Leicester’s Thai owners sacked Claudio Ranieri
less than a year after he masterminded their
Premier League title triumph. Here is some of
the reaction to the Italian’s dismissal.
Jose Mourinho
The Manchester United manager posted a
message of support on his Instagram account
and arrived at Friday’s press conference
wearing the initials ‘CR’ on his shirt.
“Champion of England and FIFA manager of
the year. Sacked. That’s the new football. Keep
smiling amico. Nobody can delete the history
you wrote,” Mourinho said on Instagram. “I
think it’s Claudio’s fault because if last season
instead of being champion he finished 12th it
would be amazing and he would still be in a
job because Leicester play not to be relegated.
He’s paying for his success, it’s his fault!”
Mourinho told reporters. “Probably the season
started the typical selfishness of others, people
thinking about new contracts, leaving, more
money, forgetting who helped them to reach a
certain level.”
Jurgen Klopp
“For me there have been a few strange
decisions in 16/17: Brexit, Trump, Ranieri,”
said the Liverpool manager. “Do I have to
understand it all the time – obviously not. I
have no idea why Leicester did this. He is a
really special person in this business, a really
nice guy. I met him before when he visited me
at Dortmund and we had a nice talk. He is a
wonderful person.”
Rudi Garcia
“His statue isn’t yet finished when (he’s)
ousted from his position as coach,” said
Marseille coach Garcia who succeeded Ranieri
at AS Roma, adding that the Italian’s sacking
was “a crazy thing, people have short
memories”.
Luciano Spalletti
“It’s scandalous, unacceptable,” said AS Roma
coach and fellow Italian Spalletti. “He has to be
congratulated. He was the one who created this
chemistry in the team and the locker room that
made it possible to win the championship. And
when you win an English championship against
City, United and Chelsea, if you have a little
dignity, you even accept to be relegated without
touching anything. It should be such a joy to
have won that the following year you can
accept to be relegated. There is no recognition.
But it’s like that in football. I already know
from experience.”
Gary Lineker
“After all that Claudio Ranieri has done for
Leicester City, to sack him now is inexplicable,
unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly sad,” former
England and Leicester player Lineker wrote on
Twitter.
“I shed a tear last night – I shed a tear for
Claudio, I shed a tear for football and I shed a
tear for my club,” Lineker, now a television
commentator, told BBC radio.
“It is inexplicable to me, it’s inexplicable to a
lot of football fans who love the game and I
suppose you can explain it in terms of a panic
decision and for me a wrong decision and it is
very sad.”
Eddie Jones
“It’s quite an amazing story, isn’t it? What
were they — 5,000/1 to win the Premiership
(Premier League)?” England rugby team’s
Australian coach Eddie Jones told reporters at
England’s Bagshot training base. “You do that,
you coach them to a win and next season you
struggle and you get sacked. I feel sorry for the
guy. I think everything in life is (now) short-
term. Everyone’s got a mobile phone, they want
to know the information about everything
today, at that moment.”
John Terry
“Absolutely gutted for Claudio. A great man,
manager and friend,” Terry, who played under
Ranieri at Chelsea, wrote on Instagram.
Antonio Conte
Chelsea chief Conte, a compatriot and close
friend of Ranieri, said: “I’m very, very sad.
He’s a really good man. For sure I’ll call him.”
Steve Bruce
“The lunatics are running the asylum,” said
Aston Villa boss. “It’s a harsh and brutal world
we work in today. A manager’s lifespan is
probably now about a year. It’s baffling, and
morally wrong.”
Steve Claridge
“Must be a better way of dealing with this than
the term “sacking”, move upstairs, bring
someone in to “help”, sacking does him a
disservice!,” former Leicester City striker
Claridge wrote on Twitter.
Rio Ferdinand
“Just seen Ranieri news. Shocked after last
night display! Wins the league & still not
afforded the time to fight for safety. Unreal
scenes!” wrote former England and Manchester
United defender Ferdinand on Twitter.
Peter Shilton
Former England and Leicester goalkeeper
Shilton, who won the Second Division title with
Leicester in the 1970s, praised the decision as
“brave”. “Going down would be a disaster for
Leicester and I suppose the board have made a
very brave decision. Some people have mixed
views, but relegation is on the horizon,” he told
Radio 4. “If they stay in the Premier League
then they’ve made the right decision.”
