Leicester City has sacked manager Claudio Ranieri less than a year after leading the club to win the Premier League title - and the football world appears united in its disdain.
The decision by the Foxes board is driven by the team languishing just one point above the relegation zone, but even non-Leicester fans appear to have fallen out of love with the game as a result.
The 65-year-old Italian took a team that narrowly avoided relegation to an unlikely title win - a feat universally hailed as a fairytale. And while City remain in the last 16 of the Champions League, it wasn’t enough.
The club said in a statement:
“Claudio, appointed City manager in July 2015, led the Foxes to the greatest triumph in the club’s 133-year history last season, as we were crowned champions of England for the first time. His status as the most successful Leicester City manager of all time is without question.
“However, domestic results in the current campaign have placed the Club’s Premier League status under threat and the Board reluctantly feels that a change of leadership, while admittedly painful, is necessary in the club’s greatest interest.”