Claudio Ranieri has announced that he will retire from managing the club after helping Cagliari avoid relegation from Serie A.
The 72-year-old has managed 18 club teams and had a brief stint as Greece coach, in a coaching career that spans almost four decades, since 1986.
He is most famous for leading Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2015-16, when the club were rated 5,000-1 underdogs at the start of the campaign.
Cagliari had already secured their Serie A status in Ranieri’s last game on the bench, a 3-2 home defeat to Fiorentina on Thursday.
Speaking before the game, he told Sky Sport Italia: “I finished my career as a club coach.”
The Italian added that he could accept an international job if he liked it.
Ranieri was emotional in his last game with Cagliari when fans shouted his name before kick-off and gave him a standing ovation, while a banner displayed the message “Eternal gratitude to a great man”.
This season, he consolidated his status as a great figure at the club, which was playing in the Italian third division when Ranieri arrived for his first spell in 1988.
Having inherited a team battling relegation, he helped the club to consecutive promotions and then safety in the top flight before moving on to Fiorentina and then Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus, Inter Milan and Monaco.
On his return in January 2023, Cagliari were 12th in Serie B but secured promotion through the play-offs – coming from two goals down to beat Parma in the semi-final and winning the final against Bari with a goal in the additions in the second stage.
Ranieri also managed Roma and Valencia twice and in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Spanish club wrote: “One of the most beloved coaches in Valencia CF’s history is retiring. Cláudio Ranieri, we wish you all the best. Thank you for everything.”
Another of his former clubs, Napoli, also commented on social media: “Thanks for everything, Ranieri. A true professional and a man of such noble values.”
