Having compiled a long list of about a dozen coaches, AS Roma have decided on 73-year-old semi-retired Claudio Ranieri.
The club’s Friedkin owners will make the former Premier League-winning Leicester man their third head coach of the season after Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric.
Principal owner Dan Friedkin travelled to his London offices where he met Ranieri to complete the deal, Corriere dello Sport claim.
Ranieri’s last job was with Cagliari, who he left at the end of the 2023/24 season after keeping them in Serie A.
His return to Roma will be one of passion, though, as he was born in the city and played for the club.
So passionate is Ranieri about the club, that he recently conducted an interview expressing concern about the owners that are now hiring him.
“Roma seems like a cold soul, without personality,” he said in October. “I didn’t understand how they behaved with De Rossi.
“If you hire him and give him a three-year contract, you are telling the whole world that you are building a new team. At that point, you give your young coach time to do his job. You can’t send him away after four days. For what? Then it means you made a mistake in the planning beforehand.
“Roma lacks a reference figure. You can’t completely blame the Friedkins, because they put so much money into it. But they are demonstrating that money alone is not enough.
“Something is still missing in a club where a point of reference is very important. Rome is a very particular place: the fans need to be pampered, helped, and encouraged.”
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