Soccer, also called football in England, is one of the country’s most popular and beloved sports. With numerous professional and association clubs, England has the most football clubs in the game. England is also the home to the world’s first club – Sheffield FC (1857), and the world’s oldest professional association football club – Notts County FC (1862).
England’s top domestic league, the English Premier League (EPL), is one of the most popular and successful sports league in the world. The EPL is also the wealthiest national league in world football, and a number of its clubs are owned by billionaire businessmen from Russia, China, the United States of America, and the Middle East.
The Premier League clubs are home to some of the finest footballers from around the world. Leaving the players in the back seat, today we look at the top 7 football teams of England or the English Premier League – as it is the country’s top football league.
7. Arsenal
In the seventh position, we have Arsenal who has got some of the best players worldwide in its arsenal. London’s most successful football club has a huge number of supporters ever since its establishment. Although the team is nowhere near winning the league (EPL), they manage to win the FA Cup now and then.
Arsenal, also known as the Gunners, has achieved 13 league titles, 14 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, and 16 FA Community Shields, among others, in their club history. Under the management of Arséne Wenger, the club ended the Premier League 2003-04 season as champions without a single defeat – a record of 26 wins and 12 draws. For their unbeaten record in the season, they were also nicknamed “The Invincibles.”
Arsenal still holds the record of being unbeaten for 49 consecutive games, extended in its 2004-05 season. Among the standout footballers who played for the team are Cliff Bastin, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Lee Dixon, Mesut Őzil, Pat Jennings, and David Seaman. However, the team’s most outstanding player is striker Thierry Henry, who scored a club-record 226 goals between 1999 and 2007.
6. Tottenham Hotspur
Though Tottenham Hotspur has never won a Premier League title, they are still among the most successful and admired English football teams. Therefore, Tottenham Hotspur land in the sixth position on our list of England’s top 7 football teams. Their last league success came in 1960-61 of the old First Division season when they beat the eventual runner-up Sheffield Wednesday at home 2-1.
However, Tottenham’s trophy room is decorated with some other valuable trophies, including 8 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, and 2 UEFA Cups. Being mostly an average team in the new league, Hotspurs was back in the top and fought for a league title in the 2015/16 season. The team finished in third place with Harry Kane becoming the Premier League’s top scorer with 25 goals.
Tottenham Hotspur is home to renowned players like Ledley King, David Ginola, Jurgen Klinsmann, Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov. At present, Hotspur features world-class players like Gareth Bale, Harry Kane, Son Heung- Min, Carlos Vinicius, Dele Alli, and Joe Rodon, among others.
5. Leicester City
In 2016 Leicester City FC shocked the whole football world with their remarkable performance in Premier League. The team hit the big time and finished the season as the champions for the first in the club’s history. Ever since, the club has shown great potential, thus making its way to our list.
Several newspapers described Leicester’s title win as the most significant sporting shock ever, and the team was dubbed “The Unbelievables.” Throughout their history, Leicester City has spent all but one season in the top two divisions of English Football. Besides, the club has won the second tier title a record seven times, three League Cups, and been to four FA Cup Finals.
Following the win in the 2015-16 season, Leicester City also reached the quarter-finals in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League. Leicester City might not be as successful as other clubs on the list, but it has had some of the most promising players in the history of world football.
4. Chelsea FC
Known for its star players and an offensive style of play, Chelsea FC is one of the world’s biggest and richest football clubs. Over the years, the club has won most silverware, which includes six League titles, 8 FA Cups, and 5 League Cups.
Also, Chelsea has won all three major UEFA trophies, namely UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1971, 1998), Champions League (2012), and the Europa League (2013, 2019), making them the only British club to do so. On the contrary, Chelsea is also one of the most hated football clubs around the world. Many people believe that it is because of their financial might and rapid rise to success in the football world.
Chelsea’s arrays of fans include one of England’s most notorious gangs of football hooligans, called Headhunters. They have been responsible for several organized violence schemes, including several assaults on fans of other teams, since the 1970s. Chelsea has always been packed with world-class footballers like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, George Hilsdon, John Terry, and Didier Drogba.
3. Manchester United
To be the biggest club, one needs to have both raw success and a local fan base. Manchester United is one of those few football clubs with natural success and all of the support they could ask for from the outside world. Manchester United is not just the biggest club in Britain; it has an equal claim to be one of the world’s biggest football clubs.
Talking about their raw success, Manchester United has won more trophies than any other club in English football. This includes a record 20 League titles, 12 FA Cups, 5 League Cups, 3 UEFA Champions Leagues, 1 Europa League, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, and the list goes on and on. The Manchester United team of 1998-99 won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in a single season.
The team included greats such as Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Roy Keane. The current squad of Manchester United includes players like Edinson Cavani, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rushford, and David De Gea. Portuguese football star Christiano Ronaldo, who is currently the king of world football, was also a member of the Manchester United squad from 2003 to 2009.
2. Liverpool FC
The reigning Premier League Champions, Liverpool FC, is currently the most successful English team in European football tournament history. The team has won 6 Champions League trophies, 19 First Division titles, 4 Super Cups, 1 Club World Cup, 7 FA Cups, and 8 League Cups.
Besides being highly decorated, Liverpool is also the world’s eighth most valuable club with a business valuation of more than $2 billion and annual revenue of over €600 million. Nicknamed as the “Reds,” Liverpool has over 200 supporter clubs in around 50 countries. Most recently, under the management of Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool won two European Cups (in 2005 and 2019) and also won its 19th title at the League in 2020.
A huge part of Liverpool FC’s success is credited to the current manager of the club, Jurgen Klopp, who has been the club’s manager since 2015. The most notable players in the club’s history include Steven Gerrard, who has made over 700 appearances for the club, Kanny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler, John Barnes, and Xabi Alonso.
1. Manchester City
With six Premier League titles, six FA Cups, and 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, Manchester City stands in the first position on our list of top 7 English soccer teams. The fact that they have won half of the Premier League titles in the last year has helped the Sky Blues reach the first position, and at the same time, gain a large number of supporters and fans around the world.
After being purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2018, Manchester City received considerable financial investment in playing staff and club facilities. In 2018, under Pep Guardiola’s management, the club won the 26th season of Premier League and became the only Premier League team to earn 100 points in a single season.
In 2019, they won four trophies and completed an unprecedented sweep of all domestic trophies in England, becoming the first English team to win a domestic treble. The British club has probably the most prominent South American presence, with Sergio Aguera, Gabriel Jesus, Ederson, and Ferdinho.
The Bottom Line
The legacy of great football has been carried down for several decades in England. The country has trained many players to become among the best players in the world.
With top-notch management, extreme financial might, and excellent players, English football teams are among the most outstanding football teams that have ever existed.
