<p>GENOA, Italy &mdash; Claudio Ranieri will leave Sampdoria despite coaching the team to a top-half finish in Serie A this season and helping the squad avoid relegation last year.</p>
<p>The coach made the announcement Friday, a day before Sampdoria hosts Parma in the final round of the season.</p>
<p>Ranieri’s contract expires at the end of June and he was hoping for an extension, but club president Massimo Ferrero didn’t provide an offer.</p>
<p>“I told the squad today that I won’t be staying for another year,” Ranieri said in the pre-match press conference. “This year we fought, battled and played many great matches, plus some that went the wrong way. But that’s soccer.”</p>
<p>With a five-point lead over 10th-place Hellas Verona, Sampdoria is guaranteed to finish ninth.</p>
<p>The 69-year-old Ranieri took over Sampdoria in October 2019 with the team in last place and guided the Genoa-based squad to a 15th-place finish during his first season in charge.</p>
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