Mourinho sends classy message to Ranieri: 'Keep smiling, amico'

Once an adversary, Jose Mourinho gave his backing to Claudio Ranieri in the aftermath of the Italian's ruthless dismissal as Leicester City manager.

The pair, who had been involved in a war of words for many years, made amends last year after a long standoff.

Mourinho famously accused Ranieri of having a loser's mentality, while Ranieri preferred to remain silent amid criticism over his shortage of silverware.

There is no longer such animosity between the two, and the Portuguese extended his support to Ranieri after hearing of the news he had been sacked.

Ranieri's Leicester side lost all three matches to Mourinho's Manchester United this season, including a 2-1 loss in the Community Shield.

Ironically enough, Leicester forced Chelsea to fire Mourinho in December 2015 after dealing his Blues a similar 2-1 defeat. Mourinho's departure came seven months after leading Chelsea to the Premier League title, while Ranieri's firing came nine months after climbing to the summit.

There is definitely a feeling of mutual understanding between these two former foes.