What Are Leicester City’s 2015-16 Premier League Champions Worth in 2026?
Ten years after the greatest underdog story in modern football history, Leicester City’s 2015-16 Premier League title-winning squad remains one of the most celebrated teams ever assembled. A side written off as relegation favourites at 5,000-1 odds defied every expectation under Claudio Ranieri, finishing ten points clear of Arsenal and rewriting the rules of the Premier League. Jamie Vardy’s goals, Riyad Mahrez’s magic, N’Golo Kanté’s tireless engine and a rock-solid defensive core turned a group of bargain signings, academy graduates and experienced campaigners into champions.
But football moves on quickly. A decade later, with many of those players retired or in the twilight of their careers, a natural question arises: what would that legendary squad be worth on today’s transfer market?
A Squad Built on Bargains and Belief
The 2015-16 Leicester side was never assembled with big money. The total transfer spend on the core group was modest by Premier League standards. Kanté arrived from Caen for around £5.5-7 million. Mahrez had cost a fraction of that from Le Havre years earlier. Vardy joined from non-league Fleetwood for a then-record fee for a player at that level. Christian Fuchs arrived on a free, Robert Huth completed a permanent move after a successful loan, and the likes of Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater, Marc Albrighton and Kasper Schmeichel were already at the club or signed for relatively low fees.
At the height of their success and in the immediate aftermath, Transfermarkt and contemporary estimates put the squad’s collective market value somewhere in the region of €160-185 million. That figure reflected the sudden rise in reputation of almost every regular. Mahrez was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year. Vardy scored 24 league goals and set a Premier League record by finding the net in 11 consecutive matches. Kanté’s all-action performances made him one of the most sought-after midfielders in Europe.
The club later cashed in handsomely on its two biggest stars. Kanté moved to Chelsea in 2016 for a fee reported around £32 million. Mahrez joined Manchester City in 2018 for more than £60 million. Those sales alone generated far more than the original investment in the entire title-winning group and helped fund subsequent years at the King Power Stadium.
Where Are They Now?
By August 2026 the picture looks very different. Age has taken its natural toll, and most of the core group have either retired or dropped significantly in market value.
N’Golo Kanté remains the highest-profile active member of the midfield that defined the side. After successful spells at Chelsea and in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, the Frenchman moved to Turkish giants Fenerbahçe in early 2026. At 35, his Transfermarkt valuation sits around €4 million. He is no longer the box-to-box machine of a decade ago, yet his experience and work rate still command respect at a high level.
Riyad Mahrez, the Algerian magician who lit up the Premier League in 2015-16, left Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia as a free agent in the summer of 2026. Now 35, his market value is estimated at approximately €5 million. Speculation continues about a possible return to the Saudi Pro League or a move elsewhere, but his peak years are firmly behind him.
Jamie Vardy, the face of the Leicester miracle, left the club in 2025 after more than a decade of service and 200 goals. He spent the 2025-26 season with Serie A side Cremonese, scoring seven league goals, before becoming a free agent in the summer of 2026. At 39, his residual market value is estimated between €400,000 and €1 million. Reports suggest he has been training at Leicester’s facilities to stay fit while considering his next move, though a return to the King Power appears unlikely.
Ben Chilwell, a young academy product who made limited appearances in the title-winning campaign, has proved one of the longer-term success stories. After a high-profile move to Chelsea and subsequent loan spells, the England international is now at Strasbourg in Ligue 1. At 29, his market value stands at around €10 million, making him one of the more valuable remaining members of the broader 2015-16 group.
Demarai Gray, signed mid-season in January 2016, is currently with Birmingham City in the Championship. Valued at approximately €3.5 million, the versatile attacker continues to contribute at Championship level. Daniel Amartey, another January arrival that season, is a free agent with a modest residual valuation of around €500,000.
The rest of the spine has largely stepped away from the professional game. Captain Wes Morgan and centre-back partner Robert Huth have retired. Christian Fuchs, Danny Simpson, Marc Albrighton, Danny Drinkwater, Andy King, Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa have all either retired or moved into roles far removed from top-flight football. Kasper Schmeichel, who started every league match in the title season, had spells at Nice, Anderlecht and Celtic before reports indicated the end of his playing career around 2026. His market value is now negligible.
Putting a Number on the Miracle
When the current Transfermarkt valuations of the still-active or recently active players are added together, the collective market value of the 2015-16 title-winning squad sits in the region of €25-35 million. The bulk of that figure is carried by Chilwell, Mahrez, Kanté and Gray. Once the many retired players are assigned zero or near-zero residual value, the total shrinks further.
That number represents a dramatic decline from the post-title peak, yet it is hardly surprising. Footballers’ market values are heavily age-dependent. A 35-year-old midfielder or winger, no matter how decorated, simply does not command the same fees as a 25-year-old in peak form. The Premier League of 2026 is also a very different financial environment from the one Leicester conquered a decade earlier. Inflation in transfer fees, the rise of multi-club ownership models and the continued dominance of a small group of wealthy clubs have changed the scale of valuations across the board.
Legacy Beyond the Numbers
Market value only tells part of the story. The true worth of the 2015-16 Leicester side cannot be measured solely in euros or pounds. The achievement remains unique. No other team in the Premier League era has come from such long odds to lift the trophy. The squad’s blend of character, tactical discipline under Ranieri, and individual excellence created a moment that still resonates with supporters across the world.
For Leicester City as a club, the financial legacy was significant. The subsequent sales of Kanté and Mahrez, Champions League revenue, and the raised profile of the club generated resources that sustained the project for several years. Even after later relegations and the challenges that followed, the memory of that title continues to define the club’s modern identity.
Many of the players have transitioned into coaching, media work, business or simply enjoying retirement. Others, like Vardy and Kanté, continue to play at a professional level and carry the aura of that extraordinary season with them. Younger supporters who were children in 2016 now watch the highlights and struggle to believe a team with so little prior pedigree could dominate the Premier League so completely.
In pure transfer-market terms, the 2015-16 Leicester squad is worth a fraction of what it once was. In the broader sense of sporting achievement, cultural impact and pure romance, its value remains almost incalculable. Ten years on, the Foxes’ miracle still stands as one of football’s greatest stories — and no market valuation can diminish that.
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