Which Premier League clubs have never been relegated

Six Premier League clubs have never been relegated: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. All six were among the 22 founding members when the competition began in 1992, and all six were still there at the end of the 34th season, a status the record books describe as 'ever-present' clubs. The claim worth disagreeing with is that this is an achievement of equals. In 2025/26 those six clubs finished 1st, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 13th and 17th, and the club closest to falling was Tottenham, two points above the relegated line, while Manchester City, the club most often grouped with all of them, has actually been relegated twice in the Premier League era. The never-relegated list is a sporting record; the 'Big Six' label attached to it is a commercial one, used across broadcasting and sponsorship, which is how Manchester City ended up inside it despite having been relegated twice.

The six ever-present clubs

The Premier League began with 22 clubs in 1992, and six of them have contested every single season since. Every account of the record gives the same list: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. All six were founding members, which makes the record a statement about the league's origins as much as about the clubs themselves. Manchester United have won the title a record 13 times in the Premier League era, yet the never-relegated group is a different kind of exclusivity: it has not changed at all since day one.

The last time each of the six dropped out of the top flight ranges from the distant to the recent. Arsenal were relegated in 1912/13 and have been in the top flight continuously since returning for the 1919/20 season. Everton went down in 1950/51 and came back in 1954/55. Liverpool were relegated in 1953/54 and did not return until 1962/63. Manchester United went down in 1973/74 and came straight back in 1975/76. Tottenham were relegated in 1976/77 and returned in 1978/79. Chelsea were the most recent of the six to fall, relegated at the end of 1987/88 before earning promotion back for the 1989/90 campaign.

The founding members who could not keep it up

The other founder clubs show how hard the streak actually is. Thirteen of the 22 founding members competed in the 2026/27 season, and the other seven founders have all been relegated at least once: Aston Villa, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa were the last founding club to drop, their first and only Premier League relegation coming at the end of 2015/16. Manchester City's story is the most instructive: relegated twice in the Premier League era, first in 1996 and again in 2001, which makes them the only member of the so-called 'Big Six' of Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham to have played in the Championship since the Premier League began. Two more recent clubs, Brighton, promoted in 2017, and Brentford, promoted in 2021, have never been relegated since their debuts, but neither counts as ever-present.

The six are not equal

The 2025/26 final table shows how far apart the six can be. Arsenal were champions with 85 points. Manchester United finished third on 71, Liverpool fifth on 60, Chelsea tenth on 52 and Everton 13th on 49. Tottenham were 17th on 41 points, two points above West Ham United, who were relegated in 18th on 39. That is the most useful single snapshot of the record: at one end a team winning the title, at the other a team one bad month away from ending a 34-year streak. Arsenal also own the group's most famous achievement, the only unbeaten season in Premier League history, when they went through 2003/04 without losing a match, won the title by 11 points from Chelsea and became known as the Invincibles.

Everton's history makes them a special case in the other direction: they have been absent from the top flight for only four seasons in their club's entire history, the fewest of any club in English football, with their one and only gap coming between relegation in 1950/51 and promotion back in 1954/55. All six ever-presents also come from just three cities, London, Liverpool and Manchester, which reflects the geography of England's big-city football as much as its sporting elite. Everton also survived two points deductions in 2023/24 without falling, a reminder that the record can survive punishment as well as poor form.

How the record could end

The streak has survived 34 seasons in which clubs have been relegated every year. The Premier League's own explainer confirms the format remains the same in 2026/27: the three clubs that finish bottom will be relegated. Three sides go down every season, and the six have survived every edition of that test so far, including near misses like Tottenham's 17th-place finish and Everton's punishment-hit campaigns. What the streak has not yet faced is a combination of those two things at once, which is exactly the situation a club like Tottenham or Everton would need to find themselves in to break the run.

The six ever-present clubs remain the most exclusive group in English football, but the 2025/26 table is the warning that the list of Premier League clubs never relegated is a standing record, not a permanent one. It only takes one season in 17th and a couple of results going the wrong way for the list to change, which is why the status of having never been relegated is best understood as a fact about the 34 completed seasons, and a question about the next one.

Key takeaways

• Six Premier League clubs have never been relegated: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
• All six were founding members of the league in 1992, and all six have played in every one of the 34 completed seasons.
• Aston Villa were the last founding club to be relegated, going down at the end of 2015/16.
• Manchester City have been relegated twice in the Premier League era, in 1996 and 2001, despite being part of the 'Big Six' label.
• In 2025/26 Tottenham finished 17th on 41 points, two points above relegated West Ham, showing the record can break.

FAQ

Which Premier League clubs have never been relegated?

Six: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. All six have been ever-present since the league's first season in 1992.

Has Manchester City ever been relegated from the Premier League?

Yes, twice: in 1996 and again in 2001. That makes Manchester City the only club in the 'Big Six' group to have played in the Championship since the Premier League began.

When were the six ever present clubs last relegated from the top flight?

Chelsea in 1987/88, Tottenham in 1976/77, Manchester United in 1973/74, Liverpool in 1953/54, Everton in 1950/51 and Arsenal in 1912/13.

Which founding club was the most recent to be relegated?

Aston Villa, whose first and only Premier League relegation came at the end of the 2015/16 season.