Claudio Ranieri Reveals the Real Reason Why He Was Sacked From Leicester City

The coach who conquered the Premier League spoke about his departure from the team after leading them to the eternal glory of English football

Departure after becoming champion

After the historic conquest of the Premier League, Leicester soon found itself caught in a battle for survival. Claudio Ranieri's team failed to balance the demands of the domestic tournament with the European adventure, and by the end of February, after five consecutive defeats, they were barely one point above the relegation zone. The board then decided on a change: Craig Shakespeare, until then an assistant, took over as interim and managed to save the club, in addition to orchestrating a memorable comeback against Sevilla in the Champions League round of 16.

Why did he leave?

The decision to sack Ranieri caused upset among the fans, who considered the treatment of the coach who had led the club to glory to be unfair. The Italian later revealed, in an interview with Four Four Two, that the departure was not solely due to the results: "Honestly, it hurt me. Nine months earlier, we had won the Premier together, and now they were firing me? Why? Then, the president's son told me that the problem was that I didn't get along with some English staff members. Incredible."

Ranieri recounted that even during the title-winning season, there were internal voices that spoke ill of him in front of the players. "I called him to my office, and he didn't know how to respond. I thought about letting him go at the end of the course, but after the celebration, I decided to do nothing. It was a mistake. The following year, he continued speaking negatively about me."

It couldn't happen again

Regarding the sports aspect, the coach was clear: "I had warned that we couldn't repeat what we had done. It was impossible. The physical and mental energy required to play in the league and Champions is enormous. Against the big teams, we performed well, but the fatigue took its toll on us against less prestigious rivals."

Ranieri accepted the dismissal as part of the career: "I took it badly, but the satisfaction of what was achieved outweighed any disappointment. That's how football is."