Leicester City Sack Claudio Ranieri 298 Days After Premier League Title Triumph
Reuters / Matthew Childs
Leicester City have sacked manager Claudio Ranieri, only nine months after he led the Foxes to their historical Premier League title. For his unbelievable achievement the Italian even claimed FIFA’s Coach of the Year award.
However, it was a completely different scenario this season as Ranieri and Leicester have failed to live up to the expectations, with the club now sitting just one point and one position above the relegation zone, having failed to net a single league goal in 2017.
Leicester can still reach the Champions League quarterfinals following Wednesday’s 2-1 round-of-16 first-leg defeat to Sevilla, but as the prospect of Premier League relegation would cost losing over £100 million, the club finally decided to axe Ranieri ahead of Monday’s clash against Liverpool.
A Leicester statement read: “Claudio, appointed City manager in July 2015, led the Foxes to the greatest triumph in the club’s 133-year history last season, as we were crowned champions of England for the first time. His status as the most successful Leicester City manager of all time is without question.
Reuters / Darren Staples
“However, domestic results in the current campaign have placed the club’s Premier League status under threat, and the board reluctantly feels that a change of leadership, while admittedly painful, is necessary in the club’s greatest interest.”
Interestingly, the sacking of Ranieri suggests that four of the last five Premier League-winning managers have lost their jobs before the end of the following season, following Roberto Mancini (2011-12 winner, sacked May 2013), Sir Alex Ferguson (2012-13 winner, retired May 2013) and Jose Mourinho (2015-16 winner, sacked December 2015).
When Ranieri was appointed in July 2015, the Foxes were on the brink of relegation. But, players like Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante’s bravery saw the club went on to challenge at the top of the table, eventually piping Tottenham to the title.
But They were unable to keep hold of Kante in the summer, with the midfielder joining Chelsea, while Vardy and Mahrez have failed to replicate last season’s heroics, leading to Leicester’s decline.