By Gabriel Mills
After a 2-2 draw at home to Hull City, Leicester City fell to a second successive relegation on the 10-year anniversary of their famous Premier League title win.
On April 18, 2017, Leicester welcomed Atletico Madrid to the King Power Stadium for a captivating quarter-final tie under the lights.
Next season the Foxes will host the likes of Bromley, Doncaster and Mansfield Town.
The downfall of the 2015/16 Premier League champions and the 2020/21 FA Cup winners is an extraordinary one in a year that should have been a celebrated anniversary for the club.
Fairytale story
This time 10 years ago, Leicester were on the brink of one of the greatest sporting achievements in history.
The Foxes sat seven points clear of second place with three matches remaining, falling to just three defeats to that point.
Touted for relegation, Claudio Ranieri’s side defied the odds to make history and they did it with unbreakable team spirit, quality in attack and a desire and fight to win.
Fast forward a decade and Leicester City have lost 18 times and won just twice since the turn of the year, showing the complete opposite of what the team was once about.
Unlike most fairytale stories, this one is turning increasingly ugly with no sign of a happy ending.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Chelsea news: Liam Rosenior loses composure in chaotic post-match interview v Brighton
Back-to-back relegation
There was real excitement around Leicester when they pipped Ipswich Town to the Championship title in 2023/24.
Under another of Pep Guardiola’s assistants, the young and exciting Enzo Maresca was at the wheel of a Leicester side that picked up 97 points that season.
Their fortunes in the Premier League were not as they would have hoped though.
Maresca was poached by Chelsea, the club’s transfer market activity was underwhelming and the team seemed destined for the drop early on in proceedings.
Leicester went down with Southampton and Ipswich as the worst collective bottom three in Premier League history based on the combined 59 points they accumulated.
Bright start
This season has been even more disastrous despite a bright enough start.
Losing once in their opening 10 games, the Foxes sat in the play-off positions early on before a gradual decline towards mid-table followed after a challenging October and November.
It wasn’t until the turn of the year that poor form really set in – this coincided with a six-point deduction for a breach of the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.
The combination of the two meant the club nosedived from 12th position to 22nd, inside the relegation zone, in a matter of weeks.
Gary Rowett was hired as a third head coach of the season in February but failed to get a tune out of a desolate Leicester side.
A draw against bottom side Sheffield Wednesday and a 1-0 loss away to relegation rivals Portsmouth were the hammer blows earlier this month as Leicester’s fate was rapidly setting in.
Knowing only a win would keep any hope alive at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, Leicester came back from a goal down against Hull City to lead 2-1.
With 30 minutes remaining, Oli McBurnie struck a dagger to Foxes hearts as the visitors drew level and Leicester were relegated.
Deep-rooted issues
Financial issues have clouded over Leicester and are darkening with each season.
The club breached the £83 million limit by £20.8 million and could have been docked up to 12 points rather than six for their failure to comply with the league’s spending regulations.
Their wage bill is enormously inflated with by far the highest spend on wages in the division, more than Bristol City, Swansea and QPR combined.
The likes of Harry Winks on a reported £90,000 weekly wage, Ricardo Pereira on £80,000 and Patson Daka on £75,000 can explain parts of the financial problems.
In fact, the top four highest earners in the Championship all play for Leicester City.
Their performances have been miles from the level of what the lucrative contracts would suggest.
How this issue is combated in League One will be a sore headache for all involved with decision-making at the club but it’s a sorry state of affairs for the former champions of England.
READ NEXT: NBA playoffs news: Los Angeles Lakers eye first-round clean sweep v Houston Rockets
Liberty Nicholson-Hulse