Leicester City manager, Claudio Ranieri has revealed that two Premier League clubs turned down the chance to hire him, before he got a job at the King Power Stadium.
Ranieri has led the Foxes to their first ever league title and said that he would have considered working in Serie B, as he was so desperate to get back into management.
“I was happy,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I had so much desire to get back in the game that I would even have accepted a Serie B job. Another two Premier League clubs had contacted me but they made other choices.
“Leicester convinced me with its management, plans, structure and then I got to know a little of the family of the president.”
Ranieri takes his team to Stamford Bridge for their last game of the season. The Italian insists he still have a good relationship with Blues owner, Roman Abramovich, who fired him to appoint Jose Mourinho in 2004.
“With him I still have an excellent relationship,” he added.
“He has often invited me into his box to see matches and he gave me tickets for the Champions League final. Chelsea fans still thank me for having laid the foundations for their success.
“The only regret is that, for me, he arrived too late (in the summer of 2003) to have a big transfer market. It was already July and he said to me: ‘Do you want Totti, do you want Nesta? I will buy you everyone but there wasn’t the time to do it.”
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