Claudio Ranieri will always be remembered as a Leicester City legend after leading the Foxes to a Premier League title in what was the greatest season ever for an English club.
The Italian manager etched his name into football history by leading the King Power Stadium side to the biggest prize in English football, with Ranieri initially laughed off by the likes of Gary Lineker after Leicester announced the appointment.
With Ranieri now winning plaudits with AS Roma having returned to the Serie A giants earlier this season, many Leicester fans will be pleased to see the 73-year-old manager back at the very highest level in European football.
Yet Jamie Carragher has now shared what he initially thought was the reason behind Leicester’s decision to sack Ranieri just a few months after winning the Premier League title.
READ MORE: Nine most memorable quotes from Claudio Ranieri as former Leicester boss returns to management
Jamie Carragher believed player power was key to Leicester sacking Claudio Ranieri
Speaking on Stick to Football, the former Liverpool defender shared how he believed player power was the reason Ranieri was sacked by Leicester, a theory that Kasper Schmeichel denied when presented to it.
With Schmeichel also lauding Nigel Pearson for the foundations the former Leicester coach put in for Ranieri to thrive, it’s clear that the Italian’s legacy has somewhat diminished internally since leaving the Foxes after winning the Premier League.
And for Carragher, the pundit noted how, at the time, he thought the power of the players was what inspired Leicester to part with Ranieri, a theory that has some ground given that the King Power side went on to win their next six games after the Italian’s departure.
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Carragher said: “We were all very critical at the time as on the outside it felt like it was player power. There was a game after Ranieri went and Leicester beat Liverpool on Monday Night Football. There was a feeling outside that Ranieri had been harshly treated.”
What else has been said about Claudio Ranieri since leaving Leicester?
Ranieri’s time at Leicester might have come to a sad ending with the Italian departing his role after failing to live up to the impossible task of winning the Premier League and competing in the UEFA Champions League.
Yet the Roma manager’s legacy has endured since leaving Leicester, with Jose Mourinho hailing Ranieri’s achievement with the Foxes as the greatest the Premier League has ever seen, even beating records reached by Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola.
Indeed, Ranieri’s exit from Leicester could have been handed with more care and respect, yet given what happened in the following years, the decision was the right one from the King Power side, who enjoyed success under Brendan Rodgers via the FA Cup.