Ranieri: No City contact yet
02 Jun 2007 - 13:25:46
Claudio Ranieri claims he has had no contact with Manchester City despite being strongly linked with the vacant managerial hot-seat at Eastlands.
The former Chelsea boss quit his job as Parma coach earlier in the week after keeping the Italian club in Serie A and has admitted he would relish the opportunity to return to the Premier League.
Ranieri was at Wembley on Friday to watch England's 1-1 friendly stalemate with Brazil and is widely expected to be named Stuart Pearce's successor should former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra complete his proposed takeover of the club.
"I had four years (in England), it went very, very well and I had fantastic seasons," he told Sky Sports News.
"I'd like to come back and I am looking forward."
However, when asked if he had been in touch with City, he replied: "No, not yet. Maybe (I would be interested) but nothing is sure. For me it is exciting to save Parma.
"I like to come to England but there are also some important questions in Italy.
"But I love English football. Now there are seven or eight great teams in England.
"Everybody wants to fight for the title and that is good for the league."
Ranieri was at the helm of Chelsea for four seasons until he was replaced by Jose Mourinho in May 2004.
The experienced Italian went on to briefly manage Spanish side Valencia for a second time before moving to Parma in February.