Retired Premier League legend in talks over return to former club at 73

Yesterday at 03:03 AM

Claudio Ranieri could make a swuft U-turn on his decision to retire as he is in talks to return to former club Roma and take charge on an interim basis.

The 73-year-old was Cagliari manager last season but after helping them avoid relegation from Serie A he announced he would be stepping down.

The veteran boss did leave the door open to international role, but said that Cagliari would be his last in club football.

‘When I joined Cagliari I said I'd finish my career as a club coach here,’ Ranieri told Sky Sport in May.

‘If tomorrow, a national team, not necessarily Italy, comes and triggers me, I can say yes, but I won't coach another club.’

However, he could have changed his mind pretty quickly as a return to Roma for a third spell in charge of the club is on the cards.

The Athletic report that discussions are underway after Roma dismissed Ivan Juric on Sunday following a disappointing spell at the helm which ended with a 3-2 home defeat to Bologna.

Juric only arrived at Roma in September after the controversial decision to sack club legend Daniele De Rossi, but things have not gone well since, with Roma 12th in the Serie A table.

A range of big names have been linked with the job on a permanent basis, including Edin Terzic, Paulo Sousa and even Frank Lampard, while Roberto Mancini is a front-runner for the role.

Ranieri looks to be the option for the short-term, though, in what would be an emotional return to the club which he supports having grown up in Rome.

His two previous spells in charge came in 2009-11 and 2019, as part of his epic managerial career which began in 1986.

He has had stints in charge of Juventus, Fiorentina, Napoli, Inter, Sampdoria, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Monaco and others across Europe, with a spell in charge of Greece on the international stage.

He is well known in England for his time in charge of Chelsea from 2000-04 and even more so for leading Leicester City to the unlikeliest of Premier League titles in 2016.