Chelsea face a bitter legal battle with Antonio Conte, as it’s reported he was fired without the €11m pay-off, as Maurizio Sarri comes in.
There had been reports throughout the day that the tactician had been given the axe along with his staff, several days into pre-season training.
Conte had been a lame duck for weeks, but hasn’t been officially dismissed because Chelsea struggled to work out a compensation agreement to release Sarri from his Napoli contract.
Chelsea face a bitter legal battle with Antonio Conte, as it’s reported he was fired without the €11m pay-off, as Maurizio Sarri comes in.
There had been reports throughout the day that the tactician had been given the axe along with his staff, several days into pre-season training.
Conte had been a lame duck for weeks, but hasn’t been officially dismissed because Chelsea struggled to work out a compensation agreement to release Sarri from his Napoli contract.
The club faced another problem, which was that by ending Conte’s contract early, they had to pay him and his staff around €11m in compensation.
It seems as if this will continue to be an issue, because The Telegraph and Sky Sport Italia claim Conte is “disgusted” by the way he has been treated and asked his lawyers to haggle over the pay-off terms.
Sky Sport Italia maintain Conte and his staff were sacked for 'just cause' and therefore not eligible for the compensation, perhaps due to the infamous 'text' he sent to dismiss Diego Costa.
This infuriated the Coach and he is set to put up a bitter legal battle, which could end up in various tribunals and courts.
This would be another bizarre twist in the saga, as several Chelsea figures past and present – including midfielder Fabregas – used social media to send thank you and goodbye messages to Conte.
Chelsea, meanwhile, remain silent and it’s reported Eddie Newton will be in charge of training on Friday in Cobham.
Sarri is due to arrive over the next 24 hours along with midfielder Jorginho in a package deal worth a reported €57m plus €8m in bonuses.
He will be the ninth manager since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003.
Despite the bitter split, Conte was a success at Stamford Bridge.
He won the Premier League in his debut season, the FA Cup in the second and had a win rate of 67 per cent in the Premiership, second only to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s 72 per cent.
When it comes to win rate in all competitive games for Chelsea in the Premier League era, Conte comes out on top with 65.1 per cent, beating Jose Mourinho on 63.5 per cent and Carlo Ancelotti’s 61.5 per cent.