ANTONIO CONTE has quit Inter Milan – just days after leading them to the Serie A title.
The former Chelsea boss had a huge row with the club’s president Steven Zhang over future plans and stepped down after two seasons.
A club 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.”
Striker Romelu Lukaky hailed Conte in an emotional Instagram post.
The Belgian posted pictures of him with the popular boss with the caption: “2014 we spoke for the first time and we have had a bond ever since.
“We had many moments to work together but only god knows why it never happened earlier.
“You came at the right time and basically changed me as a player and made me even stronger mentally and more importantly we won together! Winning is and it’s all that matters to you and i’m glad that i have had you as a coach.
“I will keep your principles for the rest of my career ( physical preparation, mental and just the drive to win…) it was a pleasure to play for you!
“Thank you for all what you did. I owe you a lot..”
Cash-strapped Inter may have been forced to sell stars to raise more than £80million this summer and slash the wage bill by 20 per cent.
The club’s owners had already disbanded their Chinese team Jiangsu earlier this year and Inter are now also facing financial turmoil.
Even as Inter marched towards the title there was friction between Conte and the board over finances.
The 1996 Champions League winner was of the belief that Inter need to continue spending in order to carry on being successful.
And he wanted new deals for his key players in the run to the title – such as Romelu Lukaku.
But Conte, who had a year left on his deal, has quit the club just days after winning Serie A – the club’s first since 2010 – and will receive around £6m in compensation.
The ex-Chelsea gaffer had hinted earlier this month he is unsure of what the future holds.
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He is claimed to have expressed bitterness towards Inter’s new direction in a meeting with the owners.
Simone Inzaghi and Max Allegri are among the leading candidates to take over from him at the San Siro.
Speaking after Sunday’s 5-1 victory against Udinese, Conte arrogantly dedicated Inter’s title win success to himself.
He said: “I dedicate it [the Scudetto] to myself. Because I know that in any case it has not been an easy path in these two years.
“I really had to get everything out of myself. There have also been times when I have doubted things and doubted myself.
“But we have been strong enough to go beyond everything. We have all been good, even me.
“I think it was the right end to an extraordinary year. Even today we played a beautiful game, we didn’t leave anything behind.
“We have collected 91 points, scored more than 90 goals. The best defence, the second-best attack, it means having done something beautiful and important.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
