Claudio Ranieri has been sensationally sacked as Leicester City manager – 292 days after winning the English Premiership title.
The brutal decision to dismiss the man who led them to arguably the greatest triumph in English football history was made after Wednesday's 2-1 Champions League defeat in Seville. He thus became the fifth title winner in a row to lose his job before the end of the next season.
The club confirmed his departure on Thursday night, calling the decision "painful" but "necessary". Assistant Manager Craig Shakespeare and first team coach Mike Stowell will be in charge until a replacement is found, starting with the upcoming game against Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on Monday.
The 65-year-old's appointment was met with criticism when he replaced Nigel Pearson in July 2015, but he sensationally inspired a team which had narrowly escaped relegation to their first-ever Premier League title.
His remarkable achievement with a squad worth just £55 million saw him named Fifa Coach of the Year.
But the Italian was unable to replicate his success this season.
While Leicester initially shone in the Champions League – winning their group – they desperately struggled in the Premier League. The Foxes are yet to score a goal in the Premier League in 2017 and have picked up just one point from a possible 18.
They needed a replay and extra-time to get past Derby in the FA Cup fourth round only to be humbled by Millwall of League One in the last 16.
Despite their woeful form, Leicester had continued to back Ranieri and gave their beleaguered boss a vote of confidence earlier this month.
After all that Claudio Ranieri has done for Leicester City, to sack him now is inexplicable, unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly sad.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 23, 2017
A club statement read: "Leicester City would like to make absolutely clear its unwavering support for Claudio Ranieri. While there is a collective appreciation from everyone at the Club that recent form needs to improve, the unprecedented success achieved in recent seasons has been based firmly on stability, togetherness and determination to overcome even the greatest of challenges.
"The entire club is and will remain united behind its manager and behind its players, collectively and firmly focused on the challenges ahead."
Ranieri reaffirmed his commitment to the club in the build-up to the Champions League last-16 tie in Seville, suggesting that he could have left Leicester in the summer but decided to stay put.
He said: "I could leave last season, I won the title and I had something with other teams but I wanted to stay here because I knew it was a difficult year. I came here to build, to build something good for Leicester, for everybody. I keep going, I maintain my mind in this way. I forget the title and I want to achieve something good for the fans, chairman and the city."
Even after Wednesday night's defeat – in which Jamie Vardy scored a late away goal after Kasper Schmeichel had saved a penalty to keep Leicester in the tie – Ranieri vowed that his side were ready to "do battle" in the second leg.
Ranieri said: "At the end if we are a little more calm on the counter attack we can do something more. With the match at home everything is open, we are ready to battle."
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right;
I hope you had the time of your life #lcfc #Ranieri pic.twitter.com/uOb1Fy1umL
— Claudio Ranieri 👓 (@DonRanieri) February 23, 2017 Ranieri's dismissal comes just 292 days after he jubilantly lifted the Premier League trophy at the King Power Stadium in May after victory over Everton.
Powered by the goals of Jamie Vardy, the flair of Riyad Mahrez and the industry of N'Golo Kante, a team whose most expensive player was Leonardo Ulloa – a £10 million signing from Brighton – unbelievably trumped the financial muscle of the Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham to win the title by an astonishing 10 points.
Match of the Day host and former Leicester striker Gary Lineker argued earlier this month that Ranieri should be given the Leicester job for life.
"I would give him a job for life, but this is football. Even if they went down, it would leave a bad taste in the mouth if he was sacked after everything he did for the club last season and the way he handled everything. I would find it terribly sad."
In 2013 Roberto Mancini was sacked two games before the end of the season by Man City, a year to the day after winning the Premier League title in such dramatic fashion.
Alex Ferguson announced his retirement before the end of his final winning season at Man United, with replacement David Moyes not seeing out the following campaign either.
Mancini's replacement, Manuel Pellegrini, lasted a little longer after winning the Premier League in 2014.
Pep Guardiola was announced as the next City boss in February 2016, more than a season and a half removed from his Chilean predecessor lifting the trophy.
Ranieri lasted nine months after his crowning glory but Jose Mourinho was not shown as much courtesy by Chelsea. The Portuguese was handed his P45 before Christmas despite his reigning champion status.