Antonio Conte has officially been fired by Chelsea and will be imminently replaced by ex-Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri.
The Italian was told of the decision yesterday, with the news confirmed by Cesc Fabregas before an official statement had been made.
Conte had been a lame duck for weeks, but wasn’t officially dismissed until now because Chelsea struggled to work out a compensation agreement to release Sarri from his Napoli contract.
Antonio Conte has officially been fired by Chelsea and will be imminently replaced by ex-Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri.
The Italian was told of the decision yesterday, with the news confirmed by Cesc Fabregas before an official statement had been made.
Conte had been a lame duck for weeks, but wasn’t officially dismissed until now because Chelsea struggled to work out a compensation agreement to release Sarri from his Napoli contract.
The club faced another problem, which was that by ending Conte’s contract early, they had to pay him and his staff around €11m in compensation.
It now appears as though they will try to argue just cause, thereby avoiding paying compensation.
"Chelsea Football Club and Antonio Conte have parted company," an official statement confirmed.
"During Antonio’s time at the club, we won our sixth league title and eighth FA Cup. In the title winning season, the club set a then-record 30 wins in a 38-game Premier League season, as well as a club-record 13 consecutive league victories.
"We wish Antonio every success in his future career."
Sarri is due to arrive over the next 24 hours along with midfielder Jorginho in a package deal worth a reported €57m plus €8m in bonuses.
He will be the ninth manager since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003.
Despite the bitter split, Conte was a success at Stamford Bridge.
He won the Premier League in his debut season, the FA Cup in the second and had a win rate of 67 per cent in the Premiership, second only to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s 72 per cent.
When it comes to win rate in all competitive games for Chelsea in the Premier League era, Conte comes out on top with 65.1 per cent, beating Jose Mourinho on 63.5 per cent and Carlo Ancelotti’s 61.5 per cent.