Liverpool manager Jorgen Klopp has likened the sacking of Claudio Ranieri to Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as US president.
“For me there have been a few strange decisions in 16/17: Brexit, Trump, Ranieri. Do I have to understand it all the time — obviously not. I have no idea why Leicester did this,” he told reporters on Friday.
“He is a really special person in this business, a really nice guy.”
Chelsea chief Antonio Conte, a compatriot and close friend of Ranieri, said: “I’m very, very sad. He’s a really good man. For sure I’ll call him.”
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho sympathised with Ranieri after being axed by Chelsea last season following a rift with star players and the Manchester United boss turned up for his press conference on Friday with the initials CR on his training gear in tribute to the Italian.
“It is my little homage to somebody that wrote the most beautiful history of the Premier League,” Mourinho said.
“Somebody that probably deserves the Leicester stadium to be named ‘Claudio Ranieri’ — and he is sacked.”
Former Leicester and England striker Gary Lineker, now a television pundit, added: “I shed a tear last night — I shed a tear for Claudio, I shed a tear for football and I shed a tear for my club.”
But Leicester insisted they had to act to save the club from the threat of an unprecedented relegation one year after winning the title.
Leicester have won just five of their 25 league games this term and are yet to score a league goal in 2017, having also been knocked out of the FA Cup by third-tier Millwall.
