There is a particular kind of sadness that comes with watching greatness collapse slowly and publicly, while everyone can only look on helplessly. That is the story of Leicester City in 2026.
King Power International, the Thai duty-free retail group, has put Leicester up for sale after 15 years of ownership. Independent estimates value Leicester’s assets at between £410 million and £530 million. An unnamed party from the Middle East has already shown interest.
Cast your mind back to 2016, the year the footballing world experienced one of its most romantic stories. Leicester City’s Premier League title remains one of the most improbable achievements in the history of professional sports. A club that had been playing in England’s second tier just two seasons earlier somehow beat the big six to win the title. They achieved this success under Claudio Ranieri, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, and N’Golo Kante leading the charge.
The Breakdown
What followed over the next decade was a slow, grinding dismantling of everything that made that story possible.
The Premier League charged the club for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules across the three-year period from 2020 to 2023, amounting to £124.4 million in losses, £24.4 million over the allowable threshold. A six-point penalty during the 2025-26 Championship season contributed directly to the club’s relegation. Accounts released this year showed Leicester lost £71.1 million during the 2024-25 season despite being in the Premier League. The owners converted £124 million of shareholder loans into equity to stabilise the balance sheet. It was a sticking plaster on a haemorrhage.
For the 2026-27 season, Leicester City will play in League One, the third tier of English football. The same division that houses clubs with a fraction of their history, infrastructure, and fanbase. The King Power Stadium, built for top-flight football, will host third-tier Tuesday nights.
The crisis at King Power International Group in Thailand represents a permanent shift in the club’s funding reality. As the parent organisation struggles with the enormous trading downturn caused by the collapse of Chinese tourism and its own domestic monopoly disputes, the club can no longer rely on the limitless financial support of the Vichai era.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the man who bought Leicester in 2010 and bankrolled the miracle, died in a helicopter crash outside King Power Stadium in October 2018. Something irreplaceable died with him, not just in the club’s ownership, but in its spirit. The years since have been characterised by financial mismanagement, governance failures, managerial instability, and a slow erosion of the goodwill that the 2016 title had generated in abundance.
Today’s Reality
Administration could not be ruled out if current owners are unable to meet the financial shortfalls caused by relegation. The sale, if it goes through, may be the most responsible thing King Power can do for the club at this point.
The realistic reading is that a League One club with mounting debt, a points deduction on its record, and legal threats from Leeds United over PSR violations is not the most attractive proposition on the market, regardless of what the stadium and training ground are worth on paper.
From miracle to misery in ten years. From being champions against the odds to third-tier football and a Citigroup sales pitch. Leicester City, the team that stole our hearts years ago, is now up for sale.
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