Claudio Ranieri has refused to accept the theory that Leicester City's players "killed" him.

The Italian was sacked nine months after leading the Foxes to a shock Premier League triumph, which led to an outpouring of grief from the footballing world.

Reports in the media suggested that senior players were consulted over Ranieri's departure, leading to accusations that they stabbed him in the back.

Under successor Craig Shakespeare, Leicester won six matches in a row immediately after his exit, but Ranieri believes that there were other factors behind the poor form that had left the champions in a relegation battle.

When asked by Sky Sports News about reports that the players were involved in his sacking, Ranieri replied: "No, I can't believe it. The players maybe don't give their maximum because there are other problems.

"Other problems could be that when they were here before they earned a little less, and after that they earned double or triple. Maybe when you were safe in the last match and restart the season, you are so concentrated to be solid and strong. We started very well the year before.

"Then when you come back in pre-season when you have won the title, you go around the world. You go to America to play against big teams for the first time in your life. The situation is totally different. I cannot believe that my players killed me. No, no, no."

Leicester currently sit 11th in the Premier League table and will take on Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.