Comparing the Premier League Big Six

In the early 2010s, the Premier League saw the emergence of the so-called ‘Big Six’ clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

While often grouped together, their stories are very different. Some are built on decades of dominance, while others lean heavily on more recent success.

Even so, despite the clear differences in the size of their trophy cabinets, these six clubs represent the most successful teams in English football when measured by major trophies won. This article compares those achievements in detail, looking at how each of the Big Six has built its success.

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Top Flight League Titles

We start by looking at the league record of the Big Six. Despite their struggles in the post-Ferguson era, Manchester United still stand joint top of this list with 20 top-flight victories. Liverpool joined the Red Devils on this record figure when lifting the Premier League title in 2025. All of the Big Six, except Tottenham, have finished first more often than they have finished second. League titles have been incredibly hard to come by for the North Londoners, with their last coming all the way back in 1961.

Premier League Titles

Focusing solely on Premier League titles paints a distinctly different picture. Manchester United are still on top, but Manchester City move up to second place, and Liverpool slip down to fifth. Tottenham are the only Big Six club without a Premier League trophy, but also spare a thought for Arsenal, who have so often been second best. The Gunners are the only team to have finished second on three consecutive occasions, doing so twice.

These figures also reveal how much relative joy Chelsea and Man City have experienced since the inception of the Premier League. Prior to its foundation, Chelsea had only won one league title, all the way back in 1955. Man City, meanwhile, had just two to their name (1937 and 1968).

FA Cup Record

Despite trailing by a sizeable margin in league success, Tottenham’s domestic cup record is far more ‘Big Six’. They have the same number of FA Cup wins as Chelsea and Liverpool, plus one more than Man City. Their performance in the final is also worth noting, as they have a formidable 89% win record at this stage, which isn’t very Spursy of them.

It is Tottenham’s north London neighbours who are the kings of this competition, though, winning it a record 14 times. The Gunners have not always set the pace in this contest, but three victories between 2014 and 2017 saw them leapfrog Man United.

League Cup

Despite great success in the league and the FA Cup, Arsenal have had a surprising lack of joy in the League Cup. A mere two wins in the competition puts the Gunners at the bottom of the Big Six table. The reason overall figures appear low, compared to the FA Cup, is that the League Cup began in 1960, whereas the FA Cup started in 1871. Out of the 66 editions of the League Cup, there have been so far (up to 2025/26), 55% have been won by a Big Six club.

Much like how Tottenham are the team you do not want to face in an FA Cup final, City are the team to avoid in the last stage of the League Cup. In ten final appearances, the Citizens have lost just one time. Despite being the League Cup’s second most successful club, behind Liverpool, there was a 38-year gap between their second (1976) and third (2014) victory in this competition. Man City also hold the record for most successive League Cup wins (four).

Champions League/European Cup Record

With domestic competitions out of the way (sorry, Community Shield, you aren’t deserving of a section), it is now time to look at Europe’s top club competition, the Champions League (formerly the European Cup). Having to compete against the continent’s very best teams makes this a difficult trophy to win, but Liverpool have managed to pull it off six times. Only Real Madrid and AC Milan have won this competition more times than the Reds.

Next up are United, who were the first English team to win the European Cup, as it was known then, in 1968. They went 31 years before getting their hands on the trophy again, but their stunning last-gasp triumph in 1999 made it worth the wait. Arsenal and Tottenham are the only Big Six clubs not to enjoy that sensation of being crowned kings of Europe. The north Londoners were the beaten finalists in 2006 (Arsenal), 2019 (Tottenham) and 2026 (Arsenal), but have otherwise not come close.

Other European Trophies

As well as being England’s most successful Champions League club, Liverpool have the joint record for the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup), along with Tottenham, among English clubs, with three apiece (Sevilla hold the overall record with seven wins). Since 2001, the Reds had been the outright record holders but Tottenham’s triumph in 2025 under Ange Postecoglou saw the Lilywhites draw level. Limited participation in the Europa League is partly responsible for the generally low winning figures, although United and Arsenal have both lost the final twice. Defeats for the Gunners mean they just have one UEFA trophy (plus an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win in 1970), a poor return for a club of such stature.

In 2025, Chelsea became the first-ever club to win all five major UEFA club competitions (all four mentioned here plus the Champions League) when lifting the Conference League trophy. This is something Liverpool will be unable to match, because they failed to secure a win in the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.

Big Six involvement in the Europa Conference League will likely be limited, so we do not expect big future numbers in this column. Chelsea’s sole appearance came in 2024/25, while the only other Big Six participant was Tottenham in 2021/22, when they failed to get past the group stages.

Intercontinental Trophies

This final section includes wins in the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Cup. Historically, there have not been many bragging rights attached to either, but the large expansion of the CWC in 2025, plus a massive increase in prize money, could well increase its prestige over time.