10 Worst Top-Flight Teams in Football History (Ranked)

Surviving relegation in any of Europe’s top five leagues is an impressive achievement, especially for newly-promoted teams. It was once said that the “40-point mark” was the golden number for survival in the Premier League, but this tally has been reduced in recent years. In fact, in the last 21 years, only one team has been relegated after recording 39 points or more. The average to stay up has been much closer to 36.

There have been teams in the past who haven’t gotten near this figure, including Derby County in 2007/08 and Sunderland in 2005/06, while Southampton in the current 2024/2025 campaign are threatening to break all kinds of records for the wrong reasons. Elsewhere in Europe, there have been clubs that have broken league records for low points tallies – most notably Sporting Gijon, who registered only 13 points in the 1997/98 campaign. Here is an in-depth look at the worst top-flight teams in football history.

Ranking factors

• Europe’s top five leagues – Teams included played in Europe’s top five leagues – Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
• Three points per game – During the seasons when teams were given three points for a win.
• Goal difference – Teams with the same points will be separated by the team with the worst goal difference.

10

Salernitana

17 points, GD -49

Salernitana were promoted to Serie A for the first time since 1999 in the 2020/21 campaign. In their first two seasons back in the top-flight, they finished 17th and 15th, narrowly surviving the drop on both occasions. Paulo Sousa, who led the team to survival at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, started the following season as the club’s head coach. He only lasted until early October, though, with Salernitana registering only three points.

He was replaced by former AC Milan and Juventus striker Fillipo Inzaghi, who was unable to inspire a turnaround in form. His tenure ended in February, and it was not the end of the managerial merry-go-round, as Fabio Liverani and Stefano Colantuono also came in to coach the team in February and March, respectively. Salernitana’s tumultuous campaign ended up with them only registering two wins and getting 17 points.

9

Aston Villa

17 points, GD -49

It might be a surprise to see Aston Villa on this list, given that Unai Emery has established them as a Champions League outfit. However, they only managed 17 points in the 2015/16 season. In the summer ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, notable players such as Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke were sold, and throughout the season they struggled to replace the Belgian’s goals. In fact, Jordan Ayew was the club’s top scorer with only seven.

Villa had four different managers across the season, with Tim Sherwood eventually replaced by Remi Garde in November, who had enjoyed successful spells in French football, especially for Lyon. He was unable to stop the rot and succumbed to some embarrassing defeats, including Villa’s 6-0 home loss against Liverpool in February 2016. Garde was sacked and replaced by first-team coach Eric Black, who was left to see out the season. They finished bottom of the table, with three wins and just 17 points to their name.

8

Chievo Verona

17 points, GD -50

Chievo Verona endured a miserable 2018/19 Serie A campaign. They were deducted three points and fined €200,000 in September 2018 for false accounting. On the pitch, it wasn’t much better as they didn’t win their first match until 29th December 2018. After 11 games, they only had two points, which included a run of seven consecutive defeats.

They did manage an impressive 2-1 away win against Lazio in the second half of the season and only lost two out of their last six games. Despite this, they finished on 17 points – eight points behind their nearest challengers, Frosinone – meaning they were relegated to Serie B.

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7

Darmstadt

17 points, GD – 56

Since the 1995/96 season, clubs in the Bundesliga have been awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. SV Darmstadt 98 suffered the second-worst points tally in the German top-flight since this rule was put in place when they registered only 17 points in the 2023/24 campaign. Torsten Lieberknecht’s side only won three matches, drawing eight and losing 23.

This included a run of 22 games without a victory from October 2023 until April 2024. Surprisingly, two of their three wins came in consecutive games when they beat Werder Bremen and FC Augsburg. Ultimately, they finished 16 points from safety with a miserable goal difference of -56.

6

Huddersfield Town

16 points, GD – 54

After Huddersfield Town’s promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in 2017, they were widely tipped to be relegated. However, they were one of the league’s surprise packages, finishing four points ahead of the relegation zone in 16th. They didn’t strengthen their squad significantly in the summer transfer window, though, which led to a slow start in the 2018/19 campaign.

Their charismatic head coach, David Wagner, was sacked in January after only winning two matches in the first half of the season. He was replaced by Jan Siewert, who only won one game in the Premier League. As a result, they won just three times all season and finished bottom of the table with just 16 points to their name. The Terriers came close to returning to the Premier League in 2022 – losing to Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off final – but have now dropped down to League One.

5

FC Schalke 04

16 points, GD – 61

Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” FC Schalke 04 didn’t listen to this advice in the 2020/21 season, sacking five different managers from September until March. They started with David Wagner in charge, but he was subsequently replaced by Manuel Baum, Huub Stevens, Christian Gross and Dimitrios Grammozis.

Die Knappen finished the season on 16 points, winning only three times in 34 matches. This included humbling defeats to Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg, where they lost 8-0 and 5-0, respectively. Despite their torrid time in the German top-flight, they returned straight away, winning the 2.Bundesliga in the following season.

4

Sheffield United

16 points, GD – 69

Sheffield United endured a torrid 2023/24 campaign. They sold both Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge in the summer, who played key roles in their promotion in the following season. Paul Heckingbottom’s side conceded goals at a staggering rate throughout the year. In fact, they set a new record for the most goals conceded in a season of English top-flight football played over 38 matches. They let in a staggering 104 goals with a goal difference of minus 69.

This included some notable defeats at Bramall Lane. One of these was a 6-0 drubbing against Arsenal and also an 8-0 defeat against Newcastle United. Chris Wilder eventually replaced Heckingbottom, but the Blades finished on 16 points, securing an instant return to the second tier.

3

Sunderland

15 points, GD – 43

Sunderland finished the 2002/03 season on 19 points, which was the lowest Premier League points tally ever at the time. Three years later, they were back in the top-flight, but it didn’t go any better. The Black Cats finished bottom of the league on 15 points with a goal difference of -43. Mick McCarthy started the campaign as the manager but was subsequently replaced by Kevin Ball, who was the caretaker until the end of the season.

While Ball was unable to turnaround Sunderland’s form, he provided the club with their only home win of the season when they beat Fulham 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on 4th May 2006. This was one of three victories across the entire campaign, with the other two coming against Middlesbrough and West Brom in September and January, respectively.

2

Sporting Gijon

13 points, GD – 49

Sporting Gijon have the lowest points tally in La Liga history, since three points for a win was put in place in 1995. When teams were given two points for a victory, Celta Vigo held the record for the fewest points in a season, with only nine in the 1943/44 campaign.

Los Rojiblancos endured a torrid start to the season, picking up only three points in their first 23 matches. Their first victory came against Racing Santander on 8th February 1998. They only managed one more victory for the rest of the campaign – a 1-0 win against Espanyol in April 1998. Jose Antonio Redondo’s side finished 26 points behind their nearest challengers, Merida, with a goal difference of -49.

1

Derby County

11 points, GD – 69

After their promotion to the Premier League in 2007, Derby County were heavily tipped to get relegated back to the second tier. Billy Davies only lasted as the club’s manager until 26th November and was replaced by Paul Jewell. Despite their poor run of form in the early part of the season, Davies did win the Rams’ only game, when they beat Newcastle United 1-0 at Pride Park.

In the January transfer window, Derby brought in the likes of Danny Mills, Robbie Savage, Roy Carroll and Alan Stubbs, but they struggled to make an impact. The Rams finished the season with a record low points total of 11, winning only once in the entire campaign.

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Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt – Correct as of 16/01/25.