How the Premier League looked when GTA V was released

It has been 13 years since Grand Theft Auto V was released. The video game became a cultural pillar, as it went on to generate $1billion in revenue in just three days, becoming the fastest-selling entertainment product in history.

Since then, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Leicester City have all gone on to win the Premier League title, while at the time of the release, the reigning champions, Manchester United have not managed to get their hands on the crown.

There has been a lot of change on and off the pitch in the Premier League, with an increase in how many substitutes can be used, VAR becoming a controversial tool despite calls for it to be introduced at the time, and defenders now being able to receive the ball from goal kicks in the box.

Yet, many fans may not remember how the table looked and where their club was 13 years ago, while there will be those diehards who will recount the wind speed and weather of the day of the final game their side played before the release of GTA V.

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The Premier League when GTA V was released

GTA V was released on September 17, 2013. The Premier League for the 2013/14 season was only four games in, and there was still a lot of hope and expectation amongst various teams for that campaign.

Liverpool and Man City would ultimately fight it out for the title that season, with the race going down to the final day of the campaign.

There were signs that this could have been the case as the Reds under Brendan Rodgers were top of the table with 10 points after securing victories over Stoke City, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Swansea City. Meanwhile, at this point in the campaign, Man City were only three points off Liverpool at this stage and sat in fourth.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were in second and third, respectively, as they both won three of their opening four matches, as seen in a table produced by Football 365.

Man United and Chelsea rounded out the top six, while Stoke and Newcastle United were seventh and eighth, all these sides on seven points.

If you were to look at the bottom of the Premier League table, Sunderland were propping everyone up as they secured only one point in their opening four fixtures.

Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion were also in the relegation zone at this point of the campaign. Not one of these three clubs would be relegated. The Eagles would climb to 11^th by the end of the campaign, while Sunderland ended in 14^th, with West Brom one place above the drop zone.

Cardiff City, Fulham, and Norwich City were all relegated, but at the time of the release of GTA V, they were in 12^th, 14^th, and 15^th, respectively.

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Screenshot of Premier League table in September 2013 from Football 365

Changes in the Premier League since September 2013

There has been much change in the Premier League regarding the clubs that are involved in the division.

It is easy to notice that Cardiff, Norwich, Southampton, Stoke, Swansea, West Brom, and West Ham are no longer in the English top flight.

Every single one of the teams are in the Championship, while some other clubs are currently in the Premier League, which fans may not have believed would be the case 13 years ago.

This includes the likes of Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Bournemouth, Leeds United, Ipswich Town, Coventry City, and Nottingham Forest.

At the time that GTA V was released, Brentford and Coventry were in League One, demonstrating their incredible rise up the divisions.