The arguments and burned bridges which led to Conte’s departure at Tottenham, Inter, Chelsea and Juventus

Antonio Conte’s exit from Tottenham on Sunday evening was certainly not the first time the 53-year-old has left a club amidst a period of tension and turmoil. 

Conte himself had after all already admitted in the past that most of the teams he has coached go on to regret hiring him. 

When Conte leaves a club, it tends to be in dramatic fashion and in conjunction, the former Azzurri head coach has often fallen out with some of his high-profile players. 

Here’s a look at some of the most explosive outbursts and fallings out at Conte’s former clubs …

Conte at Tottenham

At Tottenham, his explosive outburst after his side’s 3-3 draw with then-bottom placed Southampton, in which he labelled some of his players as “selfish” and slammed the club for its lack of trophies over the last 20 years, appeared to be the final nail in the coffin.  

Brazilian international Richarlison assumed the role of scapegoat in the last months of Conte’s Tottenham tenure, a player who was described as having a “s*** season” by his boss during a press conference in May. 

Conte had signed Richarlison for a fee of around €70m in August, but after a series of injuries and a lack of consistency when given an opportunity, the relationship had completely deteriorated within the space of a few months. 

Conte at Inter

When he left Inter, it was believed that disagreements over potential signings and the Nerazzurri’s transfer policy in general that summer were the key factors in the decision to let Conte go. 

Despite having won the Scudetto just a few short weeks before his exit from San Siro, Inter dismissed Conte at the end of May 2021, a quiet exit by his usual thunderous standards. 

Conte at Chelsea

Conte’s most recent position before taking the Inter job was at Chelsea, where in typical fashion, Conte had experienced the highest peaks and the lowest troughs of club management. 

He had led the West Londoners to an impressive Premier League title in his first season with the club in 2016-17, but less than a year later he was gone and had burned bridges with a number of his former star players. 

Among the list of players who had publicly fallen out with Conte were Brazilian duo Willan and David Luiz, as well as the then-prolific Diego Costa, who Conte had signed shortly after joining the club himself. 

Costa had scored 20 league goals in his maiden season in England and was a crucial upgrade on the Chelsea strikers that had come before him, however Conte let the Brazilian-Spaniard know via a text message that he was not part of his plans for the following season. 

Costa ended up staying on at Chelsea until January as Chelsea struggled to maintain the high standards they had displayed the season previously. 

Conte at Juventus

Conte’s previous club before Chelsea was Juventus, where he had spent three mightily successful seasons before moving on to take the Italy job in 2014. 

However, that departure was one of the most explosive that Conte has ever experienced. 

Despite lifting the Scudetto three times in as many years whilst at the helm in Turin, Conte fell out with the club and its directors again over transfer strategy and left with an all-time great of a quote. 

“You can’t eat for 10 euros in a hundred-euro restaurant,” were his words shortly before his departure from the Bianconeri. 

Towards the end of his spell at the Allianz Stadium, Conte had also left an impression, not always a positive one, on a number of his senior players. 

Andre Pirlo wrote in his autobiography about how Conte’s words always felt like an assault and how he would often throw projectiles around the dressing room in an attempt to motivate his players. 

There was also an incident involving Gianluigi Buffon, in which the legendary shot-stopper had joked about receiving bonuses during a team meeting during Juve’s 100 point season in 2013-14. 

The disagreement ended with Conte reportedly screaming at his club captain, in disbelief that he of all people would have disrespected the club in such a manner. 

Now, Conte is already being linked with a return to management in Serie A. Wherever he goes, he is sure to provide box office moments as well as poetic quotes and tantalising clashes with some of his players.