I only have contempt for Conte, insists Jose
JOSE MOURINHO has hit back at Antonio Conte by saying he has nothing but contempt for the Chelsea manager. Conte has waged a bitter war of words with Mourinho, branding him ‘a little man’ and ‘fake’ after the Manchester United boss brought up his rival’s matchfixing controversy in Italy. Conte also claimed the Portuguese coach has senile dementia.
Mourinho claimed that he wants to draw a line under the unseemly row after returning from a warm-weather training break in Dubai yesterday but couldn’t resist another dig at Conte.
‘I think when a person insults another, you can expect a response. Or you can expect contempt, silence,’ said Mourinho, who also confirmed his interest in snatching Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez ahead of rivals Manchester City.
‘The first time he insulted me, I had a response; a response that I know touched the point where he really feels hurt. Then he insulted me for a second time, but now I change.
‘Now contempt and, for me, contempt means end of the story.’
Whether it is remains to be seen but the truth is, Conte might not be around too much longer in the English game anyway. Indeed, the Italian admitted he could leave Chelsea at the end of the season despite having another year on his contract.
Sportsmail revealed yesterday the club are already looking for a replacement, and although the Italian insisted he was ‘fully committed’ he added: ‘In football, everything is possible. One moment you are here and in another moment you are in another place and another person replaces you and your job. Everything can change. ‘It is normal for the manager of this club to have this type of situation, even if you won the Premier League last season and reached the final of the FA Cup. ‘This is the history of this club for the manager. I don’t ask to change it. My only problem is to continue to work and be professional and have good results.’ Max Allegri of Juventus and former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique are among the contenders to take over should the 48-year-old leave after two seasons in charge.
Conte, whose side welcome Leicester to Stamford Bridge today, stressed his work would not be judged a failure if he were to leave London before the end of his contract.
He won the Premier League title in his first season and was applauded for the tactical transformation of a side who had finished tenth in the previous campaign.
Chelsea lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup final and the manager has since become locked in a dispute with the board over recruitment strategy.
Signs of tension surfaced again as he explained why Manchester United and City were right to pursue Sanchez.
‘We are talking about a top player and you can buy him for a price not so high,’ said Conte. ‘The amount is around £20million when maybe the normal price for Sanchez is £80-90m.
‘He is a great player and he knows in my first season at Juventus we tried to buy him from Udinese and he decided to go to Barcelona. Sanchez knows my admiration for him.’
Asked why Chelsea were not after the Chilean, Conte said: ‘I can give my opinion to my club for every situation, then they have to make the decision that is right.’
He is confident, however, there will be no harm to his reputation as one of the world’s best coaches if he leaves the Bridge this year. In fact, he is tipped to be the next manager of Paris Saint-Germain.
‘You must trust in your work,’ said Conte. ‘I am very serene. I trust in my work and what we are doing here in a year-and-a-half.
‘It wasn’t easy because it was my first experience in another country, but I am enjoying my experience and I enjoy working with my players.
‘I am happy in what I am doing now and what I did in the past.’