Ranieri ‘shock’ at sacking

Claudio Ranieri has revealed he was shocked to learn he had been sacked as Leicester City manager but is not bitter towards the club he led to a sensational Premier League title less than a year ago.

“Thinking of Leicester, the first thing that comes to mind is the sense of surprise, even more than bitterness,” said Ranieri, as reported in

“I have been through a lot in my long career, but never anything like this. It was a shock, but in the end these things are part of football.”

Emotions remain raw regarding Ranieri’s departure last month, with many still angry with Leicester’s players for failing to do more to keep the Italian in his job during a dreadful defence of their title this season. Leicester’s results, though, have improved dramatically under Ranieri’s former assistant Craig Shakespeare, which has offered some vindication for the club’s owners, the Srivaddhanaprabha family, who took the difficult decision to remove him.

Whether Ranieri is merely sharpening the axe remains to be seen. It is a possibility given he also confirmed he will speak in more detail about what went wrong at Leicester when he appears as a pundit on Sky Sports during the Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Arsenal on April 10. “Until that day I will not talk,” he said. “Because everything took place in England and it seems fitting to talk in England.”