In a surprising move, Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte left the newly-crowned Serie A champion by "mutual consent" on Wednesday.
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Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte left the newly-crowned Serie A champion by “mutual consent” on Wednesday. The decision comes just weeks after he led the Nerazzurri to their first league title in more than a decade.
Conte was reportedly unhappy about the club’s decision to sell players in this coming transfer window because of financial constraints.
This season, Inter’s finances felt the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the club’s early elimination from the Champions League.
The club even took out a big loan from Oaktree Capital in a financing deal with the American investment fund. However, the need to cut the budget still remains.
Inter’s owner Suning and president Steven Zhang wants to slash the wage bill by 20%. What’s more, he then intends to make a profit of around 100 million euros (122 million dollars) in the transfer market.
This will most likely happen only by selling at least one of the club’s most important players. Conte, after a successful season by any measure, will have been wanting more additions to the squad.
“Inter can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Antonio Conte for the termination of his contract by mutual consent,” the club said in a statement.
“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.”
Conte breathed new life into Inter when he took over in 2019. This job came to him a year off after being sacked by Chelsea.
Inter were a team in turmoil after a tough season. The dressing-room consisted both of stars who didn’t perform on a consistent basis and healthy discord as well.
The former Juventus player and coach shook things up and brought about good change in the squad with his strict, no-nonsense attitude and attention to detail.
Romelu Lukaku was one of the players who thrived under Conte. The Belgian forward was one of his first signings and has gone from strength to strength since signing from Manchester United for around 80 million euros.
Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi is one of the people who could replace Conte. Another name is that of Massimiliano Allegri.
Allegri has previously won titles with both AC Milan and Juventus. Maurizio Sarri, former Napoli and Juve manager, is also a candidate for the job.
Bologna’s Sinisa Mihajlovic, who used to play for Inter, could also take up the vacant post.
