Conte leaves Inter days after Serie A title win

James Shearman

• Updated: 27 May 2021 14:54 BST
• 3 min read

Inter have confirmed Antonio Conte‘s departure just three days after the club lifted their first Serie A title in 11 years.

The Italian club have agreed to part ways with their manager a year before the expiry of his contract after a reported falling out over transfer plans for the summer.

A statement read: “FC Internazionale Milano can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Antonio Conte for the termination of his contract by mutual consent.

“The club would like to thank Antonio for the extraordinary work that he has done, culminating in Inter’s 19th top-flight title. Antonio Conte will forever remain a part of our club’s history.”

Rumours of Conte’s discontent had been circulating in recent days and chairman Steven Zhang arrived at Inter’s headquarters on Wednesday morning to continue discussions with senior staff.

The outcome of those talks has now been revealed.

The 51-year-old is believed to have been unhappy with the board’s desire to trim the wage bill by 15 to 20 per cent and generate £70million in player sales.

Inter are now focused on bringing through younger players, while letting go of a few more experienced figures in order to balance the books.

This approach would likely put an end to any hopes of competing for the Champions League next term, which was Conte’s objective after domestic success this campaign.

According to reports, Conte will walk away with around half of the £11m he was set to earn for managing the club next season.

He is already linked with a number of top jobs across Europe, including Tottenham, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.