Antonio Conte’s furious rant against Inter directors raised genuine doubts as to whether he will remain on the bench next season, with reports suggesting he could quit.
The Nerazzurri closed out the Serie A campaign with a 2-0 victory away to Atalanta, ensuring they finished second in the table, just one point behind Scudetto winners Juventus.
Now La Gazzetta dello Sport, La Repubblica and others suggest he could walk away.
Antonio Conte’s furious rant against Inter directors raised genuine doubts as to whether he will remain on the bench next season, with reports suggesting he could quit.
The Nerazzurri closed out the Serie A campaign with a 2-0 victory away to Atalanta, ensuring they finished second in the table, just one point behind Scudetto winners Juventus.
Now La Gazzetta dello Sport, La Repubblica and others suggest he could walk away.
“It has been a tough year on a personal level, very tough. I don’t think the players saw their work recognised, I don’t think I saw my work recognised and we all received very little protection from the club,” a visibly irritated Conte told Sky Sport Italia.
“We have to grow and improve in all areas, including off the field, and a big club should protect its players more. We’ll discuss it all at the end of the season, I have to meet the President and he’s in China right now.
“It was very, very intense this year, difficult, and the lads did well to isolate ourselves and create unity within us, despite the difficulties. I don’t like people who get on the bandwagon and I saw a lot of that with Inter this year.
“We had to eat dung for months and got zero protection. My problem is that I have a vision, I see the path we have to take and I know what we need to do. I saw the other day an interview that Luciano Spalletti gave at Inter in 2017. We’re now in 2020 and nothing has changed.
“I can be a lightning rod for the first year, but if you don’t learn and keep making the same mistakes, then that's just crazy. I want to be absolutely clear that I am not talking about the transfer market or the players. I want that to be very clear.”
It’s believed the Spalletti interview Conte was referring to saw the then-coach claim there were ‘moles’ in the dressing room and the boardroom who leaked damaging information to the media constantly.
Now the newspapers are discussing what will happen next following Conte’s complaints, knowing he is not one to stand around and continue in a situation where he is unhappy.
The coach famously quit Juventus two days into pre-season training after winning three consecutive Serie A titles, while he was fired by Chelsea following a series of increasingly bitter complaints.
Although Conte tried to insist the transfer market was not the cause of his protests at Inter last night, he also made this comment to DAZN.
“Only I know what I had to do to get Romelu Lukaku! Only I know…”
A dismissal seems unlikely, but Conte seems to be taking a stand and wants things done his way for next season or he’ll walk.