Danny Drinkwater was an important part of Leicester City’s title winning squad in the 2015/16 season.
While the Englishman’s career didn’t quite take off after that, his reputation had risen under Claudio Ranieri, who also brought the most out of other players during his time at Leicester City.
Drinkwater retired from the game in 2022 and has now spoken to Il Messaggero about his time at Leicester City. He was also asked about Ranieri, who is currently doing well in charge at AS Roma.
He told the outlet: “I called him grandpa, he is a great person, but not only in the world of football, he is also a gentleman outside of it.”
When asked what makes Ranieri a special manager, Drinkwater praised his man-management skills.
He said: ”Personally, he treated me exactly as I wanted to be treated, he shouted at me when I needed to be yelled at and he helped me when I needed it, he is truly a great person.”
The ex-midfielder also had praise for how the Italian is turning Roma’s fortunes around this season.
“He’s doing very well and before he arrived there were some rumours and I thought, if Claudio were to return to Roma it would be perfect. If Claudio is the coach then I’m a fan.”
This shows why Ranieri is so popular amongst his players and how he can turn around fortunes relatively quickly.
That is exactly what is happening at Roma, who have picked up five wins in a row for the first time since 2017 and haven’t lost a single league game in 2025.
