Sacking Claudio has killed the magic

LAST season, Claudio Ranieri masterminded the greatest shock in the history of organised sport. There is little doubt about that. Over 38 games, Leicester City overcame the might of clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Spurs, whose budgets dwarfed theirs. It was a triumph none of us thought possible any more.

What Leicester’s owners failed to see when they fired him on Thursday was that Ranieri (left) was the core of their story. Not them, not the players who went on to let him down, but the clever, gracious, charming, sportsmanlike, generous, old-fashioned manager, who epitomised the most improbable of romantic triumphs. By sacking him, they have killed the magic.

What Ranieri achieved will never be forgotten. Nor will the way he was treated. Now, sadly, Leicester will be known not only for one of sport’s greatest triumphs but also for the way they tarnished it.