Leicester, fairytale over: Ranieri exonerated

Not every fairy tale has a happy ending.

Leicester City has announced that it has relieved Claudio Ranieri, the coach who last season led the Foxes to an incredible Premier League win, the first historic title in their 133-year history.

This season, however, the reigning English champions’ path has been incredibly bumpy and, at the moment, Leicester finds itself sucked into the fight not to relegate to the Championship and out of the FA Cup. The fine performance in the Champions League against Sevilla (2-1 defeat) in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 was to no avail.

“On Thursday evening, Leicester City Football club parted ways with its coach Claudio Ranieri. Claudio, appointed City’s coach in July 2015, led the Foxes to the greatest triumph in its 133-year history last season when the team became English champions for the first time. He is undoubtedly the most successful coach in Leicester’s history,” it reads.

“However,” the note continues, “the results over the course of this Premier League season have led the club to reluctantly and certainly painfully consider that a change in the bench is necessary.

Foxes vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha explained, “It is the most difficult decision the ownership has had to make in the nearly seven years of management but we have to let the good of the club prevail over feelings, however strong those feelings may be.”