfect harmony, with teammates understanding each other with just a glance. It was a perfect mix of youth (Gabriel Jesus, Ederson, Bernardo Silva, Laporte, Sterling, Sané, among others) and experience (Fernandinho, Touré, David Silva, Kompany, Walker, among others).
No team could withstand Manchester City’s attacking prowess, making it a season to envy.
Photo: Carl Recine/Reuters
Fewest Goals Conceded in a Single Season
Chelsea – 2004/2005 – 15 Goals
José Mourinho’s first season as Chelsea manager was a resounding success. His methodical and determined approach was quickly adopted by the players and fans, transforming the Blues into a powerhouse.
The London team featured legendary players like Terry, Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, Lampard, Robben, Drogba, Makélélé, among others, and the arrival of the young Mourinho was the perfect combination.
It was a solid and objective team that sometimes played bureaucratic football but was 100% efficient.
Conceding just 15 goals in 2004/2005, the Blues were the undisputed Premier League champions, remembered as one of the most solid teams in football history.
Photo: Reproduction
Fewest Points in a Single Season
Derby County – 2007-2008 – 11 Points
Most records are celebrated and remembered with pride, but not all.
After the brilliant and hard-fought victory in the 2006/2007 Football League Championship Playoffs, securing promotion to the 2007/2008 Premier League, not even the most pessimistic Rams fan could have imagined what was to come.
The 2007-2008 season was a disaster, one to be forgotten.
It’s true that Derby didn’t have the squad or resources to compete with Premier League teams, but no one expected them to accumulate just 11 points in 38 games, with 1 win, 8 draws, and 29 losses, scoring just 20 goals and conceding 89.
The reason for the dismal performance of the traditional team from Derby was not just on the field but also off it.
In the previous season, the team had been purchased by a new investor, Peter Gadsby, a millionaire businessman and passionate Rams fan.
However, neither Peter nor the management, which was largely restructured with him, knew how to navigate the nuances of the world’s top league, and he was also regularly criticized by fans for not making the promised investments.
With poor on-field performance and chaos off it, with frequent changes in CEOs, coaches, and directors, there was no better recipe for failure, resulting in the worst campaign ever seen in the Premier League.
Photo: Action Images
Most Wins
Manchester United – 704 Wins
Just like the team with the most titles, the Red Devils also hold the record for most wins in the competition’s history, with 704 victories from the 1992/1993 season to the present.
Much of this is a reflection of what we’ve mentioned above – a team with a strong identity, a massive fan base, legendary players, and, during their long years of glory, led by one of the greatest managers of all time: Sir Alex Ferguson.
Photo: Reproduction
Most Losses
West Ham – 416 Losses
The traditional claret and blue club from the English capital holds this less-than-desirable record, which reflects a team that, since the 1992/1993 season, has been fighting its way to the top of the Premier League.
This statistic likely stems from the type of campaigns the London team has had over the last 32 years of the Premier League. They rarely find themselves at the bottom of the table, but neither are they consistently at the top – in other words, only those who play can lose.
Despite this negative record, the Hammers are a well-structured club that evolves year after year, both in terms of their brand and finances as well as their football. An example of this was the unprecedented Conference League title in the 2022/2023 season, proving that the club isn’t defined solely by losses.
Photo: Reproduction
Written By João Felipe Miller
