Ranieri: 'Amazing Feeling' To Win Dream Title

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri says his emotion was at the "maximum level" as he watched the nailbiting Spurs draw which handed his team their dream Premier League title.

The Italian told reporters he had watched the match at home after jetting back early from a trip to see his 96-year-old mother.

In a statement, he said winning his first top-flight title was an "amazing feeling".

As reporters crowded around his car, he said: "I'm very very happier now because maybe if I won this title at the beginning of my career now I forgot. Now I'm very very old man and I can feel much better."

Ranieri - written off by some pundits when he got the job last year following his sacking by Greece - said the "heart" and "soul" of his players was key to them pulling off the nearly impossible.

When asked if he had a message for fans, he said: "Keep going, we want to improve a lot."

Leicester's title was confirmed on Monday night after Tottenham's draw with Chelsea.

There were tears and wild celebrations in pubs across Leicester and outside the King Power stadium as the 2-2 draw confirmed the Foxes as unlikely champions - beating 5,000-1 odds.

It was a heartbreaking night for Tottenham, who looked set to keep the title race going before letting their lead slip.

Leicester defender Christian Fuchs tweeted a video showing wild celebrations at Jamie Vardy's house as the final whistle blew in west London.

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Ranieri also released a statement saying: "I'm so proud. I'm happy for my players, for the Chairman, for the staff at Leicester City, all our fans and the Leicester community.

"It's an amazing feeling and I'm so happy for everyone.

"I never expected this when I arrived. I'm a pragmatic man, I just wanted to win match after match and help my players to improve week after week. Never did I think too much about where it would take us."

Ranieri changed his plans and flew back early from Italy to watch the game, after previously saying he would be in the air during the match.

After the historic win goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel tweeted: "Words can not describe the love I have for my teammates. I dreamt of this since i was a boy and i will be forever grateful to you all ❤️"

His father, Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, changed his Twitter biography to read simply "Father to a Premierleague winner".

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Leicester will now receive the Premier League trophy following their final home game of the season against Everton on Saturday.

Despite the raucous celebrations of the night before, the players were back at training on Tuesday morning.

The players posed with a "champions" flag as Ranieri embraced the club's Thai owners, who arrived at the training ground by helicopter.

There were more cheers for the team as they stepped out together for a celebratory pizza after training.

Leicester were predicted by many to be destined for a relegation scrap after pulling off their own great escape last season and managing to stay up with a late run of wins.

Their typical starting eleven cost around £23m to assemble, with Premier League player of the year Riyad Mahrez costing just £400,000 and Jamie Vardy £1m.

Manchester City - currently fourth in the table - paid £55m for Kevin De Bruyne last year.

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Ranieri, too, raised eyebrows when he was drafted in at the start of the season after losing to the Faroe Islands as Greece's national coach.

But now he looks set to lead the Foxes into the lucrative Champions League to do battle with the greats of the European game.

The club will get at least £29m for making the competition and more depending on how far they progress.

A few lucky punters who had a bet on Leicester will also be enjoying their own windfalls.

William Hill said 25 customers went for the 5000-1 odds, with the biggest stake of £20 put down by someone in Manchester.

Bookies were offering the same or better odds for such improbabilities as Elvis being discovered alive and Simon Cowell becoming the next prime minister.

William Hill's biggest overall winner was a person from Guildford who put down £75 at 1500-1, meaning a £112,500 return.

Sky Bet now has Leicester at a much improved 33-1 to repeat their success next season.