Bono to be Pope? Robbie Savage as Bond? Leicester winning the title is less likely, apparently

Alistair Tweedale 15 April 2016 • 3:24pm

Leicester City winning the Premier League would be most unlikely event ever — Bookies, like most people, expected Leicester to go down Credit: REX FEATURES; REUTERS; AP

Bookmakers reckon that Leicester winning the Premier League this season will be the most surprising single occurrence of any event, ever.

Bookies say if Leicester win PL title then 5000-1 will be longest odds on any successful single event (not accumulator), any genre, ever.
— sportingintelligence (@sportingintel) April 15, 2016

Odds of 5000/1 were matched prior to the start of the 2015/16 campaign, meaning that if Leicester hold on to their lead at the top of the table for just a few more weeks, it will be the event with the longest odds that has ever gone on to come to fruition.

Cheryl Cole — Is Cheryl Fernandez-Versini our future queen? Credit: REX FEATURES

According to Bettingexpert, odds that long usually mean 'there's no way this bet will ever win, but if you fancy a novelty bet for the fun of it be our guest', though it seems a few people took up the chance to bet at those odds, with bookmakers facing the prospect of big payouts at the end of the season.

Theo Walcott, Arsenal — Walcott to win SPOTY? Probably not. Credit: PA

To put those huge odds into perspective, here are a selection of events that the bookies currently think are more likely to happen than they had last summer considered Leicester winning the title:

175/1 - Prince Harry to marry Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (aka Cheryl Cole)
200/1 - Theo Walcott to be Sports Personality of the Year
500/1 - Andy Murray's baby to win more majors than Serena Williams
1000/1 - Robbie Savage to be the next James Bond
1000/1 - Bono to be the next Pope
2000/1 - Kim Kardashian to be US President by 2020

All of these are considerably more likely than Leicester's triumph, apparently.

Bono, U2 lead singer — Bono is 1000/1 to be the next Pope Credit: BARCROFT MEDIA

Claudio Ranieri's team have proven the bookies wrong, now seven points clear of Tottenham at the top of the league and as short as 1/7 to hold on and win the title. Tottenham are 5/1 to overtake them and Arsenal can be backed at 33/1.

Perhaps Bono will be Pope, after all.