Napoli have confirmed the departure of manager Antonio Conte following a tense end-of-season press conference involving club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
The Serie A club announced Conte’s exit on Monday with a short message on social media that read: “Thanks for everything, coach.”
Conte leaves the club less than 24 hours after Napoli closed their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Udinese, a result that secured second place behind champions Inter Milan.
The Italian coach used the post-match press conference to formally announce his departure before engaging in a disagreement with De Laurentiis over Napoli’s season and Inter’s title success.
Conte rejects injury excuse
De Laurentiis suggested Napoli could have retained the Serie A title if injuries had not disrupted the squad throughout the campaign.
Several important players, including Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, missed significant parts of the season.
“Without the injuries, we would have been the champions,” De Laurentiis said.
Conte immediately distanced himself from that view and insisted Inter deserved recognition for winning the league.
“That probably would not have happened,” Conte replied.
“Inter’s merits need to be recognised.”
The former Chelsea and Tottenham manager also criticised attempts to use injuries as justification for missing out on the title.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t like clinging to these things,” he added.
“We have to acknowledge others’ victories and show respect. If we want respect, we have to give it. Inter deserved to win the league, with injuries or not.”
Napoli preparing for new era
Both Conte and De Laurentiis revealed that the decision to part ways had already been made months earlier during the season.
Conte’s departure ends a short but eventful spell in Naples, where he guided the club back into the Champions League places despite an inconsistent second half of the campaign.
De Laurentiis declined to reveal who could replace Conte but hinted that the returning injured players would give the next manager a stronger platform heading into the new season.
