The Premier League is considered to be one of the best divisions in world football. Whilst English teams have a decent, if not exceptional, history in the Champions League, it remains one of the places that is able to draw in the best talent on account of the fact that the riches on offer there mean that players want to play in England during their careers.
There are some teams, such as Liverpool and Manchester United, that are known to everyone on the planet, but how many different teams have called the Premier League their home during the division’s existence?
The Teams
In the history of the Premier League up to the 2025-2026 season, 51 different football clubs have called it their home. Some of them have been in and out of it at various times, whilst others have been ever-presents from the moment that the league was launched.
Here is a look at the 51 different teams that have made up the Premier League at one point or another, including the number of seasons that they have played in the English top-flight:
| Team | First Season in PL | Total Number of Seasons in PL |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 1992-1993 | 33 |
| Aston Villa | 1992-1993 | 30 |
| Barnsley | 1997-1998 | 1 |
| Birmingham City | 2002-2003 | 7 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1992-1993 | 18 |
| Blackpool | 2010-2011 | 1 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1995-1996 | 13 |
| Bournemouth | 2015-2016 | 8 |
| Bradford City | 1999-2000 | 2 |
| Brentford | 2021-2022 | 4 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2017-2018 | 8 |
| Burnley | 2009-2010 | 10 |
| Cardiff City | 2013-2014 | 2 |
| Charlton Athletic | 1998-1999 | 8 |
| Chelsea | 1992-1993 | 33 |
| Coventry City | 1992-1993 | 9 |
| Crystal Palace | 1992-1993 | 16 |
| Derby County | 1996-1997 | 7 |
| Everton | 1992-1993 | 33 |
| Fulham | 2014-2015 | 18 |
| Huddersfield Town | 2017-2018 | 2 |
| Hull City | 2008-2009 | 5 |
| Ipswich Town | 1992-1993 | 6 |
| Leeds United | 1992-1993 | 16 |
| Leicester City | 1994-1995 | 18 |
| Liverpool | 1992-1993 | 33 |
| Luton Town | 2023-2024 | 1 |
| Manchester City | 1992-1993 | 28 |
| Manchester United | 1992-1993 | 33 |
| Middlesbrough | 1992-1993 | 15 |
| Newcastle United | 1993-1994 | 30 |
| Norwich City | 1992-1993 | 10 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1992-1993 | 8 |
| Oldham Atheltic | 1992-1993 | 2 |
| Portsmouth | 2003-2004 | 7 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 1992-1993 | 7 |
| Reading | 2006-2007 | 3 |
| Sheffield United | 1992-1993 | 6 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1992-1993 | 8 |
| Southampton | 1992-1993 | 25 |
| Stoke City | 2008-2009 | 10 |
| Sunderland | 1996-1997 | 17 |
| Swansea City | 2011-2012 | 7 |
| Swindon Town | 1993-1994 | 1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1992-1993 | 33 |
| Watford | 1999-2000 | 8 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2002-2003 | 13 |
| West Ham United | 1993-1994 | 29 |
| Wigan Athletic | 2005-2006 | 8 |
| Wimbledon | 1992-1993 | 8 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2003-2004 | 11 |
The Ever-Presents
Of the 51 teams that have enjoyed at least one season playing in the top-flight, only six have been ever-presents in it throughout its existence. Those six are as follows:
- Arsenal
- Chelsea
- Everton
- Liverpool
- Manchester United
- Tottenham Hotspur
That means that all of the other 45 clubs have been relegated out of the Premier League at least once since the division was founded back in 1992.
Of the ever-present clubs, four of them have won at least one Premier League title during their time in the top-flight.
Arsenal did so for the first time in the 1997-1998 campaign, making history in 2003-2004 when they became the first and, to date, only team to end the season without a single defeat. They have won three Premier League titles at the time of writing.
Chelsea’s first Premier League title came in the wake of Roman Abramovich’s takeover of the London club, with the Russian oligarch pumping billions into the side in the years that followed. The first title was won at the end of the 2004-2005 season, doubling the number of top-flight titles that they had won. They have since gone on to win another four, giving them five Premier League titles in total.
In spite of the fact that Liverpool are the most successful English club of all time, sharing the number of top-flight titles with Manchester United at 20, it took until the 2019-2020 season for them to win their first. They came close the year before, missing out to Manchester City by a single point, doing so again at the end of the 2021-2022 campaign. They won their second Premier League title in 2024-2025.
Although Liverpool have more major trophies than Manchester United, not least thanks to the six European Cups / Champions Leagues that the Merseyside club has won, the Red Devils have easily won more Premier League titles. In fact, the Old Trafford side have won more Premier League titles than any other side, lifting their first in 1992-1993, the division’s debut season, and going on to win another 12 in the years that followed.
The ‘Yo-Yo’ Clubs
There are some clubs that have struggled to maintain their Premier League existence over the years. Even so, they have done well enough to regain promotion after relegation, to the point that some of them can be considered to be ‘yo-yo’ clubs; neither good enough to stay up nor bad enough to remain down.
The club that is most deserving of that title is Norwich City, who have spent no fewer than six spells in the Premier League to date. Their first came between 1992 and 1995, then they returned for the 2004-2005 season. In 2011 they came back up and stayed up until 2014, then they left for a season before returning for the 2015-2016 campaign. They also played Premier League football in both 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.
There are another five teams that have played Premier League football across five spells at the time of writing. They are:
- Burnley (2009-2010 / 2014-2015 / 2016-2022 / 2023-2024 / 2025-?)
- Crystal Palace (1992-1993 / 1994-1995 / 1997-1998 / 2004-2005 / 2013-?)
- Leicester City (1994-1995 / 1996-2002 / 2003-2004 / 2014-2023 / 2024-2025)
- Sunderland (1996-1997 / 1999-2003 / 2005-2006 / 2007-2017 – 2025-?)
- West Bromwich Albion (2002-2003 / 2004-2006 / 2008-2009 / 2010-2018 / 2020-2021)
Remarkably, one of those teams has also won the Premier League. Leicester City did so in an improbable fashion during the 2015-2016 season, confounding all expectations by running away with the title at a time when all of the ‘big’ clubs put in a terrible performance.
Although teams like Newcastle United and Manchester City, who have been bought by nation-states in Saudi Arabia and Dhabi respectively, are now considered Premier League mainstays and should compete for the title each year when you consider how much money they have at their disposal, they were also once considered to be yo-yo clubs. The Magpies have enjoyed three different spells in the Premier League, whilst City have also done so three times.
The ‘One and Done’ Sides
There are a number of clubs that have only enjoyed one season in the modern day top-flighting relegated at the end of it and unable to return as of yet. Here is a look at those clubs:
- Barnsley (1997-1998)
- Blackpool (2010-2011)
- Luton Town (2023-2024)
- Swindon Town (1993-1994)
There are some that only just escape that label, with all of Bradford City, Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Oldham Athletic only managing two seasons in the Premier League to date.
The First Division Not Premier League Club
There are 14 different clubs that played in the old First Division, but haven’t yet managed to play in the Premier League. Of those, Accrington Football Club are no longer in existence.
The other 13, meanwhile, exist at at least some level of the English Football League pyramid.
Here are those 13 teams:
- Bradford Park Avenue
- Bristol City
- Bury
- Carlisle United
- Darwen
- Glossop North End
- Grimsby Town
- Leyton Orient
- Millwall
- Northampton Town
- Notts County
- Oxford United
- Preston North End
Preston North End are most interesting case, given the fact that they are the only former champions of the English top-flight who have never played in the Premier League.