Claudio Ranieri will leave his job as Cagliari coach by mutual agreement, the Serie A club has said.
The veteran manager, whose crowning glory came when he led Leicester City to a fairytale English Premier League title in 2016, is reported to be set to retire from football.
The announcement came after Cagliari guaranteed themselves another season in the Italian top flight following their away win at Sassuolo on Sunday.
Sky Sports Italia reported that Cagliari will be Ranieri’s final team, as the 72-year-old has decided to retire.
The Italian, who had previously managed Cagliari in 1988, taking them from Serie C to Serie A, had one year remaining on his contract after joining the club last season and leading them to promotion from Serie B.
“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,” Cagliari said in a statement on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
“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.”
Ranieri will coach Cagliari for the last time on Thursday when they host Fiorentina in their final game of the season.
Ranieri also managed his hometown team Roma, Juventus, and Inter Milan among others in Serie A, Chelsea, Fulham and Watford in England, Valencia and Atletico Madrid in Spain, plus Nantes in France and the Greek national team
“I have decided to leave now and it is the right thing to do,” Ranieri said in a video on Cagliari’s social media. “I do it reluctantly because it was a hard and painful decision, but I think it is right.”
Source Agencies
