Claudio Ranieri's Leicester dream died on Thursday evening, as the popular Italian was given his marching orders by the club.
The club issued the following statement:
"Leicester City Football Club has tonight (Thursday) parted company with its First Team Manager, Claudio Ranieri. Claudio, appointed City manager in July 2015, led the Foxes to the greatest triumph in the Club's 133-year history last season, as we were crowned champions of England for the first time. His status as the most successful Leicester City manager of all time is without question.
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"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."
Ranieri was given the boot just a day after taking charge of a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League - with that away goal potentially being crucial in the tie.
The timing perplexed many, even if champions Leicester have been a shadow of themselves this season and are currently lurched in 17th place, just one point above the relegation zone.
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And the consensus is that several senior players played a part in Ranieri's sacking
According to Matt Hughes from The Times, the likes of Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Marc Albrighton and captain Wes Morgan were all part of a meeting with owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha on Wednesday that proved to be decisive, as Ranieri's tenure in charge came to an end imminently.
It is believed that his fate was already sealed before the Champions League last 16 first leg clash with Sevilla and that the 2-0 defeat to Swansea a couple of weeks back was the final nail in the coffin.
Craig Shakespeare, who is taking charge of Leicester on a temporary basis following the sacking of Ranieri, says the Leicester City players did not lobby to get their manager sacked.
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More details of Ranieri's sacking have come from The Daily Mail.
A report says that Ranieri was informed of his sacking by director of football Jon Rudkin in a side room at a Radisson Blu hotel next to an airport in East Midlands - with Leicester waiting at the hotel after landing, because of the dangerous weather problems brought by Storm Doris.
If Paul Merson thought Ranieri's sacking was "an absolute joke and "disgusting" without knowing some of the alleged details yesterday, imagine what he's going to be like on Soccer Saturday today?
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This reaction will likely be a small fraction of what he's going to serve up today:
Credit: Sky Sports
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Leicester City, Claudio Ranieri