Claudio Ranieri is set to step down from his post and walk away from the world of football after guiding his beloved Cagliari to promotion last year, before helping to secure Serie A safety over the weekend.
According to reports from Gianluca Di Marzio and Sky Sport Italia, Ranieri will take a step away from football. Although not explicitly confirmed that he is retiring, it is implied that he looks set to callit a day on his career at club level.
It was a mutually agreed termination of contract, as Ranieri had one year left on his deal that was due to expire next summer, in 2025.
L’hai fatto ancora, Mister 🥹👑 pic.twitter.com/L9NeSS1uy2
— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 19, 2024
The 72-year-old is perhaps best known to the wider, international football community as the mastermind behind Leicester City’s miraculous, odds-defying storm to the Premier League title in 2015-16.
However, his love affair for Cagliari, where it all began and where Ranieri’s managerial story may have drawn to a close, is what has kept him in the game over the last two years.
He has enjoyed two stints on Sardinia. Both times, between 1988-91 and 2023 until present, Ranieri led Cagliari to promotion to Serie A.
Between then, there is an enormous list of former associations, including with Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Parma, Juventus, Roma, Inter, the Greece national team, the aforementioned Leicester, plus Nantes, Fulham, Roma again, Sampdoria and Watford.
Cagliari bid farewell to Ranieri
Cagliari have confirmed that Ranieri is stepping down in a long, but fitting tribute, titled ‘Forever grateful, mister’.
The club wrote: “Mister Ranieri bids farewell to Cagliari: In his two spells with the club, he always managed to lead the team to achieve their original objective. Already the mastermind behind two successive promotions in the past (from Serie C to Serie A) and survival in the top flight, in the last year-and-a-half, he has put together yet another masterpiece.”
They later continued: “It is the closure of a full circle. Staying up in Serie A, exactly like it was 31 years ago, again in Emilia-Romagna, one day before the end of the season.
“It’s like we’ve been watching a movie, an Oscar-winning one, one that wins you over with their perfect screenplay. One of those that makes you laugh, but also moves you and makes you feel emotional.
“These are tears of joy and gratitude for the man who was able to write some of the most beautiful scripts in Cagliari’s history. What he did will remain indelible in the hearts of every supporter.”
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢 𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗜 👑
📹 Guarda il video completo ➡️ https://t.co/PeZuKe6VY7 pic.twitter.com/T9VhXZ7IDG
— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 21, 2024
A timeless great. Both as a man and coach. what he did at Leicester will be spoken about in 100 years.
He did not win many trophies during his coaching career, but he’s up there along with Sacchi, Capello & Ancelotti. Grazie, mister.
A football coaching legend. His status was cemented when he lead Leicester to the Premier League Championship. I must admit, that even as an Inter supporter and Serie A supporter, I watched the last half of the entire Leicester season that marvelous season.