Top League Football Clubs That Have Never Been Relegated

by OlyBet

June 2, 2026

Santos, one of Brazil’s most historic clubs and the team of legends like Pelé and Neymar, dropped out of the country’s top division for the first time in their 111-year history in 2023. Their poor form and reported financial issues triggered their relegation to Série B – something that had never happened to them in the Campeonato Brasileiro.

As time goes on, fewer and fewer clubs can boast of never having been relegated, which makes the feat all the more impressive. In this article, we will look at every football club that has never been relegated from their respective country’s top division.

La Liga Teams That Have Never Been Relegated (Spain)

In the Spanish LaLiga, only three clubs have maintained their place in the elite: Athletic Club, Barcelona, and Real Madrid – none of them have ever played in the second division. The two Spanish giants in Barcelona and Madrid do not warrant much explanation, but Bilbao’s story is more interesting – this team can only sign and feature players of Basque nationality, limiting their transfer policy to players from one singular region.

These three teams have several counterparts across Europe and Latin America.

Football Clubs That Have Never Been Relegated in Other Countries

Ever-present clubs are becoming increasingly rare in the most notable European leagues. For example, there is only one such team in Italy’s Serie A, four in the Dutch Eredivisie, three in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, and one in France’s Ligue 1. Such small numbers highlight just how difficult it is to remain in the top division year after year, as teams change players, coaches, tactical styles, and financial backing, among a variety of other factors.

Premier League Teams That Have Never Been Relegated

To emphasise just how hard this achievement is, no English club has ever stayed in the top flight permanently – though six teams have played in every Premier League season since its creation in 1992: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Bundesliga Teams That Have Never Been Relegated

No German team has ever accomplished this feat, as even the mighty Bayern Munich had to drop down a division at one point – although this happened in 1955, eight years before the inception of the Bundesliga.

Teams That Have Never Been Relegated in Latin America

Across the Americas, there are quite a few clubs that can say they have never been relegated, which is what makes Santos’s relegation so rare. Pumas, Cruz Azul, Chivas, and América have always been in Mexico’s elite, as has Boca Juniors in Argentina, in addition to Flamengo and São Paulo in Brazil.

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