If Relegation Happened Today, Who Would Go Down?

By: Laurie | April 15th, 2008

Ah, relegation. It’s every club’s biggest dread. (With the probable exceptions of the EPL’s Derby County, or French Ligue 1’s Metz, or SPL’s Gretna, where death might be the only event better able to offer pain relief.) And it’s a rite of passage around the world.

(Unless, of course, you’re American.)

Relegation means loss of prestige, loss of pride, and most important, loss of revenues — especially from television coverage, but also from things like ticket and merchandise sales. In short, being relegated is generally not a happy event.

So who’s going down this year? It’s still too early to tell — most leagues still have at least a few games yet to play. But let’s take a look at who would get the drop in the top European leagues if the seasons had ended yesterday.

For comparison purposes, I’m listing the league leaders with their point totals, followed by the list of the teams facing relegation.

(If I don’t list your personal favorite league, leave the info in the comments. And my sources here are either Fox Soccer or ESPN, so blame them if the point totals aren’t accurate or up to date.)

English Premier League
League Leaders: Manchester United, 80 points

18. Bolton Wanderers 29 pts.
19. Fulham 27
20. Derby County 11

French Ligue 1
League Leaders: Lyon, 68 points

18. PSG 35 pts.
19. Strasbourg 35
20. Metz 18

Spain La Liga
League Leaders: Real Madrid, 69 points

18. Real Zaragoza 34 pts.
19. Murcia 29
20. Levante 22

Italy Serie A
League Leaders: Inter Milan, 75 points

18. Reggina 30 pts.
19. Empoli 30
20. Livorno 29

German Bundesliga
League Leaders: Bayern Munich, 60 points.

16 MSV Duisburg 25 pts.
17 Arminia Bielefeld 25
18 Nurnberg, 23

Dutch Eredivisie
League Leaders: PSV Eindhoven, 69 points

#16 De Graafschap w/ 30 pts, and #17 Excelsior w/ 27, would be in relegation playoffs
18 VVV Venlo 26 would go down