Just 297 days after he led Leicester to the Premier League title, Claudio Ranieri was sacked by the club on Thursday night.
The decision came a day following Leicester's 2-1 defeat away to Sevilla in the Champions League last-16, a relatively positive result given the Spanish side's dominance in the first half of that game.
In a statement released last night, Leicester said the looming possibility of relegation led to the decision. Leicester are currently fourth from bottom of the league, just a point ahead of Hull in the relegations zone.
However, domestic results in the current campaign have placed the Club’s Premier League status under threat and the Board reluctantly feels that a change of leadership, while admittedly painful, is necessary in the Club’s greatest interest.
The threat of relegation may have been a factor but Ranieri's position was not aided by his own players. According to a joint report from Oliver Kay, Gary Jacob and Henry Winter in The Times, players forced the sacking of the Italian.
There is said to have been a 'breakdown in the relationship' between the 65-year-old and senior players, several of whom met with club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in Seville on Wednesday night to express their concerns.
These concerns apparently included Ranieri making 'frequent and unexplained changes to tactics and personnel'. The selection of Ahmed Musa ahead of Demarai Gray for Wednesday night's game is also said to have been highlighted in the meeting and also changes to training and players' diet.
Earlier this month, The Telegraph reported that Ranieri had raised the ire of players by instructing that they train on the morning of an FA Cup tie against Derby. The mood in the dressing was said to have been 'totally flat' with some individuals within it believing the only way to prevent relegation was the sacking of Ranieri.
The players are not completely without fault. A severe decrease in motivation from players is said to have exasperated Ranieri. This was further exacerbated by Ranieri feeling backroom staff who had remained at the club following Nigel Pearson's sacking were attempting to undermine his authority.
