Claudio Ranieri announces Nantes exit

Former Leicester and Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri will leave Nantes at the end of the Ligue 1 season.

The 66-year-old Italian, who led Leicester to a surprise Premier League title two years ago, took control at Nantes last June.

With one game remaining this term, Nantes are unlikely to repeat last season’s seventh-placed finish, and Ranieri announced on Thursday that he would not be in charge in 2018-19.

Nantes president Waldemar Kita said Ranieri was leaving by “mutual agreement”.

Ranieri, who has also managed the likes of Valencia and Monaco, told fcnantes.com: “I want to thank the club president because he allowed me to come to Nantes, to come back to France and to Ligue 1.

“I want to thank the fans who have been great and have pushed us a lot. I want to thank my players because the first part of the season was great even though the second part was more difficult, they gave everything and, for me, it’s important that they gave their all.

“It has been very good here, I hope that Nantes will continue to progress.”

The well-travelled Roman can include spells with Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and the Greek national team on his long resume.