Antonio Conte has pushed back on speculation that he is in active negotiations with any club to return to management. It comes primarily amid a swell of talk about potentially replacing Michael Carrick at Manchester United as pressure builds on the Red Devils.
Conte, who has won six league championships with four teams in Italy and England, has also been tentatively linked with Juventus and AC Milan in his homeland. Juve, where he was previously in charge between 2011 and 2014, are already playing catchup on Serie A’s leading teams, although Milan have since recovered from a minor wobble in September.
The 57-year-old was most recently employed by Napoli, taking the team to the Serie A title in 2024–25. But he left by mutual consent at the end of last season and has not returned to work. His record of success and current availability naturally lends itself to intrigue.
Conte appears open to considering interest in hiring him, but he felt compelled on Friday to “clarify” the state of play. There are, he said in a social media statement, “currently no negotiations at an advanced stage.” The former Juventus midfielder added he plans to still “take the time to consider how and when to return to management,” which will only happen when the “conditions are right.”
He explained: “I have read reports of financial demands and requests for full control that I have supposedly already made to the clubs mentioned, as well as reservations about what has been described as my ‘strong personality.’ These reports are unfounded.
“Should a concrete opportunity arise, that will be the time to hold discussions with the club concerned and jointly consider the terms of a potential agreement, with due regard for both parties’ needs and the qualities and approach that define my work as a manager.”
Conte said that “assumptions” being reported about his “demands and professional future” are just that at this stage and “cannot be treated as fact.”
Conte Not the Best Fit for Current Man Utd
Manchester United have been warned that Conte, while verifiably able to deliver results, can be tough to work with in the way he approaches jobs.
He is also a notoriously short-term fixer, rather than a long-term strategist, typically lasting two or fewer full seasons at every club. Juventus, where he spent three seasons more than a decade ago, is the only exception to that in 20 years of management.
Conte’s most recent Premier League appointment, at Tottenham Hotspur between Nov. 2, 2021 and March 26, 2023, blew up when he called his own players “selfish” in a furious response to a bad result against Southampton, bottom of the standings at the time.
“We are 11 players that go into the pitch. I see selfish players. I see players that don't want to help each other and don't put their heart [into it],” he said at the time.
“The most important thing if you want to become a strong team, if you want to become competitive, if you want to fight to win, is the desire, the fire that you need to have in your eyes, in your heart. And you have to show this in every moment. In every moment.
“To be a team, this the most important thing. To understand that we play for the badge. We have to play to make our fans proud of us. We have to play to show desire.”
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