Leicester City winger Marc Albrighton spent the first hours of his Premier League title celebration in a police custody suite, waiting for a ride to Jamie Vardy's house. The escort was necessary because thousands of fans had swarmed the striker's property on May 2, 2016, after Tottenham's failure to beat Chelsea confirmed the most improbable championship in English football history. "I remember getting to the station and Ben Chilwell was sat in the custody room," Albrighton told BBC East Midlands Today.
Albrighton was not under arrest. The 26-year-old midfielder had asked his parents to drop him at Vardy's house for the now-legendary impromptu party. They could not get through.
The crowd outside the gate was too dense. So they diverted to a local police station, where officers placed Albrighton and teammate Ben Chilwell in a holding room for their own safety. A police car eventually shuttled the pair through the chaos. "You see all the fans banging on the police car window and throwing scarves on the car," Albrighton said. "When stuff like that was happening, it's how I imagine celebrities feel." The scene captured the delirious disbelief that gripped Leicester that night.
The title win was priced at 5,000-1 by bookmakers before the season began. The club had narrowly escaped relegation a year earlier. They had only returned to the top flight in 2014 after a decade-long absence.
The odds were so long that most betting shops refused to take serious money on it. "Ten years on and I don't think a day has gone by where it's not been mentioned," Albrighton said. "That shows the size of the achievement."
Wes Morgan, the captain who lifted the trophy, still struggles to process it. "There's been lots of debates about what is the biggest achievement in sports," Morgan said. "If you put into context the position that Leicester was in... I think we've got to be right there in the top of the conversations."
He listed the ingredients: a squad of players largely unknown in the Premier League, a club that had not been in the top flight for ten years, and a manager widely written off by the English press. Claudio Ranieri had been dubbed "The Tinkerman" during his Chelsea tenure for his constant lineup changes. At Leicester, he promised players pizza for clean sheets and coined the "dilly ding, dilly dong" catchphrase to keep them focused.
The Italian was sacked the following season. That fact hangs over the anniversary. Leicester's trajectory since the title has been a slow, painful descent.
The club suffered relegation from the Premier League in 2023. A second consecutive drop followed this spring, confirmed by a draw with Hull City. Next season, Leicester will play in League One for only the second time in their 140-year history.
Morgan does not hide his pain. He has previously called the club's demise "sad to see." But he refuses to let the current crisis taint the memory of 2016. "I don't think it will taint what we did by any means," he said. "Regardless of what's happened, the club, the fans and everyone will celebrate that time."
The core of that title-winning side was forged in the Championship. Morgan, Vardy, goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Drinkwater, and Riyad Mahrez all won promotion together in 2014. Andy King was there for that campaign and for the League One title in 2009, a year before the King Power Group takeover that transformed the club's finances.
Albrighton arrived after promotion. So did Leonardo Ulloa and Danny Simpson. Then-manager Nigel Pearson built the foundation.
The summer of 2015 added crucial pieces. N'Golo Kante arrived from Caen for about £6 million. He would win a World Cup with France three years later.
Christian Fuchs came on a free transfer. Robert Huth signed permanently after helping the club's "Great Escape" from relegation while on loan. That group, assembled for a fraction of what rivals spent, did the unthinkable.
They lost three games all season. Vardy scored in 11 consecutive matches, breaking a Premier League record. Mahrez was named PFA Players' Player of the Year.
The city of Leicester, a multicultural manufacturing hub in the East Midlands, became the center of the sporting world. The party at Vardy's house became a symbol of that moment. Players who had been rejected by bigger clubs, who had climbed from non-league football and French second divisions, celebrated together as champions of England.
The image of Vardy hosting his teammates while fans surrounded his home is now part of Premier League folklore. Why It Matters: The Leicester story transcends sport because it rewired what working-class athletes and smaller clubs believe is possible. Before 2016, the Premier League title was a closed shop reserved for clubs with billionaire backing and global brands.
Leicester spent £48 million on their title-winning squad—less than what Manchester City paid for a single defender that same year. The achievement proved that tactical discipline, collective spirit, and smart recruitment could, for one season at least, defeat unlimited wealth. That lesson still resonates across European football, where financial inequality has only deepened since.
Key takeaways: - Leicester City's 2016 Premier League title remains the benchmark for sporting upsets, achieved at 5,000-1 odds with a squad assembled for roughly £48 million. - Marc Albrighton and Ben Chilwell spent the first hours of their title celebration in a police custody suite after crowds blocked access to Jamie Vardy's house. What comes next is a summer of reckoning at the King Power Stadium. Leicester must rebuild a squad capable of competing in League One while managing the financial fallout of two consecutive relegations.
The club's Thai ownership, now led by Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha after his father Vichai's death in a 2018 helicopter crash, faces its toughest test. Player contracts will be renegotiated or terminated. A new manager must be appointed.
The 2026-27 season will determine whether Leicester's fall stops at the third tier or accelerates further. For the fans who banged on that police car window a decade ago, the hope is that the spirit of 2016 can be channeled into a new resurrection.
Key Takeaways
— - Leicester City's 2016 Premier League title remains the benchmark for sporting upsets, achieved at 5,000-1 odds with a squad assembled for roughly £48 million.
— - Marc Albrighton and Ben Chilwell spent the first hours of their title celebration in a police custody suite after crowds blocked access to Jamie Vardy's house.
— - Captain Wes Morgan insists the club's current slide into League One does not diminish the achievement and says it "definitely needs to be celebrated."
— - The core of the title-winning team was built through bargain transfers and free agents, including N'Golo Kante for £6 million and Christian Fuchs on a free.
Source: BBC Sport
