The Premier League winner who will end the 'Oscar winning story' as manager of Cagliari, may retire

Former Premier League winner Claudio Ranieri has “reluctantly” announced his resignation as Cagliari manager at the end of the season and could end the 72-year-old's fifteen-year coaching career.

After ensuring Cagliari's safety in Serie A with a 2-0 win at Sassuolo on Sunday, Italy's Ranieri will take charge of the club for the final time in their campaign-closing match at home to Fiorentina on Thursday.

“You have been my refuge for years,” Ranieri said of the club he took charge of as a 37-year-old in 1988, guiding Cagliari from the third division to the top flight.

“I'm going reluctantly but it's okay now. It was a difficult and painful decision. I hope I represented Sardinia very well. I am leaving after being promoted and saved. I prefer to go like this; I don't want to spoil these years.”

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After leaving Watford in 2022, Ranieri returned to Cagliari at the start of 2023 and took them back to Serie A through the play-offs last season.

“In his two games with the team, he always led the team to achieve its original goal,” said the team's statement. “Already masterminding two consecutive promotions in the past and surviving in the top flight, in the last year and a half he has put together yet another masterpiece.

L'hai fatto ancora, Mr. 🥹👑 pic.twitter.com/L9NeSS1uy2

— Cagliari Calcio (@CagliariCalcio) May 19, 2024

“It is the closing of a full circle. Staying in Serie A, as it was 31 years ago, and in Emilia-Romagna, one game before the end of the season.

“It's like we've been watching a movie – the one that won the Oscar, the one that wins for its perfect screenplay. One of those that makes you laugh but also moves you and makes you feel empathy.

“These are tears of joy and gratitude for the man who was able to write the most beautiful texts in the history of Cagliari. What he did will remain in the hearts of all fans.”

Claudio Ranieri's record

Ranieri oversaw one of the greatest achievements in sporting history in 2016 when his Leicester City team won the Premier League in a major competition underdogs that the organizers thought was all but impossible.

The former defender spent the first 11 years of his coaching career in his homeland – including a spell with Fiorentina – before joining Atletico Madrid and spending four years at Chelsea from 2000.

His next clubs included Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan, Fulham and Sampdoria, as well as a brief spell as Greece manager.

“I have decided that Cagliari will be the last team I will coach,” Ranieri told Calcio Mercato in 2023. The Azzurri [Italy] the bench.

“Yes, I will stop in Cagliari, but I don't know when. Maybe I'll last 20 years. Jokes aside, this is a good place to stop, I feel like I'm finally coming full circle.

“My career started here, because when Cagliari chose me – a young player with no experience, 35 years ago – it was the bet of my life. I could burn myself; at that time, I didn't even know I was going to be a coach.

“We started with the idea of ​​trying to get back to Serie B within a few years, but in those two years we went from C to A. From that moment on, I had Cagliari inside me.”