Claudio Ranieri reveals 'unbelievable' reason he was sacked by Leicester City just nine months after 1000-1 Premier League title success

Millwall v Leicester City - The Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round

Claudio Ranieri has revealed the "unbelievable" reason that Leicester City sacked him in February 2017, just nine months after a miraculous Premier League title run. The Foxes shocked the world by becoming 2015-16 champions of England, having started the season as 1000-1 underdogs, but they suffered a dramatic decline in the following campaign that ultimately cost Ranieri his job.

From champions to relegation fodder

Leicester quickly became embroiled in a relegation battle after their title celebrations had died down, as the squad struggled to juggle domestic and European commitments. Ranieri took his team into the Champions League knockout stages, but they were sat only one point above the Premier League drop zone by late February after a five-game losing run, and the board decided to make a change in the dugout. Craig Shakespeare was promoted from Ranieri's assistant to interim head coach after the Italian's dismissal, and he kept them up, while also masterminding a comeback win over Sevilla in the last-16 of the Champions League.

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Friction behind the scenes

Many Leicester fans still felt that Ranieri was let go too soon after everything he did for the club, and he has now revealed that there was more to the decision than just results. Speaking to Four Four Two, the former Chelsea and Roma boss said: "Honestly, it hurt. Nine months earlier, we had won the Premier League together, but now I was being dismissed? Why? Later, the chairman’s son told me the problem was I didn’t get on with some English members of the staff. Unbelievable.

"Already the season before, when we were top of the league, one of the staff members had been speaking badly about me to the players. I called him into my office and asked why – he couldn’t even give me an answer. At that point I was too focused on the title race, so I simply told the general manager that at the end of the season, we’d let him go. In the end we won the title – there was such joy, such celebration, that I decided to do nothing. That was a mistake. The following year, he continued speaking negatively about me to the players."

'Physical and mental' toll

Reflecting on went went wrong for Leicester on the pitch, Ranieri said: "I had warned everyone that we couldn’t repeat what we’d done. It was impossible. Playing both league and Champions League football is extremely demanding if you aren’t used to it. The physical and mental energy required is enormous. In the league, especially against the bigger sides, the performances were still there. Whether we won or lost, the boys played well. But European football takes a toll and we paid the price in the league, usually against less prestigious teams."

He added on processing his forced departure: "Being sacked is part of a manager’s career and I accepted it. I took it badly, but not really much worse than other dismissals I’d experienced, because the satisfaction of what we’d achieved went far beyond any disappointment. Football is like that."

Leicester City v Swansea City - Sky Bet Championship

Leicester now in crisis

Ranieri went on to take in stints at Nantes, Fulham and Watford before finishing his coaching career with a third spell at Roma, where he now works in a senior advisory role. Leicester, meanwhile, recovered to enjoy more success in the years after Ranieri's departure, with Brendan Rodgers delivering the FA Cup and back-to-back fifth place finishes in the Premier League.

However, the Foxes have fallen on much tougher times more recently. They were relegated from the Premier League last season and now look doomed to fall into League One, having slipped to 23rd in the Championship table with only three games of the current season remaining. Leicester are eight points from safety and haven't won any of their last six matches, while they also failed in an appeal against a six-point deduction for breaching English Football League financial rules.