Summary

• ChatGPT has named and ranked the 10 best Premier League teams of all time.
• Blackburn Rovers’ 1994/95 surprise title win disrupted big clubs’ dominance, paving the way for underdog dreams like Leicester’s a decade on.
• Manchester City feature more times than Manchester United, with Arsenal and Liverpool only featuring once.

The Premier League has been home to some truly legendary teams since its inception in 1992 – sides so iconic they’re etched in football folklore and destined to live on in the history books for years to come. Manchester United remain the most successful club in recent top-flight history, having lifted the trophy 13 times across two dominant decades.

More recently, local neighbours Manchester City have muscled in with eight titles of their own, sparking a new era of supremacy. Meanwhile, the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool have all had their moments in the sunshine, delivering title-winning campaigns that their respective fanbases won’t soon forget.

But while counting titles is straightforward, ranking the best champions is anything but. That’s where we turn to artificial intelligence – our halfway house in decoding football greatness. We’ve asked ChatGPT to crunch the numbers, analyse the accolades, and help us rank the 10 best Premier League teams of all time – based on playing style, points totals, and overall success.

10

Leicester City (2015/16 – Miracle Season)

Manager: Claudio Ranieri

What AI said: “Biggest underdog story in football history. 5000/1 odds to win the league.”

The greatest shock not only in the history of football, but perhaps the history of sport overall. Coming into the 2015/16 season, Leicester City had sacked previous manager Nigel Pearson after the Englishman kept the Foxes in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth the previous campaign.

In his place came current Roma manager Claudio Ranieri, best known in England up until that point for his time with Chelsea in the early 2000s. The Italian signed unknown quantity N’Golo Kante for just £5.6 million from Caen, put him behind Riyad Mahrez, who cost £400,000 from Le Havre, and then guided a team also featuring the likes of Robert Huth, Jamie Vardy, and Kasper Schmeichel to a Premier League title, despite being handed odds of 5000/1 before the season started.

9

Blackburn Rovers (1994/95 – Surprise Champions)

Manager: Kenny Dalglish

What AI said: “One of the few teams to disrupt the big clubs and win a Premier League title.”

Before Leicester City’s miracle, there was Blackburn Rovers’ shock title run in the 1994/95 campaign under legendary Scotsman Kenny Dalglish. The Riversiders had quality – most notably Alan Shearer, who scored a phenomenal 34 goals that season and would go on to become the Premier League’s all-time top scorer – but they weren’t exactly seen as galacticos.

Players like Tim Sherwood, Colin Hendry, Graeme Le Saux, and Chris Sutton were solid, dependable figures, but they were hardly the household names you’d expect to lead a title charge. That season, however, they punched well above their weight and became heroes at Ewood Park.

The title was clinched in dramatic fashion on the final day with a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield. For years, that result was used as a stick to beat the Kop with – a bitter twist, considering Dalglish’s storied past with the Reds. Blackburn became the original blueprint for the underdog dream, disrupting the established order before the ‘Big Six’ had even fully formed, at a time when Man United were just beginning to sow the seeds of what would become a reign of unprecedented dominance as Blackburn would sadly go the other way.

8

Manchester City (2018/19 – Domestic Treble)

Manager: Pep Guardiola

What AI said: “Beat Liverpool by 1 point and won a domestic treble (PL, FA Cup, League Cup).”

The 2018/19 Premier League title race was arguably the most gripping in history – and it’s debatable whether we’ll ever witness two teams as mesmerising as Liverpool and Manchester City going toe-to-toe like that again. Pep Guardiola’s relentless winning machine edged out Jurgen Klopp’s Reds by a single point – 98 to 97 – despite Liverpool losing just once all season.

That single loss proved pivotal. In their blockbuster clash at the Etihad, John Stones produced a now-iconic goal-line clearance, scraping the ball away with just 11 millimetres to spare after a mix-up with Ederson – a moment that symbolised the razor-thin margins of that year’s title race. City went on to win that game 2-1 and never looked back.

Refusing to rest on their laurels, the Cityzens finished the season with 14 consecutive wins, showing nerves of steel during the run-in. Even more impressively, they kept 10 clean sheets during that stretch, shutting the door on any hope of a Liverpool comeback.

7

Manchester United (2007/08 – Double + Europe)

Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson

What AI said: “Won the Premier League and Champions League; Ronaldo scored 31 goals.”

Manchester United’s 2007/08 Premier League campaign was a masterclass in dominance, balance, and brilliance. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side finished top of the table with 87 points – just two ahead of Chelsea. The attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Carlos Tevez terrorised defences all season, with Ronaldo scoring a remarkable 31 league goals en route to winning the Golden Boot, European Golden Shoe, and the first of his five Ballon d’Or mantles. Their fluid counterattacking style, tactical discipline, and relentless work rate made them both entertaining and efficient.

Defensively, United were equally formidable. Anchored by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic – among the greatest Premier League centre-back partnerships of all time – and protected by the tireless midfield duo of Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves, they conceded just 22 goals all season – the fewest in the league. Edwin van der Sar’s presence in goal brought calm and consistency, and the sight of Ferguson lifting the Premier League title became scarily familiar, as it was the third time in a row the Red Devils had lifted it at that time.

6

Liverpool (2019/20 – First PL Title)

Manager: Jurgen Klopp

What AI said: “Ended a 30-year title drought with a record-breaking early title clinch.”

Liverpool’s 2019/20 Premier League title wasn’t just won, it was conquered in emphatic, record-breaking fashion. Jurgen Klopp’s relentless Reds amassed 99 points, winning 32 of their 38 games, going unbeaten at Anfield, and clinching the title with a record seven games to spare. They ended a 30-year wait not by edging it, but by storming the summit, boasting the best defence and a blistering attack led by Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and the widely-loved Roberto Firmino.

Yet, some critics still try to isolate their achievement, pointing to the COVID-19 pause as an asterisk. But Liverpool were 25 points clear when the season was suspended – this wasn’t a title gifted by circumstance, it was one signed, sealed, and delivered by a yawning chasm between themselves and the rest of the country. Suggesting otherwise is revisionist nonsense. The pandemic delayed their party, but it didn’t diminish the power of one of the greatest campaigns English football has ever witnessed as they ended a 30-year hoodoo.

5

Chelsea (2004/05 – Mourinho’s First Season)

Manager: Jose Mourinho

What AI said: “Most dominant defensive season ever (only 15 goals conceded).”

Chelsea’s 2004/05 Premier League triumph was strategic poetry. Under debuting – and soon-to-be revered – ringmaster Jose Mourinho, the Blues turned “defence wins titles” from cliche into cold, hard reality. Conceding just 15 goals all season – a record that still stands – they built a fortress so impenetrable it may as well have come with a moat.

Mourinho was no doubt the brains behind the operation, with John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho forming an enviable centre-back partnership, and Claude Makelele revolutionising the way the defensive midfielder played. It may not be the only time a team has won the league under a new manager at the first time of asking, but such is the way the Blues went about their business, it’s certainly the best.

4

Manchester City (2023/24 – Four in a Row)

Manager: Pep Guardiola

What AI said: “First team in English top-flight history to win four consecutive league titles.”

Man City redefined what greatness looked, felt, and perhaps even smelt like in the 2023/24 season. By clinching the title with 18 wins from their final 20 outings, they snatched the trophy out of Arsenal’s grip and became the first English side to ever win the league title four times in a row.

Phil Foden was named the division’s Young Player of the Year, while Rodri became the first Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or since a certain Ronaldo in 2008. By this point, though, seeing the trophy adorned with sky blue ribbons became commonplace, and so that’s why it probably doesn’t feature high up in other rankings.

3

Manchester United (1998/99 – Treble Winners)

Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson

What AI said: “Though not the best points tally, they won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in the same season. Ultimate achievement.”

The sharp, white-collared shirts of the early ’90s symbolised both contemporary success and the dawn of a reign of terror under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. Picture a Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League treble, David Beckham – against the backdrop of a new genre of celebrity mania – delivering crosses with effortless renown, and a dressing room also featuring Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Denis Irwin, and it’s no surprise Man United make a second appearance on this list.

The Red Devils only lost three games, though 13 draws gave Arsenal and Chelsea a chance to catch them. But an Andy Cole winner against Tottenham on the final day of the season saw them clinch their 12th league title as they would soon hurtle towards the perch of English football.

2

Manchester City (2017/18 – “Centurions”)

Manager: Pep Guardiola

What AI said: “Broke multiple records – most points, wins, and goals in a single PL season.”

32 wins from a possible 38, 100 points, 106 goals scored, and just 14 points dropped marked Manchester City’s 2017/18 squad as record holders. Even though it took a last-minute winner at Southampton on the final day of the season to secure the three-figure haul, their dominance was visible from the get-go.

A campaign that included heavy wins galore – displaying a 7-2 victory, one 6-0, three 5-0 wins and two 4-0’s for good measure, saw City win the league by an incredible 19 points. Despite it only being Guardiola’s second season in charge, he acted quickly to propel his new side into superstardom as they went from United’s little brother to a supreme winning machine in a matter of just a few years.

1

Arsenal (2003/04 – “The Invincibles”)

Manager: Arsene Wenger

What AI said: “The only team to go an entire Premier League season unbeaten. Unique achievement in English football history.”

While other Premier League winning sides had peaks, Arsenal’s Invincibles had permanence. While their tally of 12 draws means the debate over how great their 2003/04 win was remains under scrutiny, especially since Preston North End also did the same – albeit befoe the 1900s.

But a team featuring an immortal backbone of Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, and Thierry Henry – spearheaded by Arsene Wenger – were able to pick their fights and finish a 38-game season having never once let their opponents write the final script. The resilience and focus that must’ve taken will be a secret only those inside that legendary side will ever fully understand, even if we put them third in our own ranking away from AI.

All statistics courtesy of Premier League (correct as of 11/06/2025)