Former Leicester City coach Claudio Ranieri said on Monday he was “terribly shaken” by the death of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Thai billionaire who owned the English club, in a helicopter crash on Saturday night.
Speaking to Sky Sport in Italy, Ranieri, 66, said: “I was terribly shaken by this news.”
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha had in 2015 selected the Italian to coach Leicester City, which went on to win the English Premier League by the end of his first season as head of the team.
READ | Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha confirmed dead in chopper crash
“He was a good man, who always had a positive word for everyone,” said Ranieri, adding: “His positivity and ability to make everybody love him was clear for all to see. He came into the dressing room only to dispense kind words, never to reproach you. One time, soon after my birthday, he arrived in the dressing room with a huge cake and made everyone sing ‘Happy Birthday’. He was an illuminated man and everything he touched became better.”
He said Srivaddhanaprabha would arrive 30 minutes before the club’s home games to embrace everyone.
READ | Who is Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha? 6 facts about the Thai billionaire
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people were on board the ill-fated helicopter that crashed outside the Leicester City’s King Power Stadium after the club’s match against West Ham on Saturday night.
“Now it’s up to his son (Aiyawatt), who has always been in love with football, to carry on in his father’s footsteps,” said Claudio Ranieri.
“I am so sad right now, I want to join the family in their grief,” he said.