sacked

"I'm going back to Cagliari," said the 71-year-old Italian. "I've always known it, I declared it even then, at the time of my departure."

Ranieri replaces Fabio Liverani - who was sacked earlier in the week - as Cagliari boss, with the club currently 14th in Serie B.

He added: "Cagliari made me understand that maybe I could make it in my job. I had found all the elements that helped me in those three years - fans, players, managers, we were all one.