The Greatest League Seasons in Football History

What does a truly great league season look like? Usually it means a title won at a canter, a pile of records broken, and a team playing football people still talk about years later. Here are the seasons most often named as the greatest — and a reminder that even these, the very best, never quite reached a perfect 38-0.

Manchester City, 2017–18 (Premier League)

Pep Guardiola’s first title in England set the benchmark for the 38-game era: 100 points, the first century in Premier League history, with 32 wins and 106 goals. They also recorded the biggest title-winning margin (19 points) and the most consecutive wins (18). And still they lost twice and drew four times — a reminder of how far even 100 points sits from 114.

Arsenal, 2003–04 (Premier League)

The Invincibles: 38 games, zero defeats. Not the highest points total, but the only unbeaten 38-game season England has seen, and the reference point for every “perfect season” conversation. Full story in our Invincibles guide.

Real Madrid, 2011–12 (La Liga)

José Mourinho’s Madrid dethroned Guardiola’s Barcelona with 100 points and a record 121 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo and company producing the most prolific attacking league season Spain has seen. They lost twice.

Barcelona, 2012–13 and 2009–10 (La Liga)

Barcelona hit 100 points in 2012–13 under Tito Vilanova, and the 2009–10 side under Guardiola set a then-record 99 points playing some of the most admired football of the century. Both were built on the Xavi–Iniesta midfield.

Bayer Leverkusen, 2023–24 (Bundesliga)

Xabi Alonso’s side became the first team to go a Bundesliga season unbeaten, finally shedding the club’s “Neverkusen” nickname with a dominant, last-gasp-goal-laden campaign. Unbeaten — but, like all the others, not perfect.

Juventus, 2011–12 (Serie A)

Antonio Conte’s first title was an unbeaten 38-game season, though with 15 draws — the launchpad for a run of nine straight Scudetti.

The through-line

Every side on this list did something historic. City broke the points record; Arsenal refused to lose; Madrid rewrote the goals record; Leverkusen went a whole Bundesliga unbeaten. And yet not one of them won every match. That’s the ceiling 38-0 asks you to break — a season better than the greatest ever actually played. For why that final step is so steep, see why 38-0 is almost impossible.