
By Luke Smith
Leicester City have parted company with manager Claudio Ranieri just nine months after he won the Premier League title.
A poor run of form sees the Foxes one point above the relegation zone and 2-1 down on aggregate to Sevilla in the Champions League.
The club released a statement on Thursday evening saying: “This has been the most difficult decision we have had to make in nearly seven years since King Power took ownership of Leicester City. But we are duty-bound to put the club’s long-term interests above all sense of personal sentiment, no matter how strong that might be.”
The reigning champions of England have put together a dismal run of form winning just one game in their last ten and losing their last five matches in all competitions.
One furious Leicester City fan, Dylan Durbin, said: “I think it’s disrespectful to sack him now. We should have at least given him until the end of our Champion’s League journey.”
The dismissal comes just 16 days after the Midlands club offered their “unwavering support” to the Italian who completed an incredible season, winning the league for the first time with Leicester just nine months ago.
So far, Roberto Mancini is favourite to become the next manager, with Gary Rowett and a return for former manager Nigel Pearson also on the cards.
It is expected that assistant manager Craig Shakespeare will take charge of Leicester as caretaker manager for Friday’s press conference ahead of the Monday night visit of Liverpool.