Ex-Premier League manager Claudio Ranieri reveals he rejected Chelsea offer before taking new job
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Former Premier League manager Claudio Ranieri has revealed he rejected an offer from Chelsea before coming out of retirement to take over at Roma. Ranieri, 73, was appointed as head coach of Roma in November shortly after Ivan Juric was sacked. The Italian, who remarkably won the Premier League with Leicester City at odds of 5000-1, will be in charge of Roma until the end of the season.
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Ranieri announced his retirement earlier in the year but has also taken on a advisory role at the Serie A club and will aid their search for a new permanent manager. At the end of the season, ex-Chelsea boss Ranieri will ‘transition into a senior executive role’.
Ranieri was seemingly offered a similar job at Chelsea last year but turned the Blues down as he felt he did not have the ‘English connections’ required. Discussing his role at Roma, Ranieri told La Gazzetta dello Sport: ‘In England, they say that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”.
‘Nobody has a magic wand. I was asked to put things back in their place, also while acting as an advisor. ‘They had already asked after me at Chelsea, but I said no. In England, I don’t have the connections that I have here, which I need to do things properly.
‘Roma is my life, and now I have more experience, I’m vaccinated against every situation. It’s also the realisation of a childhood dream, from somebody who stood in the Curva Sud. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.
