*This content was translated by AI.
Just 10 years ago, Leicester City, which achieved a fairy-tale victory in England's Premier League (EPL), has now been relegated all the way to the third division and is increasingly likely to be sold.
Reuters reported on the 14th (Korean time) that "Leicester's owner is pursuing plans to sell the club for more than £200 million (approximately 383 billion won)."
Leicester was acquired in 2010 by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, founder of Thailand's travel and duty-free retail company King Power, after the club signed a sponsorship deal with the team.
Since then, Leicester gradually entered an era of success. Founded in 1884, Leicester was promoted to the EPL in 2014 and, within just two years, reached the pinnacle of English top-flight football for the first time in club history.
Almost no one expected Leicester to reach the summit of the EPL ahead of the 2015–2016 season. At the time, Leicester's championship odds were as high as 5,000-to-1. However, under the guidance of manager Claudio Ranieri, surprise stars such as Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kanté, and Riyad Mahrez delivered outstanding performances, creating a miracle.
Leicester's success continued. In 2021, they defeated EPL powerhouse Chelsea to win the Football Association (FA) Cup for the first time since the club's founding.
In the meantime, the club also faced a tragic misfortune. Club owner Srivaddhanaprabha died in 2018 in a helicopter crash near Leicester's home stadium.
Although Leicester continued to achieve results such as winning the FA Cup afterward, it began to struggle in recent years due to difficulties in financial management.
Ultimately, the club was relegated for two consecutive seasons. In particular, last season, Leicester received a six-point deduction penalty for violating expenditure regulations of the English Football League (EFL), finished 23rd in the Championship (second division), and was relegated to League One (third division).
Reuters reported that "Leicester, which achieved a major upset victory in the EPL in 2016, finished second from bottom at 23rd place in last season's Championship and was relegated to League One."
Meanwhile, Leicester will play an away match against Notts County in the first round of League One on the 15th. Oliver Skip, who played for Tottenham and is familiar to Korean fans, is currently active as a starting midfielder. Veteran goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who long guarded the goal at Southampton, is also among the club's notable players.
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*This content was translated by AI.
