Table of Contents
Introduction
The Premier League (or the English Premier League – EPL) is a professional league for men’s football. The EPL consists 20 football clubs across England and Wales.
Basic Information
Official Name: Premier League
Founded: 20th February, 2012
Country: England and Wales
Attached with: UEFA
Number of participating teams: 20
Teams relegated to: Football League Championship
Domestic Tournaments: FA Cup and FA Community Shield
League Tournaments: EFL Cup
International Cups: UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
Most Number of Championship Wins: Manchester United (13)
Current Champion: Manchester City
Current Broadcasters: Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video , BBC Sport
Most appearances: Gareth Barry (653)
Top goalscorer: Alan Shearer (260)
Official Website: PremierLeague.com
Brief History of English Premier League
After the breakaway from the Football League by the clubs attached to the Football League First Division on the 20th February 1992 the competition called the FA Premier League was formed. BskyB and BT group secured the broadcast rights for 116 and 38 games respectively; this was exactly what was proposed during the breakaway. On 27th May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a public limited company and the FA’s headquarters was established in Lancaster Gate. The first season of the Premier League was held in 1992-93 and it was played between 22 clubs. The first match was played between Manchester United and Sheffield United and Sheffield United defeated Manchester United by 2-1.
The teams which played the first ever Premier League are (in the alphabetical order)
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Blackburn Rovers
- Chelsea
- Coventry City
- Crystal Palace
- Everton
- Ipswich Town
- Leeds United
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Middlesbrough
- Norwich City
- Nottingham Forest
- Oldham Athletic
- Queens Park Rangers
- Sheffield United
- Sheffield Wednesday
- Southampton
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Wimbledon
The Format of EPL
Twenty clubs to fight out with each other every year in a pre decided season between August and May. The clubs play with each other on ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ basis twice in a double round robin system for total 38 games. The winner gets three points, a draw will fetch one point for each team involved and there is no point for a loss.
The teams ranked by points, then goal difference and then goals scored. The top of the table team crowned as champions. In case of the tie on points, then the goal difference will be counted and if there is still a tie, then the number of goals scored will be counted to decide the champion. Even then there is a tie, then all teams involved will share the title. In case of a tie for relegation with more teams have the same amount of points, goal differences and goals scored then a playoff match at a neutral venue will decide the rank.
Premier League Champions
| Club | Titles | Winning seasons |
| Manchester United | 13 | 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13 |
| Chelsea | 5 | 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17 |
| Manchester City | 5 | 2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21 |
| Arsenal | 3 | 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1 | 1994–95 |
| Leicester City | 1 | 2015–16 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 2019–20 |
Teams participating in the 2021-22 EPL Season
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Brentford
- Brighton & Hove Albion
- Burnley
- Chelsea
- Crystal Palace
- Everton
- Leeds United
- Leicester City
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Newcastle United
- Norwich City
- Southampton
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Watford
- West Ham United
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
Premier League Records
Player With Most Appearances
| Rank | Player | Apps |
| 1 | Gareth Barry | 653 |
| 2 | Ryan Giggs | 632 |
| 3 | Frank Lampard | 609 |
| 4 | David James | 572 |
| 5 | James Milner | 564 |
| 6 | Gary Speed | 535 |
| 7 | Emile Heskey | 516 |
| 8 | Mark Schwarzer | 514 |
| 9 | Jamie Carragher | 508 |
| 10 | Phil Neville | 505 |
Player With Most Goals
| Rank | Player | Years | Goals | Apps |
| 1 | Alan Shearer | 1992–2006 | 260 | 441 |
| 2 | Wayne Rooney | 2002–2018 | 208 | 491 |
| 3 | Andy Cole | 1992–2008 | 187 | 414 |
| 4 | Sergio Agüero | 2011–2021 | 184 | 275 |
| 5 | Frank Lampard | 1995–2015 | 177 | 609 |
| 6 | Thierry Henry | 1999–2007 2012 | 175 | 258 |
| 7 | Harry Kane | 2012– | 166 | 245 |
| 8 | Robbie Fowler | 1993–2009 | 163 | 379 |
| 9 | Jermain Defoe | 2001–2003 2004–2014 2015–2019 | 162 | 496 |
| 10 | Michael Owen | 1996–2004 2005–2013 | 150 | 326 |
Top Transfer In Premier League Clubs
| Rank | Player | Fee (min.) | Year | Transfer From | Transfer To |
| 1 | Paul Pogba | £89m | 2016 | Juventus | Manchester United |
| 2 | Harry Maguire | £80m | 2019 | Leicester City | Manchester United |
| 3 | Romelu Lukaku | £75m | 2017 | Everton | Manchester United |
| 4 | Virgil van Dijk | £75m | 2018 | Southampton | Liverpool |
| 5 | Nicolas Pépé | £72m | 2019 | Lille | Arsenal |
| 6 | Kepa Arrizabalaga | £71.6m | 2018 | Athletic Bilbao | Chelsea |
| 7 | Rúben Dias | £65m | 2020 | Benfica | Manchester City |
| 8 | Rodri | £63m | 2019 | Atlético Madrid | Manchester City |
| 9 | Kai Havertz | £62m | 2020 | Bayer Leverkusen | Chelsea |
| 10 | Riyad Mahrez | £60m | 2018 | Leicester City | Manchester City |
Interesting Premier League Facts
- There are only two players in league history who have scored penalty shots with both feet. Maybe this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, after all, why would some of the best strikers in the world ever choose to send the ball towards goal on their off-foot? Well, two have done it in league history; Obafemi Martins and Bobby Zamora. How’s that for trickery?
- This might not come as too much of a surprise, both due to his career length. The player who has been replaced in-game the most times in league history is Manchester United legend, Ryan Giggs. In his storied career, Giggs was subbed out a total of 134 times.
- Mario Balotelli only recorded one goal assist during his time in the EPL. You read that right. The player who for both Manchester City and Liverpool only recorded one assist during his time in Britain. It came at the right time, however, when he shuttled the ball over to Sergio Aguero who put the ball in the back of the net and helped secure the title for the first time in 44 years.
- Brian Deane scored the very first goal in Premier League history. While English soccer has been around for hundreds of years, the EPL is still rather new. Back in August 15, 1992, Dean scored the league’s first goal for Sheffield United while playing against powerhouse Manchester United.
- There are only three players in league history who has scored, assisted and committed an own goal in one game. Those players are Kevin Davies, Gareth Bale, and Wayne Rooney. Davies did it against Aston Vila in 2008, Bale did it vs. Liverpool in 2012, and Rooney did it in the very same year against Stoke City.
- There are two teams that won the league just one time. Those two teams are Blackburn in the 1994-95 season and Leicester in the 2015-16 season. The Leicester league win came as one of the biggest surprises in sports of that year and is still considered to be one of the greatest underdog stories of all time.
- The player who has scored the most goals in his EPL career is Alan Shearer. Shearer enjoyed a legendary career of 20 years, playing for Southampton, New Castle, and Blackburn. In his career, he scored 283 goals and enjoyed three seasons in which he scored 30 goals in the EPL. He also still holds the record for most hat tricks in the EPL with 11 and the record for most penalty goals in the league with 58.
