Claudio Ranieri (Italian: [ˈklaudjo raˈnjeːri, -ˈnjɛː-]; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football executive and former manager and player who is the technical director of the Italy national team and is also the president of Club Italia. As manager of Leicester City, he won the 2015–16 Premier League, a feat regarded as one of the greatest shocks in sporting history.
Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in Italy during the late 1980s, making his name at Cagliari, whom he took from Serie C1 up to Serie A in successive seasons. He subsequently managed Napoli, with which he qualified for the UEFA Cup, only to be dismissed the following season. In 1993, he joined Fiorentina, and immediately led them to Serie A promotion, also winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana in 1996, before moving to Spain in 1997 to manage Valencia and then Atlético Madrid. With Valencia, he won a Copa del Rey and an UEFA Intertoto Cup, and helped the club to lay new foundations that led them to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
In 2000, Ranieri moved to England to become head coach at Chelsea. His four seasons there saw Chelsea improve their points total season on season. After substantial investment in the squad by new owner Roman Abramovich in the summer of 2003, Ranieri led the team to finish runners-up in the 2003–04 Premier League, reaching the Champions League semi-final the same season. He was dismissed by Abramovich that May.
After an unsuccessful second spell back in Spain with Valencia, he returned to management in Italy in 2007, where he encountered mixed success with spells at Parma, Juventus, Roma and Inter Milan. In 2012, he was hired to manage Ligue 1 team Monaco, who had just finished in the middle of Ligue 2, and earned promotion as champions in his first season, then finished as Ligue 1 runners-up in his second season. This was followed by a foray into international management with the Greece national team, but he was dismissed less than four months later after a 1–0 home defeat against the Faroe Islands in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.
Ranieri returned to England once more in the summer of 2015 as manager of Leicester City. He went on to win the 2015–16 Premier League, after the club had narrowly avoided relegation the season prior, and was named the 2016 Premier League Manager of the Season, and LMA Manager of the Year. He was also awarded the Grand Officer of the Italian Order of Merit and the Enzo Bearzot Award as the best Italian manager of the year, as well as the Best FIFA Men's Coach. He was dismissed by the club in February 2017 after a run of poor results. He has subsequently managed Nantes, Fulham, Roma, Sampdoria, and Watford. In June 2023, he won promotion to Serie A in a second spell with Cagliari, after beating Bari 1–2 in the playoffs. After leaving Cagliari, he announced his retirement from club management but reversed his decision to take charge of Roma for a third spell in November 2024, guiding them to an eventual fifth-place finish before taking up a senior advisory role at the club, which he held until April 2026.
Ranieri was born in San Saba, a neighbourhood of Rome near the Circus Maximus, and is a lifelong supporter of AS Roma. He began playing football at his neighbourhood church. A childhood friend described him as having a stereotypically English demeanour, in being quiet and reserved. He and his family live in Formello, a nearby town where 1982 FIFA World Cup–winning goalkeeper Dino Zoff is also among the residents.
Ranieri is married to Dr. Rosanna. Ranieri has a daughter, Claudia, who married Italian actor Alessandro Roja and gave Claudio a grandson and granddaughter, named Orlando and Dorotea. In May 2016, during his time as manager of Leicester City, he attracted media attention when he stated that he would be travelling to Rome to have lunch with his 96-year-old mother instead of watching the Chelsea–Tottenham Hotspur match; the match ended in a 2–2 draw, a result which ultimately awarded Ranieri his first ever Premier League title. He is a devout Catholic and prays daily, saying, "I am very close to God. I speak with him. If you can help me, thank you, If I don't deserve, OK, thank you the same."
Ranieri first signed as a professional football player with Roma, though in his two seasons with the club he only made six appearances; he also had a one-month loan spell with Siracusa. As a player, Ranieri spent most of his career playing as a defender for Catanzaro (1974–1982), Catania (1982–1984), and Palermo (1984–1986). He was involved in four successful promotion campaigns (two with Catanzaro and one each with Catania and Palermo).
His managerial career began in Vigor Lamezia, where he led them on a 12-match unbeaten run and took them to the top of the table. He later resigned for refusing to use the players that were brought by an agent close to the president. After initially coaching amateur side Vigor Lamezia, Ranieri's first managerial position was at Campania Puteolana, a small team in Pozzuoli. He took charge there in 1987. However, it was at Cagliari that he made his name as a manager. After joining the club in 1988, he helped the team to gain promotion to Serie A from the third division Serie C1 in successive seasons, also winning the Coppa Italia Serie C in 1989. At Cagliari, his team were known for their fluid tactical system, which enabled the team to change their shape and switch between different formations throughout the course of a single match.
From 1991, Ranieri managed for two seasons at Napoli, who were facing financial difficulties at the time. Despite finishing in fourth place in Serie A, and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, he won no silverware during his spell with the club. During his second season in charge of Napoli, he was dismissed by the club's owner at the time, Corrado Ferlaino, following the team's elimination in the second round of the UEFA Cup, despite the club's notable 5–1 away victory over Valencia in the first round of the tournament. He did, however, introduce Gianfranco Zola to the first team to replace the suspended star Diego Maradona, who had recently left the club, as well as Daniel Fonseca, whom he played alongside veteran striker Careca in the team's front line.
Ranieri joined Fiorentina in 1993, gaining promotion to Serie A after winning the 1993–94 Serie B title in his first season in charge of the Florence-based side. He subsequently had success in Serie A, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in 1996, and along with the offensive talents of Gabriel Batistuta, Rui Costa and Francesco Baiano, he helped the club to go on a 15-match unbeaten run during the 1995–96 Serie A season, which saw the team hold second place for several months behind league leaders Milan; Fiorentina lost five of their last nine league games, however, and eventually finished the season in fourth place. The next season was less successful, as Fiorentina finished in a disappointing ninth place in the league, although the team managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, losing out to eventual champions Barcelona.
In 1997, Ranieri moved to Spain to take over at Valencia. He was the coach from 1997 to 1999 and guided Valencia to a fourth-place finish in La Liga, achieving UEFA Champions League qualification in 1999; he also won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1998, and the Copa del Rey in 1999. After his first spell, Ranieri left the club in 1999 a popular man, and has been credited for putting Valencia on the track to subsequent success in the Champions League and La Liga, despite initially sitting in the lower half of the table upon his arrival. Under Ranieri, Valencia were known for their efficiency and defensive solidity in his tactically rigorous 4–4–2 formation, as well as their use of high pressing to win back possession, and their ability to score from counter-attacks. He was responsible for the development of several youth players at the club, among them Claudio López, Gaizka Mendieta, Miguel Ángel Angulo and Javier Farinós. Ranieri also signed some players who would become highly successful at the Mestalla, among them goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares.