Antonio Conte To Quit Chelsea And Join Serie A

Antonio Conte To Quit Chelsea And Join Serie A

Antonio Conte appears to have dropped the bomb at Stamford Bridge, telling close pals he’s set to leave Chelsea at the end of the season and switching to a club in the Serie A.

British media is reporting that the Italian is not only unhappy with the level of support afforded at the club during the summer, he’s also grown frustrated over limited access to club owner Roman Abramovich and senior executive Marina Granovskaia.

It is understood that Conte, who began his career as Chelsea boss with a sensational first-season Premier League title win, would have handed his resignation in the summer but for a severe financial penalty clause in his contract.

Abramovic hardly in Conte’s space. Image: Sun

Sun reports that the Italian is riled by the club’s handling of renegade striker Diego Costa’s sale back to Atletico Madrid which made him vulnerable to criticism, in addition to failure to land crucial targets in the summer.

And the Blues lost their crucial title clash at home to Manchester City 1-0 Saturday night after Kevin de Bruyne’s magnificent winning goal, highlighting the gulf in class between the champions and this season’s pacesetters.

The manager made no secret of his desires in a recent interview on Italian broadcaster Radio 1: “I miss Italy, that’s beyond doubt, so once I have had some important and life-changing experiences, I will be back.”

Conte has been long-time target of Serie A giants Inter Milan and will return with his brother Gianluca, currently his assistant manager at Stamford Bridge, in the event of a switch next summer.