While rumours of Antonio Conte’s return to Juventus continue to grow, Ivan Zazzaroni, editor-in-chief of Il Corriere dello Sport, claims Massimiliano Allegri wants to leave the Old Lady at the end of the season.
Conte has recently opened the door to a possible comeback to the Allianz Stadium, saying: “There’s also always a possibility of getting back together. The important thing is that there is a shared understanding of ideas and thoughts.”
The former Chelsea, Inter and Tottenham boss spent three years in Turin as a coach, winning three Serie A titles before suddenly leaving one day into the 2014-15 campaign.
The Italian tactician left Spurs by mutual agreement in April and is not expected to take another job before the start of the 2024-25 season. He had held talks with Napoli in October but didn’t reach an agreement with Aurelio De Laurentiis who eventually re-hired Walter Mazzarri.
Fabrizio Ravanelli, a close friend of Conte and a former teammate of the 54-year-old, told Sportmediaset: “Right now, has taken some time to stay with his family. Surely, he will return to a bench soon. I don’t know if it will be Juventus, but he will return to coaching.”
Juventus are believed to be his favourite destination even if Massimiliano Allegri has a contract until June 2025. However, according to Corriere dello Sport’s Zazzaroni, the Livorno-born coach wants to leave the Allianz Stadium at the end of the season.
“I’ve found the timing of Conte’s words inappropriate. If they had done it to him, he wouldn’t have taken it well,” said the journalist.
“Surely, somebody didn’t appreciate it. Everyone knows Conte wants to return to Juventus. He rejected Napoli because he had different ideas.
“As for Allegri, he wants to leave [Juventus]. Do you think he is in the condition to stay? He will get the money and leave. That’s it. It’s normal.”
There were reports that Juventus director Calvo had met Conte at Vinovo last week, and Zazzaroni seemed surprised by the news.
“I was accustomed to a Juventus were everything was closed. Nothing ever leaked from the club, but lately, everything has become public, even things that should remain private so maybe there is a desire to make a mess,” he said.
“Allegri belongs to another Juventus which is no longer here. If he finishes in the top four or even gets something more, I think there would be many regrets,” continued the journalist.
“We’ll see in June. Probably, Allegri struggles to find himself in a different Juventus. I think he will leave at the end of the season.”