CLAUDIO RANIERI has completed a shock retirement U-turn and returned for a third time as Roma manager, according to reports.

The legendary Italian, 73, took charge of the Serie A giants from 2009 to 2011 and then again in 2019.

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However, he ended his illustrious career in management when he left Cagliari at the end of last season.

However, he is understood to have agreed to return to the Stadio Olimpico dugout.

“Claudio Ranieri and his lawyers have already signed all official documents regarding his return to AS Roma as head coach,” Fabrizio Romano tweeted.

And this news is widely reported in the Italian media.

Ranieri became Roma’s third manager this season.

Daniele De Rossi, who took over from Jose Mourinho in January, was sacked just four games into the 2024-25 season and the board then fired Ivan Juric earlier this week.

Roma sit 12th in the Serie A table after their 3-2 defeat at home to Bologna on Sunday.

It was their fourth defeat in their last five league games, including a 5-1 defeat to Fiorentina, and spelled the end for Juric after just 53 days and 12 games in charge.

Erik ten Hag was available for the vacancy at Rome but was overlooked in favor of Ranieri.

The former Leicester boss reportedly held successful talks with Roma owner Dan Friedkin and his son Ryan in London on Wednesday and discussed the terms of his contract.

The experienced veteran, who was a Roma fan as a child, heartbreakingly missed out on both the Serie A championship and the Coppa Italia title in 2010 against Inter, the team with whom Mourinho won three times.

He resigned in February 2011 after losing 4-3 to Genoa after leading 3-0.

In his brief return in March 2019 to see out the rest of the season.

He announced his departure from the club’s management earlier this year after leading Cagliari to Serie A, which he first managed in 1988, and subsequently keeping them in the top flight.

But his remarkable achievement will always be the iconic Premier League title he won by beating Leicester City 5,000-1 in 2015-16.

The Dilly-Ding Dilly-Dong boss led the relegation-threatened Foxes to an unlikely victory, finishing ten points clear at the top of the table and booking their place in the Champions League.

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