Claudio Ranieri: Money can’t buy success
They will win the league with victory at Manchester United tomorrow in one of the most extraordinary seasons in modern football.
The Foxes have spent less than £30m (€38m) on their squad since last summer, while United have fielded sides which have cost over £200m (€255m) this season.
Shinji Okazaki was Leicester’s biggest outlay last year at a reported £7m , while United splashed out £25m on Memphis Depay and an initial £36m for Anthony Martial.
Leicester, who are seven points clear of Tottenham with three games left, have upset the establishment and Ranieri feels money does not have to be a defining factor.
He said: “Once in the life it can happen. That is football. Once every 50 years a little team with less money can beat the biggest ones.
“If there are 20 teams who spend millions of pounds at the end of the season one will win the title and three will go down.
“Now there are very special circumstances. The big teams don’t have the consistency and normal teams have the consistency during the season.
“From August to April and now it’s important to keep the same consistency in May.
“I’m waiting for next season, United at the top, Chelsea at the top, Liverpool, (Manchester) City and Arsenal and we are fighting.”
Ranieri has said he wants to see a perfect away performance at Old Trafford, having already won in Manchester when they beat City 3-1 in February, a performance Ranieri rates at their best.
“To do something better is difficult, but I am speaking about the performance, not the result,” said the Italian, who is without suspended 22-goal top-scorer Jamie Vardy.
“When you play at Old Trafford it’s amazing, it’s the story of football. It’s great, I hope to show one of our best performances.”
United can postpone Leicester’s party but not spoil it, according to Louis van Gaal.
Van Gaal said: “I was the first that said that they could be the champions. For me it’s not any surprise. I’ve seen it many times and I believe in team building and this manager has done that with this team.
“Of course they had the circumstances to play always with the same team, they didn’t play so many matches as the other teams in the Premier League, so it is always possible.
“They have confirmed it and I think it is also good for the Premier League and for the sport of football that not always the same teams are the champion.”
Van Gaal bristled at the suggestion his players would find it chastening to play in a match where the visiting team were the ones chasing the title.
The Dutchman cited a lack of titles among his squad. Van Gaal rather embarrassingly picked out David De Gea as a player who has not won a title with United, even though he was one of Alex Ferguson’s Premier League champions in 2013.
Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick have both won the Premier League five times with United; Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia, and Ashley Young have all won it at least once, while Bastian Schweinsteiger, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini, and Memphis Depay have been title winners overseas.
Van Gaal said: “The players that we are now playing, they are not used to being the champions. I don’t think (Matteo) Darmian is used to being the champion, and De Gea was never champion.
“Memphis Depay was champion last year, so not many players. Rooney, Carrick, they have been the champions once and maybe more, but you have to see always the situation where a club is.
“It is a process of transition and now we are fighting for qualification for the Champions League and we are still in the FA Cup. We have to fight for something and we shall do it. Hopefully we can beat Leicester City.”
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