Ranieri urges players to stick with Leicester for next season

The likes of Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante have become household names over the last season as Leicester defied odds of 5,000-1 to become English champions for the first time. 

Their elevated profile has already led to speculation that they could be snapped up by soccer’s more traditional powers over the close season but Ranieri urged them to stay on for Leicester’s maiden Champions League campaign. 

“If they are intelligent, they stay with us another year,” Ranieri told the BBC after Leicester celebrated their triumph with a 3-1 victory over Everton on Saturday. 

“They know the Champions League is very difficult. Then after this next experience they can go.”

“If they ask me something, I say ‘stay with me’. But if somebody comes to me and says ‘I’d like to go’ then go because I want only happy players with me.”

Captain Wes Morgan said it had been “unbelievable” to raise the Premier League trophy in front of the ecstatic Leicester fans at King Power Stadium.

“I had to hold back the tears, I held them back and lifted it up - it was the best feeling in the world,” he said. 

“Hopefully, we can crack on from here. It is a big, big season next season but I want to enjoy the moment.”

“It’s like a dream but now it’s a reality and you just want to enjoy it.” 

Ranieri accepted that next season would be a challenge for a club that were involved in a battle against relegation 12 months ago but urged the fans to continue to believe in him and his players.

As English soccer champions Leicester City lifted their trophy in Britain’s Midlands, more than 9,000 kilometres away on a sweltering night in Bangkok celebrating fans held aloft a blue banner that read “Leicester City - Thailand’s team.” 

Some 1,500 supporters gathered to cheer the unlikely heroics of the team in an area the size of a soccer pitch outside the headquarters of King Power, the duty-free franchise that has made Leicester’s owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha one of Thailand’s richest men. 

Thai fans, many painted with Leicester colours on their faces and wearing team shirts, posed for selfies with a replica Premier League cup. They cheered the side to a 3-1 victory over Everton, watching on a giant outdoor screen as Leicester played their first game since becoming champions. 

Many Thai fans have adopted Leicester as their second team. Khampee is one of them, his first team being Manchester United.